It took a few games longer than they’d hoped, but the White Rock Tritons are finally on the board with a win.
The BC Junior Baseball League squad, which had lost its first three games of the season heading into the weekend, earned a split on the road against the Victoria Eagles, losing the first game 5-4 before storming back in the second, winning 11-2.
“It’s a bit of a relief, for sure,” said coach Russ Smithson.
The Tritons’ now sport a 1-4 record. Last Tuesday, White Rock lost 4-0 to the Langley Blaze and didn’t manage a single hit off Langley pitcher Jon Bauer, who pitched the first no-hitter of the PBL season. A sixth game, which was slated for last Thursday in Coquitlam against the Reds, was rained out.
Sunday’s win at Victoria’s Lambrick Park was keyed by a five-run third inning in which the Tritons managed four hits and the Eagles made one fielding error.
The rally began when Connor Kenwood reached base on an error by the Victoria first baseman, then and Tony Tabor doubled and Jackson Temple was intentionally walked to load the bases. The next batter, Brett Walker, also walked, scoring Kenwood, and then Kevin Irving singled to score Tabor and Temple. Cody Didyk’s single cashed in Walker for the fourth run, and two batters later, Irving scored on a Tanner Sandstrom sacrifice fly.
In the bottom half of the inning, Victoria responded with a single run – Sam Stevenson scored on a sequence that included a stolen base, ground-rule double and an error.
Victoria made it 5-2 in the sixth inning, but the visiting Tritons exploded for six more runs in the top of the seventh inning to put the game out of reach.
White Rock brought 13 batters to the plate in the seventh, scoring six runs off just three hits and a pair of Victoria fielding miscues.
Veteran pitcher Adam Shumka went the distance for White Rock on the mound, striking out seven and walking just one in seven innings of work.
Tabor and Joel Lamont lead the Tritons with one double apiece. White Rock was also successful on the base-paths, stealing six bags – led by three successful swipes from Temple, who also went 2-for-3 at the plate to improve his season batting-average to .462.
White Rock nearly won the first game of the doubleheader, too. They led 4-1 until the sixth inning – thanks to a pair of home runs from Temple – when Victoria tied it up with a three-run outburst.
Victoria won the game in the bottom of the ninth, when Jesse Thomson singled home Jackson Allabarton.
The Tritons play tonight against the Vancouver Cannons.