If only the Royals had been able to replicate their last inning on Sunday….
The BC Premier League Baseball regional team, based in Parksville but which includes four Campbell River players, was back in the city on Sunday for the last double-header they’ll play at Nunns Park in Campbell River this season.
It’s been a tough campaign and Sunday was no exception, as they had trouble manufacturing runs against the visiting Fraser Valley Cardinals, dropping games 4-1 and 6-2.
It wasn’t that the visitors really looked like they were blowing the game open. It was more that they found a way to do those little things that bring home runners – in other words, play “small ball.”
The Royals racked up seven hits to the visitors’ eight, but when they did get a hit or two, things came to a halt before any kind of rally. That was until the last inning of the bottom end of the double-header.
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Actually, the Royals’ best play might have come on the field, courtesy of reliever Shae Verral late in the game, when he charged over to the third-base line to try for a grounder and twisted himself around like a corkscrew to fire a strike over to first baseman Brodie Comerford for the out. It’s the kind of defensive gem that can spark a team.
When it came time for last at-bats, the Royals still had not scored, but third baseman Tim Holyk got things going with a hard double. Local player Nathan Lagos then drew a walk. Before long, both had crossed home to get the team on the scoreboard.
Baseball is a fickle game though, as a flyball to left field proved. What could’ve led to a sacrifice fly and another run ended in a precise throw and the putout at the hands of Cardinal catcher Romero Snow. That was as close as the Island team got, as Fraser Valley nailed down the final out to take game two. Another inning or two like this one though, and it might have been a different story.
For the local players, Lagos finished the game with one hit and one run, while Connor Hall went one for three. In the first game, Comerford went one for two and also drew a base-on-balls.
For the Royals’ next game, they hit the road to take on the Coquitlam Reds on Saturday, May 25.
