Salmon Arm baseball teams played their first games and tournaments of the season last weekend.
Teams from the Salmon Arm Minor Baseball Association (SAMBA) competed in Kamloops and North Vancouver on July 6 and 7.
On Sunday, the Mosquito AAA team played a double-header in Kamloops against the Kamloops River Dogs. In the first game, the Mosquitos were down 13-9 and, in the last inning, came back to tie the game 13-13.
The second game saw the Mosquitos win 16-8.
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Jason Golz, head coach head coach for the AAA team, was not only happy with how the team played but also how they conducted themselves.
“I thought they did really well, they pitched really well and they defended well. Everybody definitely gave 110 per cent,” Golz said. “There was feedback from the other team – they actually want to play us again just because of how polite the guys are and their demeanour.”
A highlight of the game came from pitcher Carter Schmidt whose double play contributed significantly to the team’s second-game win.
The Mosquito AAA team will be competing in the Valley of Champions Tournament in Kelowna this weekend and, on Sunday, will have another double header in Salmon Arm. The following weekend the team is at zones. If they qualify there, the team will be heading to provincials in August.
“I’m really looking forward to it; we’ve got a great group of guys and they’re all learning really quickly, they’re all focused, they’re ready to go,” Golz said.
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The Mosquito AA team played at the Jay Piggot Invitational Tournament in North Vancouver on July 4-7, but did not win any games played. The PeeWee AA Hornets spent the day in Kelowna, losing 4-1 in the first game but coming back to win 12-2 in the second game. Highlights of the day were Tate Spence and Ethan Harrison’s home runs in the second game.
The Tadpole Hornets were also busy over the weekend, spending their Saturday working on and learning new skills on their home turf in Salmon Arm.
@CameronJHT
Cameron.thomson@saobserver.net
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