It was not a typical weekend for the Langley Blaze as they lost three out of their four games.
The U18 baseball team lost both ends of a doubleheader on Saturday at McLeod Park, losing 1-0 and 6-0 to the Coquitlam Reds.
Langley did snap their three-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Nanaimo Pirates on Sunday before falling 12-7 in the finale of the doubleheader. That series was played at Nanaimo’s Serauxmen Stadium.
The 1-3 record leaves Langley with a 14-7 record, two games back of the first-place North Shore Twins (14-3) in the B.C. Premier Baseball League.
The weekend began with the Blaze offence being limited to just three hits and four base-runners in a 1-0 defeat to the Reds.
Langley pitcher Jake Polancic allowed just a fourth-inning run, while striking out six in 5.2 innings pitched.
And Coquitlam continued to stymie the Blaze offence, allowing just five hits in game two, a 6-0 victory.
Markus Gregson was tagged with the loss, allowing four earned runs in two innings.
The Blaze finally managed to score some runs in the first game on Sunday, needing extra innings for a come-from-behind 3-2 win over the Pirates.
Langley trailed 2-1 heading into the sixth when they scored one run to force extra innings and then scored another in the ninth for the eventual winning run.
After Kristjan Storrie reached base on an error, he made his way to third on first a fielder’s choice and then a sacrifice. Yi-Fan Pan then drove him home with an RBI single. It was just Langley’s fifth hit of the game.
Cooper Misic went eight solid innings with seven strikeouts and two earned runs for the win. He gave way to Aiden Mordecai, who allowed the go-ahead run on base, but got out of the jam for the save.
Hayden Jaco had the other Langley RBI while Kurt Meeberg scored two runs.
But Langley’s hopes for consecutive victories where dashed by a pair of big Nanaimo innings. The Pirates scored four in the second and another five in the fourth.
The Blaze lost despite hitting a pair of home runs as both Dakota Curry and Connor Chorpita went yard. Chorpita’s was a two-run bomb while Curry hit a solo blast.
Meeberg finished with a pair of RBIs, while Tony Pharand and Yi-Fan Pan had an RBI apiece.
Gregson was handed his second loss of the weekend as he came into the game in the fourth inning but allowed five earned runs.
The Blaze will look to right the ship as they host the Abbotsford Cardinals on May 19 at Mcleod Athletic Park.
After that, they are off from league play until June 6.
