It was a 0–4 weekend for the Parksville Royals as they dropped a double header at home to the Victoria Eagles on Saturday and another double-header to the North Delta Blue Jays on Sunday.
Game one on Saturday was a gem... if you were a fan of the Victoria Eagles. Starter Ethan Skuja threw a no–hitter against the Royals to start the day, shutting out the Royals at bat and on the scoreboard.
Andrew Evernden had the closest chance at breaking up the no–no in the bottom of the fifth inning but a diving catch by the Eagles left fielder kept it in tact. The Royals dropped the first game 12–0.
The back end of the double header was closer for the Royals, wiping away the blowout loss from a few hours earlier. Evernden got the start on the hill for the Royals in game two and went the distance, giving up the game winner to the Eagles in the top of the seventh inning as the Royals dropped a close 4–3 game.
Errington’s Liam Ballance had a solid game two at the plate, going 2–3 with an RBI for the Royals in a losing cause. That gives Ballance seven RBI’s on the season, good enough for third on the team behind Ethan Fox (9 RBI) and both Keller Anderson and Andrew Evernden with 10 each.
Sunday’s action saw the Royals heading to the mainland for a double dip in Delta against the Blue Jays, who they hosted last weekend.
Keller Anderson took the start in game one for the Royals and came out with the loss as the Blue Jays hammered them 8–1. Anderson went five innings, giving up seven runs (four earned) on six hits with four strikeouts. Nanoose Bay’s Justin Dieleman had a solid game at the dish; going 2–2 for the Royals and scoring their only run of the game.
The second game on Sunday was much the same with the Royals on the losing end of a 6–1 game. Nanoose Bay’s Josh Anderson started for the Royals and went four innings, giving up six earned runs on seven hits to go with seven walks. Owen Kelly, Liam Janzen and Dean Leyland all had two hits on the game for the Royals while Dieleman had the only RBI in this one.
“It’s tough for sure, we’re having a hard time right now,” assistant coach Bruce Biro said. “We had a hard time throwing strikes and when you don’t throw strikes, you are putting yourself behind in the game right away. We’re beating ourselves right now out there on the field and we’re going to have to find a way to break that habit.”
The Royals are back home on the first day of summer (June 21) to take on the Abbotsford Cardinals (10–15) with the first pitch at noon. Sunday will see the Royals take on the White Rock Tritons at 11 a.m.