In College Prep baseball action, the U18 West Kootenay Orioles had a roller-coaster weekend on the road.
The Orioles tangled with the Penticton Tigers at Carmi Park in Penticton on Saturday, before heading to Kelowna for a double-bill against the COMBA Sun Devils.
The Orioles road the arm of Jake Maniago in a 5-2 victory over the Tigers in the first match of the Saturday doubleheader.
Maniago pitched a complete game, giving up just five hits and striking out seven for the victory.
Connor Stainer belted a two-run home run and Reid Gerrand, Brayden DeWitt and Nathan Dann each had two hits for the Orioles.
In Game 2, however, the Tigers exploded for eight runs in the early going, and held the Orioles bats at bay allowing just four hits in an 11-1 win.
The Orioles struggled in the field again on Sunday in Game 1 versus the Sun Devils, committing six errors.
However, the Orioles batters stayed patient and were walked nine times, while Stainer went 2-for-3 at the plate in an 8-4 victory. Brayden DeWitt gave up just five hits, and struck out eight COMBA batters for the win.
In Game 2, the Orioles jumped out to an early lead courtesy of a two-run bomb by Nathan Dann and a solo homer from Jesco Knelson. Yet, walks and errors along with the heat took their toll on the Orioles, as they split their third straight series in a 12-5 Sun Devils victory.
Marshall DeBruyn suffered the loss, but had a good game at the plate going 2-for-3.
This weekend, the Orioles return home to Butler Park, where they’ll host the Kamloops RiverDogs in a three-game series. The Orioles and RiverDogs play a doubleheader Saturday with game starts at noon and 2:30 p.m. and then 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning.
The 3-3 Orioles will then play an exhibition match against the Cranbrook Bandits at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Read: West Kootenay Orioles open season, split with Sun Devils
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