They may have been stuck in a slump heading into last weekend’s BC Premier Baseball League action, but the North Delta Blue Jays did all they could Sunday to pull themselves out of it.
The Jay, whose win-loss record now sits at 4-12, won both ends of a doubleheader over the visiting Victoria Eagles Sunday at Mackie Park.
In the opener, North Delta won 6-1 thanks to a five-run third-inning, and in the nightcap, they saw the offensive barrage continue with a 10-3 victory.
In Game 1, the big inning began after Jonathan Cote reached base after being hit by a pitch, which was followed by a walk to Kevin Sengara. Two batters later – after a Tyler Hoefer single advanced the runners – Ryo Takenaka singled home Cote for the first run.
Then, with two outs, Curtis Hildenbrandt doubled home two more runs, and Nathan Unrau picked up two runs-batted-in himself with a single later in the inning.
Takenaka finished the game 3-for-3 with a triple, run scored and an RBI.
Delta pitcher Dylan MacAhonic picked up the win for the Jays, pitching six-and-two-thirds innings, scattering five hits while striking out three.
Unlike the first game, in which the majority of the damage was done in a single inning, the afternoon rematch featured three big innings from the home team.
The Blue Jays jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second, after the first two batters of the inning – Hoefer and Sengara – reached base with singles.
Two more singles, a wild pitch, two walks and an error later, and the Delta squad had a five-run lead they’d never relinquish.
Victoria made it 5-2 an inning later, but the home team extended the lead to 7-2 in the fourth frame when Hoefer hit a two-RBI double.
With a five-run lead, the Jays tacked on three more in the sixth, capped by a double from Sengara than scored Takenaka.
Austin Ell went the distance on the mound for North Delta, striking out four and walking five in seven innings of work.
The Jays are back on the field today (Thursday) for a home game against the Coquitlam Reds, and this weekend travel to Kelowna for four games – two each on Saturday and Sunday – against the Okanagan Athletics.
The Whalley Chiefs, who didn’t play league games last weekend, host the White Rock Tritons tonight, before playing four home games on the weekend, two Saturday against the Nanaimo Pirates and two Sunday against the Victoria Eagles.
