A B.C. Premier Baseball League (PBL) playoff position is slowly slipping away from the Whalley Chiefs.
The 18-and-under team had won three of four games in the Okanagan June 8-9, but four consecutive losses since has dropped the Chiefs six games out of eighth place with a 10-25 won-lost record, with just 13 games remaining on their schedule.
Whalley travelled to North Vancouver last weekend, and lost 6-1 and 10-5 to the North Shore Twins. They were at home Tuesday, falling 5-1 to the Langley Blaze for their fourth consecutive defeat.
North Shore, the third-place team in the PBL with a 22-10 record, held the Chiefs to just one hit in the first game Saturday, but that hit helped the Chiefs take a brief 1-0 lead.
Ryan Pouwells singled to move Tim Bunnett to third base in the fifth inning, setting up Connor Chorpita to score Bunnett with a sacrifice fly.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Twins rapped out six hits to score six runs, a two-out bases-loaded triple doing most of the damage.
The Chiefs had 13 hits in game two, but North Shore pounded Whalley pitchers for 16 of their own.
Pouwells with three singles and Braeden Alleman with two singles and a double led the Chiefs at the plate.
Whalley led 3-0 after batting in the first inning, but North Shore scored twice in the bottom of the first, tied the game in the second, went up 3-2 in the third then scored four times in the fourth.
The league-leading Blaze dominated the Chiefs Tuesday night, as a single from Kyle McComb was the lone hit for the home team. A fielding error by Whalley led to two Langley runs in the top of the first inning, the only offense the Blaze needed.
The Chiefs are in New Westminster tonight (Thursday) for a game with the Vancouver Cannons (15-18) at 6 p.m. at Queen’s Park Stadium.