Cardinals Close Out a Gruelling Month of April With a Pair of Decisive Wins Over Nanaimo

Following a sloppy double-header in Richmond, the Cards returned home to Nanaimo Park in Vancouver looking to end April on a positive note. The Nanaimo Pirates were in town, still searching for their first win on the young season. This was the second and final time the Cards and Pirates would cross paths this season, with the Cards sweeping their previous double-header in Nanaimo over the opening weekend of the season. Similar to their previous meeting, the Cards’ bats supplied early leads that allowed several different arms to see some action on the mound.


Nanaimo 3 CARDINALS 10

Yuen got the nod for game 1 and threw like his reliable self. His command was on point, racking up seven strikeouts, five of which were looking, over three shutout innings. The Cards built themselves a comfortable lead over the bottom halves of those three innings. Sugi smashed his second triple in as many days, cashing in a leadoff walk from Turnbull. Yuen would then help his own cause by delivering an RBI groundout to give himself a 2-run cushion after one complete. Symons picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the 2nd after the first two batters reached, stealing 2nd soon after. With the bases loaded and one out, New would be tagged out at the plate attempting to score on a pass ball. The Pirates’ D believed this to be the third out of the inning, and amidst all the confusion, Symons came around to score from 2nd on the same play to give the Cards a 4-0 lead. The Cards’ baserunners would catch the Pirates napping once again in the 3rd, as Hendriks came in to score from second right behind Baybay on an RBI groundout to shortstop off the bat of Kang. Hendriks and Miles also drove in a run each in the inning, as the Cards took an 8-0 lead into the 4th, where relief pitcher Suzuki took over mound duties for Yuen. Suzuki walked five batters over the next two innings, as the Pirates capitalized on a couple of errors by the Cards’ infield, scoring 3 runs without a hit, cutting their deficit to 5 runs after 5 complete. The bats got 2 of those runs back in the 6th to make it 10-3, which would end up being the final score as Kang shut the door in the last two innings to secure another win for the Cards.


Nanaimo 2 CARDINALS 13 (5 innings)

Hendriks started the final game of the month for the Cards, his fastball looking electric. He allowed one unearned run that scored on a 1st-and-3rd play where the Cards elected to throw the runner out at 2nd, conceding the run at the plate. This time, the Cards’ bats put the game out of reach early, sending 19 batters to the plate in their first two at-bats. The Nanaimo starter had a tough time finding the zone, as he went only an 1 1/3 innings and was charged with 12 runs against, 10 of which were earned, also plunking four batters. Baybay, Powell, Fukuoka and Kang each picked up 2 RBIs in the first two innings, while Suzuki, Sugi, and Yuen also had an RBI each over that span. With the Cards leading 12-1, Powell was summoned from the 'pen, the tall righty walked the bases loaded in the 3rd and allowed one run to score on a misplayed soft come-backer. That would be his only inning of work, as Miles would come in to sit down the final 6 batters in order for the Pirates. Yuen drove in his second run of the game in the 4th, a run the Cards didn’t turn out to need as they would end this one with a mercy win, 13-2 the final.


As April comes to a close, the Cards can be happy walking away with an 11-3 league record. It should be noted that 6 of those wins came against the two Island teams that are both winless to this point, but considering the sheer volume of games the Cards had on their schedule in April, 11-3 is a solid record regardless (on top of a 3-1 tournament record from Kamloops). Heading into May, the Cards’ will have a number of defensive matters to address, as they committed more errors than the Pirates on Sunday, which is alarming when you think about the disparity in balls put in play between the two teams. They’ll aim to sharpen up their D in preparation for 10 more league games in May and the Victoria Day weekend tournament in Richmond.