HYDE CREEK—After one tour through the schedule, the three teams in the North Vancouver Island Baseball League are right where they started — all even.
Curtis Martyn threw a complete-game two-hitter and supported his cause with a home run Saturday as the Port Hardy Cubs bounced back from an opening-day loss to blank the Hyde Creek Hillbillys, 12-0, at the local ballpark.
The following day, the Hillbillys located their missing offence and got into the win column with a 17-5 romp over the Port McNeill Rangers to wrap up a sunny weekend of play.
One week earlier, Port McNeill blanked Port Hardy, and now all three clubs sit at 1-1 in the league standings heading into this weekend’s play.
Cubs 12, Hillbillys 0
Martyn fanned 14 batters and went 3-for-5 with four RBI at the plate as Port Hardy posted the emphatic victory Saturday.
One week after being shut out by Port McNeill, the Cubs needed just two batters to get on the scoreboard. After leadoff hitter Jordan Campbell drew a walk and stole second base, Martyn followed with an RBI single to spark a three-run first inning.
Martyn added a two-run homer to right field in the fourth inning and another RBI single in the fifth, plating Campbell each time. Campbell finished 1-for-3 with four runs scored, Dave Stewart was 3-for-5 with two RBI, and Roger Yury finished 2-for-4 with a double and two runs batted in.
Martyn took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Ryan Rushton broke it up with a clean, two-out single up the middle. Taylor Galeazzi got the other Hillbillys hit when he sent a ground ball into shallow right field with one out in the seventh. Yury was able to range back and stop the ball, but Galeazzi easily made it to first without a throw before Martyn got a pop-up and a strikeout to end the game.
“I’m a little sore,” admitted Martyn, who had hoped to pitch all seven innings but wasn’t sure he’d make it the distance on opening day. “It’s a lot better pitching when it’s warm out than it is when it’s snowing.”
Hillbillys 17, Rangers 5
John Murgatroyd had two hits and scored three runs in his first game in more than a year and Jason West and Tom Cessford combined for seven effective innings on the mound as the Hillbillys outlasted an error-prone Port McNeill squad Sunday.
West and Murgatroyd were among five veteran Hillbillys making their season debuts after missing Saturday’s opener against the Cubs. Ivan Hall had an RBI single and scored twice and Keith Balcke, Cessford, Ryan Rushton and Warren Henderson each scored twice.
Rob Kenny, who threw a two-hit shutout against Port Hardy a week earlier, suffered a muscle strain while warming up and lasted just one inning, allowing four runs. Harold Hosken followed in relief and pitched the final five innings.
Greg Johnson went 2-for-3 with a double and a run, and Tyler Berry and Ed James had RBI singles to lead the Rangers.
BASEBALL
North Vancouver Island Baseball League
Standings through May 8
Team W L Pct GB
Port McNeill 1 1 .5000 —
Hyde Creek 1 1 .500 —
Port Hardy 1 1 .500 —
Saturday, May 4
Port Hardy 12, Hyde Creek 0
Sunday, May 5
Hyde Creek 17, Port McNeill 5
Saturday, May 11
Hyde Creek vs. Port McNeill, 5 p.m.
All games at Hyde Creek Ballpark
Port Hardy 12, Hyde Creek 0
Cubs 301 220 4—12 11 2
Hillbillys 000 000 0— 0 2 3
Martyn and Campbell; Rushton, T. Cessford (4), R. Cessford (7) and Leblanc. W—Martyn (1-0). L—Rushton (0-1). LOB—Cubs 10, Hillbillys 8. DP—Hillbillys 2. 2B—Cubs, Stewart, Yury. HR—Cubs, Martyn (1). Sb—Cubs: Martyn 2, Campbell, Stewart, Walker; Hillbillys: Galeazzi 2, R. Cessford, Henderson. T—2:17. Umpire: Glover.
Hyde Creek 17, Port McNeill 5
Rangers 021 100 1— 5 9 6
Hillbillys 413 351 x—17 8 1
Kenny, Hosken (1) and Johnson; West, T. Cessford (5) and Hall, Leblanc (5). W—West (1-0). L—Kenny (1-1). LOB—Rangers: 11, Hillbillys 11. 2B—Rangers, Johnson. Sb—Hillbillys, Rushton 2, Henderson. T—2:38. Umpire: Baker.
