by Rick Kupchuk
They won just two of four games last weekend, but still climbed into fourth place in the B.C. Premier Baseball League.
The Fraser Valley Chiefs swept the Parksville Royals in a double header Saturday afternoon at Whalley Ball Park, wins which were enough to bump the Chiefs up one place in the standings after Parksville dropped two more games Sunday in Langley against the first place Blaze.
Fraser Valley’s won-lost record is now 17-13, a half-game better than the 15-12 mark of the Royals.
The Chiefs rolled to an 8-0 win in the first game Saturday, with Caleb Lefebvre tossing a complete-game shutout, an effort that included 12 strikeouts while allowing just four hits and a walk.
Dylan Rehmke was the offensive leader, driving in two runs on three hits.
Fraser Valley needed 11 innings for a 7-6 win in game two. Brody Hawkins went three-for-six at the plate for the home team, driving in three runs including the winning score. His run-scoring single brought home Jordan McComb to end the game.
Jovan Ewusie and Dale Mar each had a pair of hits.
The Chiefs dropped a pair of one-sided contests in the provincial capital on Sunday, They lost the first of two games with the Victoria Mariners 7-0, managing just three hits in the contest.
In game two, Victoria made the most of 10 hits and nine runs, handing Fraser Valley an 11-3 setback.
Hawkins, with two hits and an RBI, was the top Chiefs batter.
Fraser Valley will travel to Vancouver Island again next weekend for four games, playing two against the 19-6 Nanaimo Pirates on Saturday, before Sunday’s double header in Parksville with the Royals.
- The North Delta Blue Jays dropped into 11th place in the 13-team league, three spots out of a playoff position, after they were swept in a double header Saturday in Langley against the first place Blaze.
Langley rapped out 13 hits, scoring seven times in the bottom of the second inning on their way to a 13-2 win in game one, a contest ended after five-innings.
The second game went the distance, with the Blaze completing the sweep with an 8-1 win. Steve Van Vooght and Shane Wlodarczak had two hits each in a losing cause.
Now at 10-17 on the season, North Delta is two games out of a playoff position.
North Delta hosts the 6-19 Victoria Eagles at noon Saturday for a double header at Mackie Park, then plays twice in Coquitlam Sunday evening against the 16-15 Reds.