The season didn't start off the way the Abbotsford Cardinals senior team wanted on Saturday, but the club bounced back quickly on Sunday.
Abbotsford opened the 2016 BC Premier Baseball League on Saturday at DeLair Park, and came up short against the Whalley Chiefs in a doubleheader.
Game one saw the Cardinals commit six errors en route to a 9-0 loss to the Chiefs. Whalley was buoyed by a four-run fifth inning, and had multiple-run innings in the second and sixth. The Cardinals managed seven hits, and had their biggest threat to score in the fourth inning, leaving the bases loaded. Konnor Piotto led all Cardinals with a pair of hits.
The struggles continued in game two on Saturday, as the Chiefs again blanked the Cardinals 7-0. Whalley scored three runs in the game's first two innings, and added four more in the fifth. Abbotsford recorded just three hits, with Piotto again picking up two.
Abbotsford returned to DeLair Park on Sunday to host the Victoria Eagles and picked up their first win of the season with a 5-1 victory. The Cardinals scored three in the third and added two more in the fourth to secure the win. Ethan Kano-McGregor was the lone Abbotsford player to record a hit, with the Cardinals capitalizing on walks and errors by the Eagles.
Piotto drove in two runs, and Kano-McGregor hit home one. Cardinals starting pitcher Carter Loewen scored the win and had a strong day at the mound, allowing only three hits and striking out eight.
Abbotsford closed out the weekend with a 4-3 win over the Eagles on Sunday, after Brent Bass drove home the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to win the game. The Eagles took a 3-2 lead into the sixth, but the Cardinals scored in the final two innings to earn the win.
Piotto and Loewen each had a pair of hits, and drove in a run. Ryan Hamilton picked up the other RBI for the Cardinals.
Abbotsford hits the road on Thursday to face the Chiefs in Whalley, and then hosts the Langley Blaze on Friday at 7 p.m. The Cardinals then host the North Shore Twins on Saturday for a doubleheader starting at noon.