The North Delta Blue Jays have lost as many games to the weather as they have to B.C. Premier Baseball League opposition.
A scheduled game last Thursday at home against the Whalley Chiefs was rained out, as was the second game of a double header Saturday in North Vancouver with the North Shore Twins.
The Blue Jays have managed to play twice. They couldn’t hang on to a two-run lead in the final inning and fell 6-5 to the Twins in the first of two games scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
In South Surrey Tuesday night, North Delta erased a 5-0 deficit and earned their first win of the season, an 8-5 triumph over the White Rock Tritons.
In their first game of the season Saturday, North Delta broke a 3-3 deadlock with one run in the fifth inning when Tyler Hoefer hit a sacrifice fly to score Brock Morgan. They added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Hoefer singled to score Curtis Hildenbrandt.
The Twins won the game in the bottom half of the seventh on a two-out, bases-loaded triple that scored three runs.
Hildenbrandt, Hoefer and Ryo Takenaka each had a pair of hits for the Blue Jays. Hoefer’s average of .667 leads all PBL batters.
North Delta scored eight times over the final three innings to complete the comeback against the Tritons on Tuesday night.
Malcolm Boehm singled to score Dryden Rossiter from third base in the bottom of the fifth for the first Blue Jays run. Boehm scored when Evan Rogers was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and one batter later Hildenbrandt came home when Hoefer drew a walk.
Rossiter scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to cut the difference to 5-4 with one inning to play.
North Delta scored four unearned runs in the seventh inning, as Hildenbrandt, Boehm, Dylan MacAhonic and Rossiter scored on miscues by the White Rock infield.
Boehm, Hoefer and Rossiter each had a pair of hits to lead the Blue Jays offense, while Nathan Unrau was the winning pitcher after four and one-third innings of relief. Unrau allowed one run on a hit and three walks.
Jonathan Cote earned a save, retiring all three batters he faced in the bottom of the seventh, two by strikeout.
The Blue Jays will spend the weekend in the provincial capital, playing the 3-3 (won-lost) Victoria Eagles twice on Saturday before a double header with the 4-2 Victoria Mariners Sunday afternoon.
