A big seventh inning, capped off with a walk-off hit, gave the Red Arrow Duncan Tigers a win in their season opener on Tuesday evening.
The Tigers got four runs in the seventh as they won their first game of the 2019 Nanaimo Senior Men’s Fastball League 7-6 over Wheatsheaf at Glenora’s Waldon Park.
“It started ugly,” Tigers manager Joe DiLalla said with a grin. “But it turned out fine.”
Duncan trailed Wheatsheaf 6-3 with one out in the bottom of the seventh when Jamie Gicas and Dan Whiteford walked and Chris Snyder singled to load the bases. A single by Chris Moreside scored Gicas and Whiteford, and then Dave Wylie brought home Snyder and Moreside to win it.
Snyder finished the game 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI, Wylie was 2-for-5 with two RBIs, Moreside was 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs, Jamie Gicas was 1-for-4 with a run and an RBI, and Trevor Gicas was 1-for-4 with an RBI.
The Tigers were out-hit 10-7, but Snyder struck out 10 Wheatsheaf batters and only walked two.
“The difference in this game was that we got six walks and four of those walks scored,” DiLalla pointed out.
Young Rhys Whiteford played centre field for Duncan, catching a couple of fly balls for outs.
The previous weekend, the Tigers had warmed up for the season by playing four games in the Art & Marion Hutt Memorial Tournament in Cedar. The Tigers went 1-3 in the 10-team tournament that had several national team members scattered across the rosters.
Duncan’s next home game is set for this coming Tuesday at Glenora at 7 p.m. against the Parksville Red Sox.