The Sicamous Stealers’ regular season opened quicker than they could blink with only two practices under their belt before their home opener.
The Sicamous team was feeling a little uneasy when Vernon came to town for their first game. Vernon showed they were ready to go and were up 9-1 after the first two innings.
The Stealers found their groove in the third inning, batting in five runs. In the fourth inning the field started coming together and it looked like they are ready to go.
Final score: 17-8 for Vernon.
Sean Spelay showed his muscle at bat and went 2/2 on base per cent (OBP) with one run and three runs batted in (RBI). He also had a solid game at short stop.
Sicamous’ first road game found them in Enderby with clouds and rain all around and a little lightning off in the distance. This game was a gooder! Both team’s opening pitchers came out chuckin’ like you wouldn’t believe. Enderby was up 2-1 after the first inning. The pitching battle continued in the second which could not have gone much finer for Sicamous, getting the three up, three down in the field and scoring a run to tie the game 2-2 after two. The bats came out in the third and Sicamous took the lead 6-4. The fourth inning was looking good at bat for the Stealers with three runs in when the game was called due to lightning, giving the team their first win.
Final Score: 6-4 for Sicamous.
Jacob Dewitt pitched great with two earned runs against, only four opposing batters getting on base and multiple strike outs; he also ruled the bat and went 3/3 OBP with one run and three RBI’s.
After these games, Stealers general manager Rob Sutherland was able to bolster the roster to 14 players by re-signing veteran Sidney Watson, as well as by bringing up rookie prospect Joseph Jankowski.
Tuesday, April 26 took the Stealers on the long road to Kelowna to play Kelowna 1. The weather was a beauty and they have a concession there! The game opened up with Sicamous seeing their best opposing pitcher to date who threw heaters down the pipe. That and a few too many overthrows for Sicamous did not help on the scoreboard and the team found themselves behind 10-0 after the second inning. After the slow start, the Stealers needed the whole team to come together for a possible comeback which was sweet and exciting to see occur as they woke up the sticks and scored two runs in the third inning and 10 runs in the fourth to make it close and give the fans sore throats.
Final Score: 15-12, Kelowna.
Good showing by Raegen Starkell who was 3/3 OBP and in the fourth inning with the bases loaded, she hit a double that and cleared the bases, giving her three RBI’s and keeping the rally cap inning going.
On April 28, Kelowna 2 came to Sicamous to play the hometown Stealers.
Sicamous was up against high-level pitching again from Kelowna but the Stealers showed they like to hit and are not afraid to swing the bat. With good pitching from both teams, all batters were getting opportunities to hit.
The fans were treated to lots of action on the field.
The Stealers next step is to work on full game awareness.
Final Score: 15–8 for Kelowna 2.
Taylor Wagstaff did a stellar job as a full game catcher. He showed great hustle, including a pass ball, hustle, quick underhand toss to Sidney, the pitcher, for an out at home on a steal by Kelowna. Taylor also continues to show his great eye at bat and is now on a four-game hit streak.
Next up for the Stealers is a three-game road trip.