Better late than never.
With just three games remaining on the BC Premier Baseball League regular-season calendar, the White Rock Tritons have finally moved into a playoff position.
Now all they have to do is hold on to it.
The Tritons – who’ve won seven of the last 10 games – snuck past the Abbotsford Cardinals and Coquitlam Reds on the weekend after two victories over the Parksville Royals Saturday at South Surrey Athletic Park.
The Tritons now sport a win-loss record of 16-25, just one game ahead of the Cardinals and Reds.
Against Parksville Saturday, White Rock won the first game 4-3, before also winning the nightcap, 8-7.
In Game 1, the Tritons – as they have for much of the last month – relied heavily on the arm of starting pitcher Patrick van den Brink, who pitched his fifth consecutive complete game, striking out seven along the way while allowing just two hits, two walks and two earned runs.
At the plate, right-fielder Dawson Gray had a triple and a run-batted-in, while leadoff batter Dawson Veeneman went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
In the second contest, White Rock did nearly all its damage in a big seven-run third-inning, and after tacking on a single run in the bottom of the fifth, held off a late Parksville charge – the visitors scored five in the sixth – to earn the victory.
Barry Caine earned the win on the mound for the Tritons, striking out eight in four innings of work. Anthony Aiello, Liam Mitchell and Saylor Gray pitched one inning of relief apiece.
Graydon Rasmussen had a double and two RBI in the victory, while Saylor Gray also had a double.
On Tuesday, White Rock played the Langley Blaze (results were not available by Peace Arch News deadline), and this weekend will play a doubleheader in Abbotsford against the Cardinals in a series that will likely determine who snags the final playoff berth.
