The Southeast Legacy Twins have experienced very little success since the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League was created in 2011.
That made it all the more sweeter for the midget AAA club when they took all four games on the road against a pair of Saskatoon teams on the weekend, extending their winning streak to five games.
With 4-1 and 7-0 wins over the Saskatoon Diamondbacks on Saturday, and 5-3 and 5-2 victories over the Saskatoon Cubs Sunday, the Twins (8-8) now sit at the .500 mark for the first time since May 12, 2012.
That puts them in sixth place in the SPBL and within striking distance of the top three.
"This is what we've been telling them all year is they do have the skills to be in the top three of this league. We kept telling them it's going to come and once the confidence came with making the plays, we had strong pitching and now the bats are starting to fire up," said Twins assistant coach Brad Orsted.
In the first game against the Diamondbacks (9-9), starting pitcher Austin Orsted played a large role in the win, throwing a gem with one run (unearned), one hit, seven strikeouts and three walks in six innings of work.
Brandon Hutt retired the side in order in the seventh, with two strikeouts.
"We had strong pitching and no errors. The boys started to hit very well," said Orsted.
At the plate, the Twins dominated Saskatoon 9-1 in the hits column, and a three-run fourth inning powered them to victory.
They loaded the bases twice in that inning, with the runs coming off a two-run single by John Gaab and a dropped third strike that scored Ketter Hoium.
Hutt went 2-for-4 with a run batted in and a run scored, and Jonathon MacFarlane hit 2-for-3.
D'backs starter Dolan Kunkel went four innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on six hits, four strikeouts and three walks. Eric Clauson threw the last three innings, allowing three hits.
Brayden Pfeil had Saskatoon's only hit in the third inning and scored on an error.
In the second game against the Diamondbacks, the Twins managed to squeeze seven runs out of only four hits, scoring two in the first inning and five in the fourth.
The game was called due to rain after four and a third.
Inning-by-inning results for the game were not available at press time.
Orsted hit 1-for-2 with three RBI, Garrett Fitzpatrick went 2-for-3 with an RBI and Tanner Odgers walked twice, with an RBI and two runs scored.
James Giroux started for the Twins, fanning seven hitters and walking one along with one hit.
Pfeil again had the Diamondbacks' lone hit.
Starter Brandon Duval struggled in three and a third of work, allowing seven runs (five earned) on three hits, five strikeouts and four walks. Parker Bessel gave up one hit and struck out one in one and two thirds in relief.
On Sunday, due to a busy schedule at the diamonds in Saskatoon, the Cubs (5-17) and Twins agreed to make their doubleheader five innings apiece.
In the first contest, the Twins scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the second. The Cubs got one back in the third and two in the fifth.
The Twins batted around in the first inning, with Orsted, Fitzpatrick and Macfarlane all driving in runs on singles.
In the second, Jolan Lingelbach singled in Odgers and Fitzpatrick doubled in Orsted.
The Cubs got on the board in the third when Wynston Ramsay brought in Tanner Hazelwanter with a single. Two more runs crossed the plate in the fifth on singles by Dalton Wells and Drew Gabruch.
Odgers stood out for the Twins, hitting 3-for-3 with two runs. Fitzpatrick was 2-for-3 with an RBI and Orsted was 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.
Gaab pitched four and a third on the mound, allowing five hits, striking out two and walking three. Hutt surrendered two hits in two thirds of an inning in relief.
Talon Kunkel hit 3-for-3 with a run for Saskatoon, and Gabruch was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Saskatoon starter Rhett Feser gave up five runs on nine hits, eight strikeouts and two walks in four and a third. Andrew Spruce struck out one in a clean two thirds of relief.
In their final game of the weekend, the Twins scored three runs in the first inning and two in the third, while allowing one run in the first and third.
Sproule got the start for the Cubs and struggled greatly, lasting only two thirds of an inning. He allowed three runs on two hits and three walks, while striking out one. All three runs scored on wild pitches.
Jordan Ehman stopped the bleeding a little over the remaining four and a third, allowing two runs on one hit, five strikeouts and four walks.
Ramsay scored an unearned run in the bottom of the inning after reaching on an error and scoring on a single by Talon Kunkel.
Giroux added to the Twins' lead in the second, driving in Lingelbach and Hutt with a double.
In the bottom of the frame, Wells scored on a groundout by Jonathan Kulyk.
Saskatoon outhit the Twins 5-3.
Lingelbach hit 1-for-2 with two runs scored and Giroux was 1-for-2 with an RBI.
Twins starter Colton Gingras allowed two runs (one earned) on one hit, four walks and two strikeouts in two innings of work.
Fitzpatrick came on for the third inning, allowing one hit, and Hutt threw the last two, giving up two hits and fanning one.
"We had some strong pitching and some great defensive plays, with two double plays, and the pitching was strong. They stayed positive. They got on top and didn't look back," Orsted said of the Cubs doubleheader.
"They believe in themselves now and I think it's going to be a good finish toward the end. They're feeling very positive about themselves and they're confident they can come up against any team."
The Twins return to regular season action on July 3 with a doubleheader against the Regina Mets at Lynn Prime Park. Game times are 4 and 6 p.m.
