BARRHEAD - The Barrhead Orioles are back on the winning side of the ledger.
After two disappointing games, the North Central Alberta Baseball League (NCABL) franchise dropped two games, two of which were to the Legal Premier (9-1 June 18 road loss) and the St. Albert Cardinals (10-1 June 19). Barrhead defeated the Edmonton Reds 14-6 in a come-from-behind victory in front of their home fans on June 26.
The win puts their record at five wins versus six losses, good enough for fourth place behind the Westlock Red Lions, which also have five wins but are given the nod in the standings as they played one less game.
The Orioles got off to a strong start offensively, scoring three runs in their half of the first inning, giving them a one-run lead going into the second inning.
Unfortunately for Barrhead, the visitors scored three in the second inning when starting pitcher Kayden Rentz got into a bit of trouble walking two runners and giving up two hits.
Rentz returned to form in the next inning, holding the Reds scoreless before handing the pitching duties to Jamie Visser and Johnny Klein, who mopped up in relief. Edmonton scored their final run in the top half of the sixth inning. Barrhead would score two runs in the third inning, but it was the bottom of the fourth where they did most of their damage with a combination of timely hitting and smart/aggressive base running, going through their entire batting order twice, scoring six runs.
"It's nice to get the bats active again after a couple of games where we struggled to score," said player/governor Chase Visser following the game.
An Edmonton Red also noticed early in the game how aggressive the Orioles were when on base, commenting on how effective the home team's running game was to one of the officials as he came off the field before the start of the second inning.
"It is something we like to do, especially early on, and teams or pitchers and catchers we have not seen a lot of is to test their arms," Visser said, adding that the strategy has worked for the club so far.
Visser also commented that it was nice to score a lot of runs on an evening when there were more fans in the stands than usual.
Before the game, the Barrhead Minor Baseball Association held an appreciation barbeque for their volunteers, encouraging them to stay and watch the Orioles.
The Orioles' next home game will be on July 3, when they take on their Highway 18 rivals, the Westlock Red Lions, at home. Then, they will take to the road for a doubleheader against the Reds on July 7.
Barry Kerton, TownandCountryToday.com
