The Delta Jays will turn their attention back to the stretch run of the B.C. Premier Baseball Bantam Prep League regular season after coming ever-so-close to reaching the championship game of the Kyle Losse Memorial Tournament for the fourth time in as many tries.
The hosts saw their title defence end with a 4-3 extra inning semi-final loss to the UBC Thunder on Monday (July 3) at Winskill Park. The Vancouver squad went on to defeat Nanaimo’s Mid-Island Pirates, making it four different champions since the tournament’s inception.
UBC erased a 2-0 deficit in the late going, then scored twice in the bottom of the eighth after Delta had taken a 3-2 lead.
Earlier, Delta went 2-1 in round-robin play with wins over Vancouver (8-5) and Victoria (10-2), before falling 3-1 to Calgary. An 11-1 win over North Shore sent them to the final four.
With five players returning from last year’s national championship team, the Jays are enjoying another highly competitive season under head coach Cam Frick. They currently sit third in the league standings with a 23-9 record.
The regular season will continue until the end of the month before White Rock hosts the league playoff finals. The Baseball B.C. 15U national qualifier will take place the following week at Cromie Park in Ladner.
Meanwhile, six Jays have been shortlisted for Baseball B.C. teams headed to Las Vegas in October. Reece Abbott, Mason Dubnov and Kesler Curtis are in contention to make the 14U (2009) squad while Connor Fischer, Aldrich Lin, Jack Redpath and Desmond Tregaskis are competing for roster spots on the 15U (2008) squad.
Players from both teams are headed to South Surrey in early September for final selection camps before the rosters are named.
