Three wins in five road games has moved the Whalley Chiefs a little closer to a B.C. Premier Baseball League playoff position.
The Surrey squad traveled to Parskville and Nanaimo last weekend, splitting double headers in each city. They then topped the Coquitlam Reds 7-5 Tuesday night to improve to 11-17 (won-lost) on the season.
With the eighth-place Abbotsford Cardinals losing twice Saturday, the Chiefs are now just one game out of a playoff position.
Whalley is assured of being in the postseason, as they will host the final four tournament in August. The top eight teams will play in four best-of-three quarterfinal series, the winners advancing. If the Chiefs aren’t one of the final four teams, they will be added as the fifth team for the round robin competition.
But the Chiefs set a preseason goal of earning their way into the postseason, and last weekend’s two road wins have moved them closer.
They started with a 9-3 drubbing of the Nanaimo Pirates Saturday morning, scoring three times in the fourth inning and adding four runs in the fifth to break a 2-2 tie.
Cole Hunt, Lucas Soper and Mitch Williams each had a pair of hits for Whalley, with Katsuya Abe collecting a pair of RBIs.
The Pirates stopped the Chiefs 11-7 in the second game, scoring in five of the six innings they went to bat. Jordan Dray drove in one run and scored three times after going three-for-three at the plate with a double. Travis Leclair added a pair of hits.
The Chiefs came up short in the first game Sunday in Parksville, managing just five hits in a 4-3 loss to the Royals. Leclair again had two singles to lead the Chiefs, with William Gladwell driving in two scores with a fifth-inning triple.
Whalley belted out a dozen hits in the second game, a 13-2 victory. Colton Wright drove in four runs, including three on his first home run of the season. Hunt also had three hits, with Spencer Rankin hitting a three-run homer in the opening inning.
Jacob Robazza carried the big bat in Coquitlam, going three-for-four with one RBI and one run scored.
The Chiefs have a tough test Sunday, visiting the first place Langley Blaze (24-5).
