After holding their own against the best team in the B.C. Premier Baseball League (PBL), the North Delta Blue Jays continued their climb up the standings with a 6-2 in one the Whalley Chiefs Tuesday evening at Mackie Park.
The first-place North Shore Twins visited Mackie Park for two games Sunday afternoon, and after getting blasted 7-0 in the first game, ended North Delta’s 10-game own streak with a 5-2 victory in the rematch.
The Blue Jays are currently in fourth-place in the PBL with a 20-11 win-loss record, three games back of the Twins.
A five-run fifth inning powered North Delta to Tuesday’s victory over the Chiefs. Trailing 1-0 after four innings, Whalley tied the game in the top of the fifth inning on a home run by Brendan Yip, then took the lead three batters later when Stephen Horner singled to score Matt Legg from second base.
The Blue Jays responded by sending 10 batters to the plate in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five times on six hits, one a two-run single by Marc Ashford which allowed North Delta to regain the lead at 3-2.
Matt Poirier was the winning pitcher, limiting the Chiefs to just five hits and three walks. One of the two Chiefs runs was unearned.
Cole Evans was the top offensive threat for North Delta, going three-for-four with a double and two runs scored.
The Chiefs fell to 16-12, and are tied for fifth place with the 13-9 Langley Blaze, who will visit Whalley Stadium for two games Saturday at noon. The Chiefs will also play a doubleheader in Coquitlam Sunday against the 11-15 Reds.
Poirier and Evans were the offensive leaders for North Delta in Sunday’s victory over the North Shore. Poirier had two singles and a triple, driving in a pair of runs and scoring one himself, while Evans had a single, a triple one RBI and one run scored.
Justin Olic pitched a complete game shutout for the win, striking out nine batters while allowing just three singles and a walk.
North Delta batters had just five hits in the second game against the Twins, and saw their win streak come to an end. Noah Or had two of the five hits.
Tyler Hoefer held North Shore to just two hits and a pair of walks through the first five innings, but the Twins erased a 2-0 deficit with five runs on six hits over the final two innings.
The Blue Jays will host the 8-20 Nanaimo Pirates in a double header Sunday at Mackie Park. The first game is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start.
