Jr. Tritons Weekend Wrap
Over the weekend the Tritons went up against a couple of tough teams looking to solidify themselves in the playoff race for either positioning or to make it in.
On Saturday the first hurdle was the Coquitlam Redlegs who came in looking to take back the recent power surge by the Tritons bats in Kamloops a few weeks ago. In game one, things got off to what would be a long day as the Redlegs scored in the first with a single run and then 5 more in the 2nd inning alone. Mostly due to inconsistency from the mound it was an uphill battle the rest of the way for the Tritons. After the 2nd inning Liam Rankin came in relief and ended up going the distance in his best outing of the year going 5 innings allowing just 2 walks and striking out 1 but getting solid defensive play behind him. The Tritons just couldn't manage anything offensively in the game however as they started to get a run here and there and a couple more in the 6th. But that was it, and that was all it came down to as the the Redlegs took game one 7-4.
When game 2 started and the Reglegs jumped out to a 2-0 lead after just the first inning the Tritons were not going to let another opportunity get away from them. With 3 of their own in the bottom of the 2nd and then 2 more in the 4th they kept the pace up and played some very good defensive baseball. With multiple players getting hits through the game, Tate Dearing went 3-3 while scoring a run and cashing in a couple more. Jon Klassen also scored a couple runs himself in the game. Georgi Sugimoto picked up the win and Brogan McDougall came in to cement the 2 inning relief save. With the win the Tritons took the season series 3-1 over the Redlegs.
Sunday came with high expectations for both the Tritons and visiting Langley Blaze who were trying to take back the top spot in the jr. circuit. This was a game that came down to putting the ball in play and making them make a play. As the Tritons over the course of the game pounded out 13 hits in the course of the game but had absolutely nothing to show for it until the 6th inning. Keith Manby who took the mound in the start for the boys and was battling all game long as he continued to make pitches after finding his command and holding the Blaze to their 3 runs that they scrapped across in the course of the game and only held them to 1 hit. In the bottom of the 6th the Tritons finally started to get a few of the home field bounces and the momentum shifted in their favor as they plated 3 in the bottom of the 6th to tie the game up. Going into extra innings after a lead off single by Dearing and them moving up to 2nd, Cole Walter laced a double to the left center gap to bring home the winning run for the Tritons in the game.
Coming off the high of the comeback win it could have been expected for the Tritons to not be ready, but they were well prepared for another and took advantage of each opportunity when it came about. In the bottom of the 1st, they plated 3 runs with Damiano Palmegiani breaking out going 2-2 with 3 RBIs in the game including a double and triple. Stephen Lin had one of his best games as a whole throwing out 2 base runners while going 2-4 and swiping a bag himself. And after Jacob Hart had to leave the game in only the 2nd inning. Mark Butler came back from his worst performance only a day earlier to give one of his best in the spot long relief role going 4 2/3 pitching to contact and keeping the Blaze hitters off balance all game. In the end the Tritons took game two 6-3, swept the day and the season series 3-2.
The Tritons continue the countdown to the playoffs with the last week of the regular season in front of them. The Wednesday night game is against the North Delta Blue Jays @ 6pm at Mackie.
