The Southeast Legacy midget AAA Twins recently split a two game set with the Saskatoon Giants but lost back to back games against the Muenster Red Sox during opening-season action over the weekend.
All four games were in Estevan as the Twins lost the first game against the Giants 16-8 on May 2. They rebounded in their next game with a 12-4 win.
On the following day the Twins lost a 5-1 decision to the Red Sox and in the next game, fell 3-1.
In the first game against the Giants, the Twins fell 2-0 in the first inning, but a bases-clearing double by Preston Hutt in the following inning gave the home team a 3-2 lead.
The Twins would add to their lead in the third inning, but Muenster scored six runs in the fourth to take a commanding lead.
The Twins were able to keep within striking distance until the top of the seventh when the Giants scored seven runs.
In Game 2, the Twins outhit the Giants 11-4 to get the win. Coach Blaine Kovach said it was nice to see the bats come alive in that game.
Kirkland Chalus hit a home run during the game to contribute to the scoring. The Twins led throughout the game as Hutt earned the win on the mound, pitching into the sixth inning. Marc Shaw closed the game out.
In both games, Kovach was impressed with the hitting but said the pitching could have been better.
“The hitting was there, just some of our pitchers struggled a little bit throwing strikes and that kind of ended up being our downfall,” he said.
For the following day against the Red Sox, despite the losses, Kovach said the pitching was “awesome.”
“The starting pitching was there, they did a very good job.” “We just needed to score runners,” Kovach said.
In the first game, the score was tied 1-1 after six innings and in the final inning the Red Sox scored four runs.
The Twins were able to score first in the next game, and the score was tied after six innings. The Red Sox again won the game in the final inning.
With both games resulting in late inning losses, Kovach said the pitchers have to continue to throw strikes, as he noticed they were showing signs of fatigue toward the end of the game.
Overall, Kovach said the team did play well throughout the weekend.
“We had great starting pitching, which was a huge thing … the infielders hardly made an error this weekend,” he said.
What the Twins need to work on, according to the coach, is their situational hitting and speed pitching so the pitchers can keep the batters off balance.
The Twins are in action May 6.
They play a double-header in Regina against the Expos on May 10 and are back in Estevan on May 11 for a double-header against the Regina Athletics.
