By Scott Roblin

Knights blown out in five innings by Cardinals to close double-header

Jun 28, 2018 | 5:15 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Consistency has been a work in progress for the Medicine Hat ‘A’ K of C Knights baseball club this season with no double-header sweeps to their name.

The Knights had a chance to change that on Wednesday night, but had to settle for a series split with the Tri County Cardinals.

Medicine Hat muscled eight hits against the Cardinals in their first game at Athletic Park on Wednesday, rolling to an 8-3 victory to open up the double-header.

Kayden Berndt batted in three runs for the Knights, while Jaden Schwindt earned the win on the mound with seven strikeouts over six innings.

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Things didn’t go as swimmingly in the back half of the double-header however, as the Cardinals came through with a hit parade in the first inning with eight runs.

An Ayden Matycio RBI single in the bottom of the first and a Drew Niwa RBI double in the second helped bring the score to within six runs, but the Cardinals were unrelenting.

Tri County added three more runs to their total in the top of the fourth inning, further extending their lead to 11-2 on the Knights.

Two Medicine Hat errors and a RBI single from the Cardinals made it a 14-2 game, with umpires calling the match after just five innings.

Catcher Kaitlyn Ross said the Knights weren’t sharp on either side of the plate in the second game.

“I think our bats might have struggled a little bit and defensively we weren’t as alert or awake as they were,” said Ross. “And, I think that really kind of killed us.”

Errors were a big issue for the Knights in the second meeting, posting eight errors while only getting on base twice via hits.

Head coach Lane Aman said the Cardinals took advantage of a number of defensive lapses.

“Defensively we weren’t as clean this game,” said Aman. “We got to give them some credit, they did hit the ball hard. We didn’t walk too many hitters, so they hit the ball hard for the most part and they deserve some credit for that.”

Dropping to a record of 7-15 on the 2018 season, Aman said it wasn’t until the fourth inning when his club was truly out of it.

“The eight spot I really felt like we could turn around after we put up two to answer,” said Aman. “But, the real daggers came later when they put it to 11 I would say. I think eight runs in American Legion baseball, when you have seven innings to play, we could have come back at that point. But, they put in some daggers later on.”

Next up for the Knights will be their annual UCT ‘A’ Tournament, welcoming eight teams to Medicine Hat from Alberta and Saskatchewan.

The Knights kick off the long-weekend tournament on Friday night, facing off against the St. Albert AA Cardinals at Athletic Park at 7:30 pm.