The Thunderbirds got excellent pitching in completing a three-game sweep of a team that had a preseason rank of #11, in their ballpark.
Ryan Heppner of Point Roberts, WA got his first start of the season, and it was a good one. He went six innings, threw 73 pitches, allowed two runs (one of them a home run) on three hits, struck out ten. He was relieved by Tyson Kilbreath of Calgary, a first-year student making his first-ever appearance for the Thunderbirds. He pitched two innings, allowed one hit, struck out three. Evan Hoegler, another first-year student, pitched the ninth inning, struck out two of the three batters he faced.
The Thunderbirds also got some strong offensive performances. The winning run was was a solo home run by Trent Lenihan in the third inning, his third home run of the season. David Draayers and Aaron Marsh also hit home runs. Mitchell Middlemiss finished 2-for-5 with an double and two RBI, and Russell Young finished 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Royals starter David Rudd-Grow got the loss.
