Skip to content

Jays win one in five, fall to seventh place

BC Premier Baseball League team swept by White Rock, splits with Victoria to fall below .500
88293surreywBraedenMiller-BJ-Jun27
White Rock Tritons baserunner Dawson Veeneman dives back to first base while North Delta Blue Jays first baseman Braeden Miller fields a throw. The Tritons swept a double header Saturday at Mackie Park.

Four losses in five games has dropped the North Delta Blue Jays one position in the standings, and one game below the .500 mark as the B.C. Premier Baseball League heads into the final three weeks of its regular season.

The Jays dropped to seventh place in the 12-team 18-and-under league with a 1-0 loss to the Whalley Chiefs Thursday evening at Whalley Stadium, then fell below .500 when swept 2-0 and 7-0 by the White Rock Tritons at home Saturday at Mackie Park.

At home again Sunday, the Jays split a double header with the Victoria Mariners, losing 5-2 before posting a 5-1 victory.

Now at 15-16 (win-loss) with 13 games to play, the Blue Jays are still on pace to secure a playoff position, although a top four finish which would have them host a best-of-three quarterfinal series is now likely out of reach.

North Delta struggled offensively through much of the weekend, starting Thursday in Whalley. The Blue Jays managed just four hits in the loss.

Max Kondratowski was effective on the mound for North Delta, not allowing a walk in six innings pitched while striking out three Chiefs batters. Whalley scored an unearned run on four singles.

Matthew Poirier went two-for-three at the plate for the Jays, who left eight men on base.

North Delta’s offensive struggles continued Saturday, as they had just six hits in the two games against the Tritons and were shut out twice.

Mackenzie Marquis was two-for-three and Trevor Gentles had a double in the first game, but the Jays left three runners in scoring position.

Tyler Hoefer took the loss after pitching all seven innings. He allowed one earned run on four hits and a pair of walks while striking out six batters.

Braeden Miller had a single and a double, but those were the only hits for North Delta in the second game. The Tritons scored their seven runs on 12 hits and a pair of walks.

The Blue Jays scored their first runs of the weekend in the first game Sunday against the Mariners. Mackenzie Marquis doubled to score Lucas Naidu from first base, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Poirier.

The Mariners broke a 2-2 tie with a run in the sixth inning, then added a pair of insurance scores in the seventh.

Daniel Gosselin pitched well for six innings, collecting six strikeouts, but took the loss after allowing two earned runs on five hits and four walks.

North Delta picked up its first win of the weekend in Sunday’s second game, scoring four times in the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie.

Miller and Kondratowski paced the offense with a pair of hits each.

Miller had a pair of doubles to score two runs. Marquis also had a pair of RBIs.

Clint Taylor threw a complete-game two-hitter for the win, allowing just three walks.

North Delta plays four times next weekend on Vancouver Island, visiting the 7-25 Parksville Royals Saturday for two games, then facing the 22-12 Nanaimo Pirates twice on Sunday.