Vernon Marjak Leasing Canadians won their home opener in swept the Kelowna Sun Devils in Okanagan AA Midget Baseball Leauge action at Kelowna’s Lombardy Park Saturday.
An 11-run sixth inning sealed the Cs’ 23-8 win in the opener, with all but two of Vernon’s 13-man roster crossing the plate in the inning. Colby Geiger ended the game in the bottom of the six tih a double play.
Hayden Vardon was 3-for-4, with two singles and a double, scoring three runs and driving in one. Liam Alstad added three hits and scored twice. Ryan Gamage was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a walk. He also scored three times.
Matt Hanson and Dakota Becker combined to allow six hits and struck out six batters on the mound for Vernon, who took the nightcap, 4-3.
Gamage and Jake Crandlemire had two hits each, Vardon was 1-for-2 and Alstad 1-for-3 while Ethan Joe whalloped a triple.
Gamage, Vardon and Hayden Lewis combined to strike out 14 batters, and allowed six hits.
“The hours spent in the off season are starting to show as we start the season 3-1,” said manager Carl Vardon. “Our pitching and defensive play keeps us competitive and when the bats come alive we are unbeatable. This game was a true team effort.”
The Canadians played their home opener Tuesday at Marshall Field against Kelowna.
B.C. U18 AAA
Kelowna Sun Devils swept a league doubleheader from the Vernon Canadians, winning 11-7 and 14-6 at Marshall Field Sunday.
The Cs pounded out 10 hits against one of Kelowna’s top starters in the opener, and added a couple of more hits off their closer. The Sun Devils jumped out to an early 5-0 first-inning lead. Vernon’s bats came to life in the fourth inning, scoring seven times.
Corey Anderson had a double and two singles for Vernon, Kadyn Thomas had a pair of singles, Jarod Leroux had a double and single, and Cadon Bracken contributed a pair of singles. Dawson Chase started on the mound before giving way to Dylan Eckland.
In the nightcap, Anderson started and went 4 2/3 innings, giving up 10 runs before Ethan Huizinga came in for the remainder of the game.
Eckland was 2-for-2, Bracken 2-for-3 and Thomas had a single for the Cs, who led 5-4 after three innings.
“A couple of things we did see over the two games was even with Kelowna taking the pair of games, if we put the bat on the ball we have a chance to score some runs,” said Vernon manager Rick Leroux. “The one good thing about our 11-player roster is everyone’s going to get a ton of playing time, and a lot of at-bats over the season. Hopefully by mid-season, things will start to fall in place.”
Vernon travels to Kelowna for a twinbill Saturday, and visit the Cloverdale Spurs for a doubleheader Sunday.