SUNDAY JULY 12 2009
PANNERS VS KELOWNA Jays
GAME 1 of 3 on Sunday

by Aaron Torres

KAMLOOPS, BC- “Mercy rule” is becoming a bit of a trendy saying around the Midnight Sun Goldpanners dugout.

Just one day after beating the Red Deer Riggers by the 10 run mercy rule, they did the same to start things off Sunday afternoon, beating the Kelowna Blue Jays 13-3, in a game that was called after five innings in the Kamloops International Baseball Tournament.

The Goldpanners bats got started early again, but were aided in the second inning by some poor Kelowna fielding. They plated seven runs, courtesy of four Kelowna errors in the inning. Austin Wooldridge cleared the bases with a 3-run home run part way through, bringing the Goldpanners dugout to their feet.

Just an inning later, the Goldpanners added five more runs, as Josh Ashenbrenner had a 2 RBI single, and Cam Christian an RBI single of his own.

On the game, all but one Goldpanner starter scored a run, with the top two hitters in the order, Trent Olezszcuk and Ashenbrenner, and the No.’s 8 and 9 hitters Christian and Wooldridge each scoring two.

James Van Skike pitched the Goldpanners second complete game of the tournament, going just five innings (because of the mercy rule), scattering eight hits, and striking out three.

The Goldpanners will take the field again later in the afternoon, as they’ll play the Seattle Studs in a loser’s bracket elimination game set for 12:30 p.m.

Stay tuned to Goldpanners.com for continuing coverage of the entire Kamloops International Baseball Tournament, and the entire “Alaska 50 Tour,” all summer long.