The Premier Pirates actually had all facets of the game working well – it’s just that their timing was a little off.
The Hub City Paving Pirates got strong pitching, error-free defence and plenty of hits, but still lost three of four against the Okanagan Athletics on the weekend at Serauxmen Stadium.
The A’s won 3-2 and 2-1 on Saturday, then took Sunday’s early game 3-2 before the Pirates stepped up and shut out the opposition 2-0.
“We were getting our hits, but we weren’t getting our hits when it counted, with runners in scoring position,” said Doug Rogers, Pirates manager. “It’s a mentality you go up there with. Do you want to be in the spotlight when the game’s on the line? It’s hard to teach because it’s the mental part of things.”
The Hub City Pirates were able to end off on a positive as they took advantage of some A’s mistakes to build an early advantage in Sunday’s finale. Aidan Goodall led the Pirates to victory, throwing a complete-game four hitter.
“We played well,” said Zach Diewert, Pirates outfielder. “We played clean baseball, we didn’t really make any errors, Goody pitched a great game and we were able to scrap out a few runs.”
In the earlier game that day, Diewert and Braeden Mousseau were both 2-for-3 at the plate and Brady Rogers had a double and two RBIs. Starting pitcher Alex Rogers struck out six in a no-decision.
In Saturday’s series opener, Luke Skingle threw a complete-game loss. Bryan Borrelli was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Goodall was 2-for-4 with an RBI.
In the 2-1 game, Goodall was 3-for-4, Diewert was 2-for-3 and Shawn Arabsky was 2-for-4. Starting pitcher Devon Geary struck out six batters in a no-decision.
The Pirates play Wednesday (June 19) in Parksville, their first of three straight Wednesday-night games against the Royals. Doug Rogers likes the mid-week games, he said.
“Hopefully these three in a row get us sharp and push us into the remainder of the year.”
GAME ON … Wednesday’s game at Parksville’s Springwood Park is a 6 p.m. start.