Two of the games were very close. Two were blowouts. But all four were registered in the loss column for the Â鶹´«Ã½AVeast Legacy Twins.
The Twins faced their first stiff challenge of the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League season on the weekend and emerged winless from doubleheaders against the Saskatoon Cubs and Humboldt Dodgers.
The Cubs won by scores of 1-0 and 16-6 on Saturday and the Dodgers triumphed 17-5 and 2-0 on Sunday.
"It makes the kids realize that they've gotta be better," said Twins head coach Tom Copeland.
"It's a big eye opener for them. They got those two wins (against the Regina Angels last weekend) so easily. This was a good test for them.
"Now we go into (this weekend's midget selects tournament in Moose Jaw) knowing that we're not that good and that we gotta be ready for every game."
The first game on Saturday was a tightly contested battle which saw the Cubs knock in the only run in the seventh inning.
Rookie pitcher Mackenzie Lamontagne of Wawota tossed six innings of shut-out ball.
"He had a heck of a game. He kept the ball down and got lots of ground balls," said Copeland.
"Mackenzie was just fantastic and he's certainly got that in him."
Lamontagne sat second in the league with 15 strikeouts entering Monday's action.
The coach added that it was a pitching duel and the Cubs got some excellent fielding from players like Kohl Bauml, who is "probably the best shortstop in the province," according to Copeland.
Gladmar's Nolan Axten, who is with the team on a tryout basis, got the start in the second game against Saskatoon and it did not go well.
"He got beat up pretty good in the first inning. We were down 8-0 after the first. and then it turned into what it turned into," said Copeland.
He said his team may have been fatigued from the previous day's action as they booted the ball around the field.
"It's a tough stretch, four games in less than 24 hours," Copeland said.
"The first game, we came out and weren't prepared at all. The pitching wasn't overly bad, but there were too many errors, way too many errors. Foolish errors. That speaks to the age of the players and the inexperience."
The second game was a much better one for the Twins, but they still weren't able to get off the schneid.
"We didn't cash in runs when we should have and we had an opportunity to probably win that game."
Copeland added that he was satisfied with his pitching on the weekend, but it's hard to evaluate the staff fairly when they have to throw upwards of 50 pitches in two innings due to shoddy defence.
Roche Percee's Austin Halladay had a solid weekend in the leadoff position, and Weyburn's Garrett Walbaum and Trenton Kauf were also strong at the plate.
The Twins' next regular season game is next Wednesday when they visit the Regina Wolfpack.
