Rivers Comets begin South West Baseball League season

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Published on Thursday, June 1, 2017

By Justin Froese

The Rivers Banner

Rivers Comets opened the curtain on the 2017 South West Baseball League season on Tuesday, May 23 when they played host to Virden Oilers at Comets Field.

Unveiling our new scoreboard donated by Rivers & Area Community Foundation and hosting an opening day for the first time, Comets looked to roll into the season as they had in the exhibition contests the weeks prior. Oilers had different things on their mind though, as they consistently found holes and chipped their way to a 13-2 redemption win over Comets. Mike McFadden took the loss after starting the game for Rivers.

Looking for hint of life, Comets headed to Boissevain to face the heavyweight Centennials on Friday, May 26. Unfortunately, they lost a nail-biter by a score of 5-4. Leading 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh, a double into the gap with runners on base scored two and allowed Centennials to waltz away with the comeback victory. Cody Nolan was superb in 5 1/3 innings before being relieved by Kyle Kostesky, who was strong in relief but took the loss. Dana McNish cracked two hits including a double, while Gerald Kuculym and Brad Roth added doubles of their own; Dustin Asham chipped in offensively with two RBIs.

Going into a Sunday contest on May 28 with a 0-2 record on the year, Comets turned to veteran Dana McNish as he took the hill in his home town of Wawanesa for a dreary matinee game against the Brewers. Looking like an 18-year-old self, McNish was stellar on the hill, tossing a complete game, four strike-out shutout as the offence rolled and gave the team a 12-0 win. Former Brewer Brad Roth hit two doubles and Dustin Asham chipped in a couple hits, including a lead off triple that set the tone. Mike McFadden also went three for five at the plate in a game that featured 15 hits by your home team. This win raised our record to 1-2; Comets now look to build on the impressive performance in the coming week.

Next game action for the team is a doubleheader on Sunday, June 4, as they host the Hartney Hoppers at 1 p.m. and Souris Cardinals at 6 p.m. Following this home stand, the team hits the road to play a rematch with Virden Oilers on Wednesday, June 7 before returning home for a Friday game against Oak River Dodgers (June 9). Weekday game times are 7 p.m.

For more current Comets updates, check out our Facebook group, Rivers Comets Baseball Club and South West Baseball League website for the latest league news: ballcharts.com/swbl