The Abbotsford Cardinals embarked on the B.C. Premier Baseball League season in promising fashion, knocking off the Fraser Valley Chiefs 6-2 on the road on Saturday.
The rest of opening weekend, though, didn't go as smoothly. The Cards dropped their next three games – 4-2 to the Chiefs in the back end of Saturday's doubleheader, and 7-4 and 5-2 to the Coquitlam Reds on Sunday at DeLair Park.
While noting that the season is still young, Cardinals coach Corey Eckstein said he detected a lack of intensity from his group that must be rectified.
"I'm not impressed nor pleased with how the weekend turned out," said Eckstein, who expects a lot out of his veteran-laden squad this season. "Our senior group needs to pick up their compete level if they want to be successful this year."
The Cards won their opener behind a solid outing from starting pitcher Matt Forsythe, who went the distance and racked up eight strikeouts over seven innings. Brandon Todoruk, with three hits, led a 12-hit attack, while Luke Cooke, Daniel Koo, Ryan Green and Coleton Besse had two hits apiece.
Abbotsford jumped out to a 2-0 lead through two innings in the second game of the day, but the Chiefs rallied for a 4-2 win.
Nick Sheehan punctuated the Cards' home opener in emphatic fashion on Sunday, hammering a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Reds scored five in the fifth inning en route to the victory.
In the finale, Sheehan and Tyler Krahn each had two hits and an RBI, but Reds starter Mark Trimble otherwise shut down the Abby bats, allowing just one earned run over seven innings.
• The Cardinals (1-3) visit the Vancouver Cannons on Thursday. Their next home game is Wednesday, April 18 at 7 p.m., when they host the North Delta Blue Jays at DeLair Park.