Glory can be fleeting.
The Cowichan Valley Mustangs dealt the previously undefeated Kelowna Sun Devils their first two losses of the BC Baseball midget AAA season on Saturday, then split a doubleheader the next day with the last-place Vernon Canadians.
The Mustangs swept their two-game series with Kelowna at Evans Park on Saturday, winning 6-5 and 3-1. Back on the same field on Sunday, Cowichan dropped their opener against Vernon 3-2, but came back to win 10-0 in the second game.
“It was nice to take that undefeated streak away from Kelowna,” Cowichan coach Ken Ramwell said. “I don’t think they realized how good they were until they beat [Kelowna]. You can’t say the first one was a fluke when you beat the team twice.”
It was clear that the Sun Devils weren’t used to losing, as the coaches and players started nattering at each other early in the first game. Kelowna has been a powerhouse all season, with Cowichan nipping at their heels. Saturday’s games proved that the Mustangs are right there with the league leaders.
“I’m very proud of the boys,” Ramwell said. “We’re just a walk-on team. Every kid who tried out made the team. Kelowna has a lot more to draw on. They had enough for two teams, and still had lots of cuts. They’re mostly Grade 12s, and our kids are mostly Grade 11s. That being said, it’s a big deal for us to beat them.”
The Mustangs jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of Saturday’s opening game. Kelowna scored twice in the top of the fifth, but Cowichan restored the lead with four in the bottom of that inning, including a three-run homer by Matteo Iorio.
“He’s not one to show his emotions,” Ramwell said of Iorio. “But I’m pretty sure he smiled. It was a beauty hit. It came at the right time; it really deflated them.”
The Sun Devils plated three in the top of the seventh, but didn’t manage to close the gap.
Cowichan outhit Kelowna 13-six, led by Iorio, who went 3-for-3 with the aforementioned three-run homer. Nolan Fothergill also went 3-for-3, and Tyler Dobson was 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs. Morley Scott went 2-for-4 with one stolen base. Billy Ramwell went six-and-a-third innings on the mound to earn the win, and Fothergill got the last two outs to pick up the save.
The teams engaged in a scoreless standoff in the second game until the Mustangs took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, sparked by Billy Ramwell’s double. Kelowna scored one in the seventh to spoil Iorio’s shutout bid, although the run was unearned. Fothergill earned his second save of the day with three strikeouts.
The Mustangs were outhit 7-2, their lone hits coming on Ramwell’s double and Hayden Plester’s single. Iorio and Cam LeSergent each had one steal.
“The boys were pretty pumped up,” coach Ramwell said. “They were really ecstatic.”
Cowichan had beaten Kelowna in a tournament earlier this season, but the Sun Devils came back and mercied them later in the same tournament.
After Saturday’s huge wins, there was a small amount of letdown going into Sunday’s games against the last-place Canadians, Ramwell admitted.
“There was a bit of a hangover after the big win,” he said. “Unfortunately, we couldn’t generate runs. Their pitching was so slow and off-speed. Their guy was throwing curveballs, and the kids were used to the fast pitching from the day before. We couldn’t buy hits on Sunday.”
In the first game, the Mustangs mustered just three hits to Vernon’s five. Cowichan opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the second but Vernon struck back with three in the sixth. Iorio, Dobson and Butler all went 1-for-2. LeSergent and Fothergill each had a pair of steals, and Dobson added one. Scott issued nine strikeouts over the first five innings, and Plester pitched the last two, with the three runs all unearned.
The Mustangs changed their strategy for the second game, putting players back in familiar positions and batting in their usual spots.
“After the first game, our plan changed and we went back to what works for us,” Ramwell explained.
Cowichan stormed out of the gate with five runs in the first, one in the third, three in the fifth, and one in the sixth. The Mustangs outhit Vernon 7-1. Plester went 1-for-1 with three RBIs, Dobson was 2-for-2 with two RBIs, and Cameron Linn went 2-for-3. Plester, Dobson and Scott all had doubles, and LeSergent added another two steals, while Scott, Iorio, Fothergill, Dobson, Linn and Josh McCann had one each.
Plester pitched four innings, with six strikeouts and LeSergent pitched two.
Cowichan will host North Island on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., then visit Vernon and Kelowna on the weekend before heading the provincial tournament next week.
“We’re looking to getting the regular season over with and heading into the playoffs to see what we can do,” Ramwell said.