The University of the Fraser Valley baseball club got back to the .500 mark after taking three of four games vs. the Calgary Dinos over a weekend homestand.
The Dinos drew first blood, taking Saturday's opener 6-1, but the Cascades came roaring back to win three in a row to square their record at 4-4 through two weeks of Canadian Collegiate Baseball Conference play. That's good for fourth place in the league.
For the second straight weekend, the Cascades saw a game go to extra innings. The hosts got on the board in the bottom of the fourth as
Jason Blouin's sacrifice fly scored
Blake Badger, but the Dinos drew even in the top of the eighth, and that's the way it stayed through nine. Calgary's Chris Cook broke the game open with a three-run homer as part of a five-run 11th, lifting the visitors to victory.
Sasha Kamenjasevic had a terrific outing on the mound, striking out 11 over seven scoreless innings for UFV.
The Cascades evened the series with an extra-innings win of their own in the back end of Saturday's doubleheader. They exploded for five runs in the bottom of the first inning, only to watch the Dinos battle back to leave things all square at 6-6 through nine innings. UFV loaded the bases in the 10th, and
Thomas Richards drew a walk-off walk to plate
Oliver Para with the winning run.
Lane Grunerud had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4, while
Connor Coverett and
Jake Orthner had two hits apiece. Pitchers
Josh Berenbaum and
Ryan Doyle combined for 17 strikeouts.
The hosts raced out to a 6-1 lead and hung on for a 6-4 win to open Sunday's action.
Dylan Merritt went 3-for-4 at the dish, and he, Richards,
Ty Hall and
Charlie Towers each registered an RBI in the victory.
Brad Bishop had a strong start, allowing one run and striking out five through five innings.
Travis McDougall, for the second straight outing, was dominant in leading the Cascades to victory. He struck out six over seven innings, allowing just one earned run. At the plate, Berenbaum and
Nolan Sparks had two hits each, and Sparks added two RBI. Towers, Merritt and Sparks scored two runs apiece.
UP NEXT
The Cascades (4-4) clash with the Vancouver Island University Mariners (2-5) in a home-and-home series this weekend. Games run Friday at Fairfield Park in Chilliwack (12 p.m. and 3 p.m.) and Sunday in Nanaimo (3 p.m. and 6 p.m.).
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