A week ago, the North Delta Blue Jays were challenging for first place, but four losses over six days has dropped the B.C. Premier Baseball League team to the middle of the pack in the 12-team league for elite 18-and-under players.
North Delta went 12-3 (won-lost) in their first 15 games of the season. They lost 10-0 to the lowly White Rock Tritons Thursday night in South Surrey, then were swept 10-0 and 8-4 by the Langley Blaze Sunday.
Tuesday night, they were away from home again, and fell 3-2 in eight innings to the first-place North Shore Twins.
The Blue Jays managed just two hits against the Tritons in South Surrey, while White Rock rocked a pair of North Delta pitchers for a dozen hits over six innings.
Held to another two hits by the Blaze in Sunday’s first game, singles from Logan Newman and Trevor Gentles was all the offense the Blue Jays could produce.
Langley had 10 hits over the five innings, and scored four times in the second inning, three in the third, and closed out the game with four more runs on the fifth.
North Delta was blanked for another six innings in the second game, and fell behind 3-0 after two innings and allowing the Blaze another five runs in the fifth.
The Blue Jays had six of their seven hits in the seventh inning, scoring four times to cut the Langley lead in half. Singles by William Quito, Tyler Hoefer and Gentles drove in three runs, and sacrifice fly by Braeden Miller scored the fourth.
The Jays almost ended their slide in North Vancouver Tuesday, but after taking a 2-1 lead in the top of the first extra inning, they gave up two in the bottom half as the Twins took advantage of a double, two walks and an error.
North Delta outhit the Twins 5-4, but two unearned runs by North Shore lifted the visitors to the win.
Daniel Gosselin was forced to take the loss, allowing the three runs on four hits and four walks while striking out six batters.
Now in sixth place at 12-7, four games out of the league lead, North Delta was scheduled to play the Twins again yesterday (Thursday) in North Vancouver, before two games Saturday at home against the Parksville Royals. Game times are at 1 and 3:30 p.m. at Mackie Park.