The Trail AM Ford Orioles baseball team found their groove on Sunday as they rallied to split their four-game series with the Kelowna Jays in Pacific International League play on the weekend.
After dropping its first two matches to the Kelowna Jays, 4-1 and 1-0 on Saturday, the Orioles started making contact in a come from behind 5-3 victory in the first match and an 8-4 win in the second half of Sunday's double bill.
Down 3-1 in the fourth frame, the Orioles rallied to score three in the inning to take a 4-3 lead. After Kyle Mace grounded out, Darrin Kissock stroked a double into right-centre and scored on a Brady Glover single. Trail second baseman Joel Graf and Jeff Sidey would walk, setting up former Trail Jay Scott Davidson as he stepped up and blasted a double into the gap in left-centre, scoring both Graf and Glover to give the O's the lead.
The Orioles' Joey Underwood would score the insurance marker in the top of the seventh, leading off with a double down the third-base line, advancing on a Kissock sac fly and scoring on a passed ball.
Kissock went the distance on the mound for Trail, giving up five hits, and striking out three in the Orioles second victory of the season, while Davidson went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and Jim Maniago was 1-for-2 with two walks.
In the final match of the four-game series, the Orioles kept rolling, as Davison stroked a single into centre, scoring Kyle Paulsen who had walked and advanced to second on a fielder's choice to take a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
The O's Kyle Mace would get the start on the mound, throwing four scoreless innings before helping his own cause. With Joey Underwood getting a free pass to lead off the fourth, Mace stepped up and yanked an 0-and-1 pitch over the right-field fence to put Trail up 3-0. Graf would keep the rally going, reaching base on a walk and stealing second then scoring on a throwing error from the Jays second baseman to make it 4-0.
The Jays would get on the board in the fifth, but Mace would stifle the threat getting two batters to pop up to the infield with runners on first and third. Mace would again douse a rally in sixth, before the Orioles added four more in the bottom of six on five walks, a hit, and an error to make it 8-1. The Jays got a little help from the Orioles in the top of seven scoring three runs on three singles and three Trail errors, before Underwood would close the game with a nifty unassisted double play.
For more on the Orioles/Jays game see Tuesday's edition of the Trail Times.