The Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Legacy Twins finally played their first game of the season in Estevan on Wednesday at Lynn Prime Park.
It was a 10-6 loss to the Regina Wolfpack, but keeping the second-best club in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League within four runs wasn't a bad result, said Twins head coach Tom Copeland.
Extreme flooding conditions in Estevan had kept the Twins out of the city until Wednesday.
"We're starting to play better baseball for sure, it's usually just one inning that kills us," said Copeland. "That's partially my fault for letting (pitchers) go longer than they should. Part of it is seeing if they can push their arms a bit longer."
But he said the staff is showing progress and has been more consistent as the end of the regular season approaches.
The Twins (3-12-1) also played twice in Weyburn last week, losing 3-2 to the Moose Jaw Cardinals on Thursday and 9-2 to the Regina Mets on Sunday. All three squads are in the top five in the SPBL.
The Twins nearly rebounded from a 3-0 deficit in the seventh inning against Moose Jaw but failed to bring in the tying run from second base.
Copeland was happy with his club's play against the 11-6-2 Cardinals, including a strong outing from Justin Chuckry on the mound.
"It was a really good game, the way baseball should be played," he said.
Moose Jaw's pitcher made it tough to get anything going, hitting the strike zone consistently and needing only 65 pitches for the complete game.
Nolan Benesh, arguably the league's top player, did in the Twins on Sunday with five RBIs, including a single, double and triple.
"He's exceptional and basically all on his own, he beat us," Copeland said.
Copeland said he's starting to see the Twins develop with the benefit of playing more games lately.
"It comes and goes. It's like anything with a young team. One game the hitting will be there, the next game it's not but your fielding is good. You can only work on so much."
A stretch of games this weekend will determine whether the Twins can sneak into the playoffs.
On top of a game in Moose Jaw tomorrow, the Twins play three consecutive doubleheaders in Estevan - Saturday against the Regina Angels at 1 and 3 p.m., Sunday against the Yorkton Cardinals at 1 and 3 p.m. and Monday against the Saskatoon Giants at 6 and 8 p.m.
Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast needs to leapfrog the 6-10-1 Saskatoon Diamondbacks to make the big dance.
"We're not concerned if we don't (make the playoffs) but it's a big accomplishment," Copeland said, adding the team is focused more on provincials later this month.
