After a rough start to the weekend, the Trail AM Ford Orioles rebounded with two wins on Sunday to split a four-game set with the Kelowna Jays in Pacific International League play at Butler Park.
Trail dropped 6-5 and 9-3 decisions in Saturday’s doubleheader but bounced back to blank the Jays 2-0 to start Sunday then wrapped things up with an 8-3 win.
“Our pitching on the whole was good, defense was good except for the one inning the first game,” said Orioles manager Jim Maniago.
“Our hitting has been up and down but the ups have produced more runs this year than we’ve scored in a long time.”
That was evident when the Orioles gained the weekend split thanks to a third-inning explosion that yielded eight runs in Sunday’s finale.
Trail was down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the third when the team scored eight runs with two outs.
Joel Graf was the first Oriole and the last Oriole to get on base that inning. In between, the team managed three more hits, two walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error to send eight runners home.
That was all the offence the team needed the rest of the way.
Chris Kissock started and Darrin Kissock came on in relief to pick up the win on the mound.
Cam Ferguson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs to lead the way.
Chris Kissock threw a one-hit shutout as the Orioles chalked up their first win of the weekend on Sunday morning.
Jake Lucchini went 2-for-2 and drove in Davidson with the eventual winning run in the bottom of the fifth. Lucchini scored the team’s second run that inning on Dallas Calvin’s double.
Kissock struck out nine and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before giving up a single. Catcher Kyle Mace negated that hit when he threw out the runner attempting to steal second.
Kelowna swept Saturday’s doubleheader by closing the day with a 9-3 win.
The Jays built up an 8-0 lead by the top of the fourth before the Orioles got on the board with two in the bottom of the inning.
Calvin went 2-for-4 as the Orioles offence managed just six hits while Scott Davidson took the loss on the mound.
The Jays started the weekend trip to Trail by holding off the Orioles 6-5 in the opening game.
Trail took a 3-1 lead after three innings on singles by Maniago, Calvin and Kissock coupled with some erratic Jays pitching.
But Kelowna answered with three of their own in the top of the fifth then added two more in the top of the seventh to hold a 6-4 lead.
In the bottom of the seventh, Davidson and Chris Florko were on base when Darrin Kissock’s two-out single drove in Davidson and moved Florko into scoring position.
But the rally fell short with a strikeout to end the game.
Darrin Kissock went 2-for-3 with three RBIs.
The weekend left the Orioles 4-4 on the season. Their next league action comes June 20 and 21 when the Northwest Honkers come to Trail.
In between, the Orioles join a pair of American Legion teams, including the double-A Orioles, for the Trail Invitational Wood Bat Tournament this weekend.