The White Rock Tritons are back in the win column.
The Semiahmoo Peninsula-based BC Premier Baseball League squad won its first three games of the season during a four-game trip to Vancouver Island last weekend, improving their PBL record to 3-6.
The two sets of games could not have been more different, either, with Saturday’s contests against the Parksville Royals being dominated by pitchers, and Sunday’s games, against the Nanaimo Pirates, were full of offence – thanks in large part to Tritons’ rookie outfielder Quin Hall.
On Saturday, the Tritons split the doubleheader with the Royals – losing the first game 2-1 before winning the nightcap 3-0 – and a day later, swept the Nanaimo Pirates by scores of 12-7 and 9-7.
In Game 1 Saturday, starting pitcher Allan Hogg was sharp in three-and-a-third innings of work, striking out four while allowing just one hit and two runs, but was nevertheless tagged with the loss, as the White Rock bats couldn’t muster much against Parksville starter Adam McKillican, who struck out 10 batters in just over six frames.
The Tritons managed just five hits, with infielder Michael O’Toole leading the way with a double, while Quin Hall was the team’s lone run-provider, after drawing a bases-loaded walk in the top of the seventh inning.
Runs were equally hard to come by in the second game of the day, though this time it was the Tritons’ pitcher shutting the door on the opposing offence.
Saylor Gray – whom head coach Russ Smithson has repeatedly referred to as the team’s “horse” on the mound – went the distance, striking out 10 batters, walking just three, while scattering three hits over seven innings of work.
Parksville’s trio of pitchers – Ethan Christensen, Alex McCrae and Jamie Roberts – largely held White Rock’s offence at bay, too, though the visitors did manage to squeeze single runs across the plate in the second, fifth and seventh innings.
Leadoff hitter Dawson Veeneman had a double to lead the way, while Tanner Carmont, O’Toole and Hogg also had base hits.
Hogg was also a major threat on the base paths, with three stolen bases.
The following day against Nanaimo, Hall stole the show in both ends of the doubleheader. The Quesnel native, who is in his first year in the PBL, had three hits – including a pair of doubles – and four runs-batted-in in the first game, and managed to top that performance in Game 2, swatting a pair of home runs in the team’s 9-7 win.
He finished the weekend with nine RBI, and now leads the entire BCPBL in home runs and RBI, and is fourth in batting average, at .500.
Jason Hill was credited with the win for the Tritons, though he was the third pitcher of the day for the visiting team.
Hill threw two-and-two-thirds innings to finish off the game; he was preceded on the hill by starter Evan Lane and reliever Liam Dempsey.
With the successful road trip in the books, the Tritons now settle in for a long stretch of home games at South Surrey Athletic Park. The team hosted the Abbotsford Cardinals Tuesday night – the game was played after press deadline – and plays four games this weekend, hosting the North Shore Twins Saturday, and the Whalley Chiefs Sunday.
The homestand continues throughout May, with 11 more home dates in a row. The team’s next road tilt isn’t until May 22, when they travel to Abbotsford for a doubleheader against the Cardinals.