The Parksville Royals bantam baseball team played host to a doubleheader with the Mid-Island Pirates in Port Alberni on Saturday, June 11.
Four Port Alberni players are on this year’s Royals roster: Peyton Lucas, Josh Hillman, Jackson McGiffin and Kolton Ivezich. Coach Kelly McGiffin is also from Port Alberni. Although the Royals are based out of Parksville, they play and practice in Comox, coach Steve McNamee said.
Because there is such a strong contingent of Port Alberni players on the roster, the Royals wanted to bring a couple of home games to the mid-Island city, he added. Lon Miles Field at the Klitsa Fields complex is set up for baseball, and the Port Alberni Baseball League host men’s games at the same field.
Despite a late run in the final inning by the Royals, the Mid-Island Pirates won the first game 7–5.
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The Royals started out the second game of the doubleheader with Port Alberni’s Hillman pitching and Lucas catching. The home team went up 1-0 early in the contest and held the lead until the fourth inning, when the Pirates found their bats and scored six runs in the top of the inning. The Royals responded with five in the bottom to knot the score 6–6 going into the fifth inning.
The Royals’ offence was no match for the Pirates’ defence, however, and the game wrapped with the Pirates taking a 14–7 victory.
The Royals were off to Whalley early Sunday morning for another doubleheader, this time against Whalley Chiefs. They dropped both games, 3-2 and 11–3.
susie.quinn@albernivalleynews.com
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