Pitching powered both the Whalley Chiefs and the North Delta Blue Jays to victories in B.C. Premier Baseball League play Tuesday night.
The Jays topped the White Rock Tritons 4-1 at Mackie Park with Tyler Hoefer getting the win after pitching six of seven innings.
Kyle Stubbins threw a complete game for Whalley in a 3-0 triumph over the Coquitlam Reds, allowing just three hits without giving up a walk. Stubbins struck out a season-high 12 batters.
“I thought Kyle was in command all night, with all of his pitches,” said Chiefs head coach Ernie Hawkins. “He controlled the pace of the game and he pounded the zone all game. I’m really happy for Kyle, we needed him and he clutched up.”
The three hits represented the lone base runners for the Reds. On two occasions, the Chiefs retired the following three batters to strand runners on base. A double play took another Coquitlam runner off the base path.
Braeden Massignani drove in two of the Chiefs runs, a wild pitch allowed the third run to score. Stephen Horner scored a pair of runs, while Nolan Weger was the top batter, going three-for-three with a double to end a stretch where he had three hits in his previous 25 at-bats.
“Nolan has had some bad luck recently, he has hit the ball hard but just right at guys,” said Hawkins, adding Weger was “just unlucky in the past few weeks.”
Whalley improved to 16-10 (win-lost) to remain in fourth place in the PBL, four games out of top spot. They will host the first-place North Shore Twins (17-3) for a double header tomorrow (Saturday) at noon at Whalley Stadium.
The victory by the Blue Jays improved their record to 13-10. in sixth place, a game and-a-half back of the Chiefs, North Delta extended their win streak to five games with the win over the Tritons.
“We are getting solid pitching from all our starters,” said Blue Jays head coach Gerry White. “We are also playing good defence and getting some timely hitting which has helped us get on a bit of a roll.”
Hoefer allowed one earned run on three hits and four walks while striking out nine White Rock batters, improving his record to 2-2.
“Hoefer had another good outing, giving us six strong innings,” said White. “He was dominating in his previous start against Whalley, also striking out nine in that game. He is now healthy and has been throwing his off speed pitches for strikes while sitting at 87-88 mph with his fastball.”
Justin Oilic was credited with a save, retiring all three batters he faced in the seventh inning, two by strikeout.
Dryden Dion paced the Blue Jays offense with a single, double, two runs batted in and a stolen base. Marc Ashford also had a pair of hits while Matt Poirier had one hit, scoring one run and batting in another.
Looking to extend their win streak, the Blue Jays will be on Vancouver for the weekend. They will play the 4-20 Parksville Royals in a doubleheader Saturday, then play twice Sunday against the 8-13 Nanaimo Pirates.