The midget 鈥楢AA鈥� Parkland Expos continued their 2016 SPBL season this past weekend with a two day road trip to Saskatoon to take on a pair of Saskatoon clubs - the Saskatoon Cubs and Saskatoon Diamondbacks.
Originally scheduled for a quartet of games on the weekend, the Expos managed to only complete three as Saturday鈥檚 doubleheader against the second place Saskatoon Cubs was cut in half thanks to Mother Nature, with rain putting an end to Game Two before it could even begin.
The two clubs did manage to complete Game One, however; a 7-3 loss for the visiting Expos despite a solid start by Expo rookie Gregor Farquharson.
Farquharson 鈥� possibly the youngest player in the entire SPBL 鈥� surrendered seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits and one walk over 5.2 innings of work.
The youngster also struck out two Saskatoon batters throughout a game in which he gave up just two runs over the first four innings before a combination of fatigue and defensive errors became a factor in the fifth and sixth innings, allowing the Cubs to plate five more runs to go ahead and never look back.
First baseman Jordan Evans led the offence in the defeat going 2-for-3 with an RBI while Caleb Bymak also had a multi-hit day going 2-for-4 while driving in one run as well.
Splitting with D-backs
The following day the Expos were back in action, this time taking on the fifth place Saskatoon Diamondbacks.
Parkland 鈥� looking to get themselves back in the win column following Saturday鈥檚 7-3 setback at the hands of the Saskatoon Cubs 鈥� sent ace hurler Tyson Black to the mound.
The third year pitcher did not disappoint, putting together a rock solid start in which he gave up just a single run in the seventh inning to give the Expos their sixth victory of the season in a 4-1 Parkland win.
Overall Black 鈥� committed to Miles Community College in Miles City, Montana 鈥� scattered five hits over a complete-game start in which he walked two batters and struck out four. 鈥淲e needed Tyson to step up and get us a win in Game One and he did that for us,鈥� offered coach Tony Black, adding that Tyson has been consistently good the entire season, completing four of his six starts while posting a record of 5-1. 鈥淭yson has pitched six games now and he鈥檚 the top performer on our staff right now.
鈥淵ou know when he鈥檚 out there he鈥檚 going to throw strikes and he鈥檚 going to be effective and he鈥檚 going to get you through the game and it鈥檚 rare when he can鈥檛 complete a game.鈥�
The Parkland offence also put a stamp on the first game against the D-backs early on, scoring three runs in the first inning, highlighted by back-to-back two out RBI doubles by Jordan Evans and Gregor Farquharson.
Unfortunately the Expos could not carry over their strong play to the second half of the twin-bill, as Parkland came out flat in Game Two, surrendering five runs in the first inning in what resulted in a 9-3 loss.
Starting pitcher Kaito Farquharson failed to record an out as he faced just four batters - three of which he walked and one whom he hit with a pitch 鈥搕o shoulder the loss.
Relief pitcher Grady Hawkins relieved Kaito in the first inning and did a decent job of holding down the fort, going 4.1 innings out of the bullpen and giving up five earned runs on five hits and three walks while striking out three.
Kyle Rathgeber and Tyson Black led the Parkland offence in the loss. Both players went 2-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run while the biggest hit of the day was delivered by the youngest player in the game as Gregor Farquharson stroked a two-out triple to the wall in the second inning but could not find a way to score.
Up next
The next action for the Parkland Expos (6-11) will be tonight (Wednesday) when they travel to the Queen City to take on the Regina Expos (5-6).
The next home action for the Parkland Expos will be Saturday, June 11, when they host the league leading Muenster Red Sox (10-1) for a pair of games.
