After losing the final of the Prince George Senior Men’s Baseball (PGSBL) icebreaker, the Queensway Auto World Red Sox bounced back with a statement.
A first-inning homer by Curtis Sawchuk scored three runs and cemented a lead that could not be caught by the Prince George Surg Med Midget Knights, ultimately carrying the Sox to a 5-1 win in the 2019 league opener Wednesday night (May 22).
Sawchuk’s dinger off Pitcher Kolby Lukinchuk went over the right-centerfield wall, bringing in the first three batters of the game after Matt Knight and Justin Hannon each got on base.
After the Knights loaded the bases in the bottom half of the same frame, a sacrifice hit by Nolan Hall gave his team their only point of the night scoring in Brady Pratt from third.
The Sox scored two more runs and held on for the victory.
Ajay Nikolet crossed home plate in the top of the second inning on an RBI single by Hannon, while Jody Hannon, Justin’s brother, made it home on a Knights’ error.
Jacob Ross replaced Lukinchuk in the fourth inning and threw two strikeouts at his first three batters, getting three more while staying on the hill for the Knights for the rest of the evening.
Queensway Auto World had four strikeouts by Pitcher Nikolet, six hits, and one error
The Red Sox fell 4-2 to the Midget Knights in the Bud Light Classic a week and a half before the start of the PGSBL season.
This is the first time in four years the Knights have lost its opening game.
The next game is the re-match of last year’s PGSBL Final, pinning the champion-JRJ Construction Orioles against the Inland Control and Services Tigers.
First pitch is tonight (May 23), 7 p.m. at Citizen Field.
The Red Sox are back in action tomorrow (May 24) against the D.O.B. Contracting Gladiators, while the Knights will get a five-day rest before facing the Orioles on Tuesday (May 28).
