Pitching and defense are the Trail All Stars’ keys to success but offense was king as the team got off to a great start in Victoria, pounding out 16 runs on their way to an early 2 and 0 record.
Trail kicked off the B.C. Little League Major Baseball Provincial Tournament in Victoria Saturday morning with a 9-0 win against Lynn Valley and 7-1 victory over Hampton.
Derek Green pitched five solid innings for the win in the first game Saturday, giving up only one hit while striking out eight. Evan Gorman came on in relief in the fifth and struck out two.
It was a close 3-0 game until the fourth when the All Stars broke it open, scoring three runs to go up 6-0. Tyler Atkinson went 2 for 4 with a home run and two RBI, while Kian Johnston also went 2 for 4.
In the second game Sunday, the All Stars took on host Hampton from Victoria. Jake Yuris threw four almost-perfect innings of one hit ball, striking out nine and yielding only two walks. He also helped his cause by going 2 for 2 at the plate.
Tyler Atkinson came on in the fifth and after giving up a home run and a walk, settled down to strike out the next two batters, before Brendan Makay came in and struck out the third batter. Makay closed out the game in the sixth. The All Stars face Hastings at 2 p.m. today and Layritz on Tuesday.