Estevan's AA baseball teams were no match for the Regina Buffalos on Saturday.
The Sherritt Coal Haulers and KPC Sluggers each played doubleheaders against Buffalo teams and the Regina clubs won all four games.
The bantam Haulers lost by scores of 7-0 and 13-2, while the mosquito Sluggers suffered defeats of 16-8 and 15-0 in Baseball Regina action.
The Haulers (2-2) struggled to get runners on base, managing just five hits between the two games.
"They (played) errorless ball. There weren't a lot of free passes there. They played a nice game and made some nice defensive plays," said Haulers manager Lindsay Clark of the visitors.
"They threw lots of strikes. You had to be up there with the bat ready. Their pitchers were quick and they have some talent there."
The Haulers were scheduled to play in Weyburn last night. They are in Yorkton for a doubleheader on Monday and host Weyburn next Tuesday. Game time is 6:15 p.m.
Game 1: Buffalos 7, Haulers 0
Regina scored their first run on a Cameron Pickering double in the first inning and later broke the game open in the third, picking up three runs on back-to-back doubles to left field.
"They had part of their order that hit the ball well and got them off to a good start," said Clark.
"It really seemed to set us back, although I thought even after four innings we were (still) in the game, down 4-0."
But the Haulers' bats remained silent, going hitless for the final four innings of the game.
"We were certainly capable of coming back (but) then we didn't put the baserunners on. Their pitching was strong," Clark said.
The Buffalos added a run on a sac grounder in the fifth and scored two more in the seventh when, with the bases loaded, one runner walked home and another beat out a throw to the plate.
Garrett Fitzpatrick got the start for Estevan and went three innings before giving way to Colten Brokenshire for two. Matt Rohloff pitched the sixth and seventh.
Game 2: Buffalos 13, Haulers 2
Estevan managed only two hits in the second game, which was called after six innings.
It was more of the same for the Buffalos, whose first three batters crossed the plate in the first inning.
Regina added two runs in the third inning, five in the fourth and three in the sixth.
Both Haulers' runs came in the third, when Rohloff and Jesse Mack both walked and came around to score.
Starter Austin Kuchinka lasted three innings for the home side, with Dustin Schill and Jesse Mack coming on in relief.
Sluggers drop both ends of home opener
The mosquito Sluggers didn't fare any better against the Buffalos.
The first game saw Regina take a 16-2 lead before the Sluggers managed six runs in a late surge.
"At the end of the first game, we managed to get a rally going," said coach Jeff Carlisle. "That got the boys kind of pumped and we were hoping to carry that into the second game, but it didn't quite happen."
The second contest was less encouraging for the Sluggers, who had two of the five innings end on a six-run mercy rule.
The Buffalos managed an inside-the-park home run in both of those innings and also scored two runs off wild pitches in the first.
Following the losses on Saturday, the Sluggers had a doubleheader against the White Sox in Regina on Sunday.
Estevan lost those games 14-1 and 15-4.
Carlisle said a lot of the players are inexperienced and he expects the club to put up a better fight as the kids improve over the course of the year.
"I'm not concerned, because this was their first game and I think by the end of the season we'll be right there competing with teams like we played (Saturday)," he said.
"We'll get better and we'll be right there with them."
