North Delta Pirates Defeat Vancouver Mounties to Stay Alive in Provincial Tournament
On the back of strong pitching and flawless fielding, the North Delta Pirates took down the Vancouver Mounties 5-0 on Friday in a must-win game that extended their quest in the 18U AAA Provincial Tournament.
Please see a recap of the game below:
The North Delta Pirates opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Sammy Wong reached on an error and Ryo Ikeda scored.
Four scoreless innings ensued and the game moved into the fifth inning with North Delta holding a slim, 1-0, lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, the offence finally got rolling for the North Delta Pirates. Tyler Bernabe started the inning with a bunt single and then stole second. Jared Goumans then drove a hard ground ball to left and Bernabe scored. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases and then scored another run and North Delta led 3-0. Brendan Grant then hit a crisp shot that the second fielder couldn’t handle and Wong and Goumans scored. After five innings, North Delta led 5-0.
Two additional scoreless innings were played and the North Delta Pirates earned a 5-0 victory.
Noah Grant stepped on the mound first for the North Delta Pirates. The righty earned the win, surrendering just one hit and zero runs over five and one-third innings, striking out six and walking two.
Cohen Kurucz led things off on the bump for Vancouver. The starting pitcher surrendered one hit and one run over one and two-thirds innings, striking out two and walking three.
Ikeda threw one and two-thirds innings of zero-run ball for the North Delta Pirates in relief. They allowed one hit, striking out two and walking none. Together, N. Grant and Ikeda held Vancouver to two hits in the game.
Lucas Stebbings, Bernabe, Ikeda, Tyler Conway, Goumans and B. Grant each collected one hit for North Delta.
B. Grant led the North Delta Pirates with two runs batted in.
The North Delta Pirates didn’t commit an error in the field.
N. Grant earned the game MVP on the back of a strong pitching outing.
Jonah Richardson and Isaac Hansen each collected one hit for Vancouver.
The North Delta Pirates will try to keep their Provincial championship hopes alive tomorrow when they face the Aldergrove BlueSox. Win, and they will likely move on to the semi-finals. Lose, and the most likely scenario is a three-way tie for second place in their pool and a lower, but still reasonable chance they will move on. It may all come down to a tie break decided by runs against scored per inning between the tied teams. However, if dark horse Vancouver wins their morning game against Penticton, that would change everything.
For more information about the North Delta Pirates and to view player and coach profiles, visit www.northdeltapirates.ca. Follow the team on Instagram (@northdeltapirates), Facebook, and Twitter (@piratesnd) for exclusive content and updates throughout the season.
To become a team sponsor or for media inquiries or interview requests, please contact:
Matt Grant
Director with the North Delta Pirates
northdeltapirates@gmail.com
