Angels Split Weekend Games in AA
The Abbotsford Angels Peewee AA team played two provincial qualifying games on the weekend, winning one and losing another. On Saturday the boys lost a heartbreaker to Cloverdale, while on Sunday they ground out a win in a close contest with North Delta.
Saturday’s game saw Louie Oostenbrug Jr. take the starting pitcher duties for the Angels. Unfortunately the defense in the first few innings didn’t support him, as the error-prone Angels gave up a bunch of unearned runs to fall behind by 5. With that hole to dig their way out of, the Angels bats chipped away, and brought the game back to within reach at 5-4. Lefthander Conall Sexton took the mound part way through the 3rd and shut down the Cloverdale attack. He pitched 4 1/3 shutout innings to give the home team a chance. The Angels’ bats came alive in the 6th and the 7th, and came agonizingly close to tying and winning the game. In the 6th the Angels loaded the bases but just couldn’t come up with a hit to cash in any runs. In the 7th, the tying run was at third and the winning run at 2nd, but again the Angels couldn’t score them. The “old enemy” from Cloverdale took the game and dropped the Angels to 1-1.
On Sunday, some more good pitching from both teams, as well as some good defense, led to a low scoring but intense, exciting game with the visitors from North Delta. Kevin Kim started on the mound for the Angels and delivered some solid pitching for the home team, while Payton Alexander finished for the Angels and was also strong, keeping the potent North Delta bats at bay. While at bat, several times promising Angel rallies were snuffed out, but the boys stuck with it and battled to the end. Their determination paid off late, as Parker Wakelyn was able to deliver a towering sacrifice fly to centre field which scored Luke Senft for the go ahead run in the 6th. Payton closed things out in the top of the 7th and the Angels had a 4-3 victory. The win improved the Angels’ provincial qualifying record to 2-1.
The boys travel to Ladner and Richmond for midweek games before heading to Kelowna on the weekend for the annual Valley of Champions Tournament.