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Blaze end losing streak with back-to-back shutouts

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Langley Blaze's Mike Krische leads off second base during his team's game against the Victoria Mariners on Saturday at McLeod Park. After winning their host tournament last weekend, the Blaze went 2-1 in league play this past week.

The Langley Blaze used shutout pitching to end a season-high four game losing streak.

The Blaze, who had lost 4-0 to the White Rock Tritons on Tuesday, bounced back with a 5-0 victory over the Abbotsford Cardinals on Wednesday and then an 8-0 defeat of the Fraser Valley Chiefs on Thursday.

All three games were at McLeod Park.

At 21-7 in the U18 B.C. Premier Baseball League, the Blaze are just a half-game back of first-place Nanaimo.

In the defeat, White Rock scored all four runs in the fourth inning and the Blaze could not muster an attack as Nathan Trueblood limited the Langley bats to three hits.

Kyle Joel was tagged for the loss.

But the Blaze got on track against Abbotsford and Justin Atkinson drove in a pair of runs, while Dustin Houle and Mike Krische had one RBI apiece.

Atkinson and Krische both belted doubles.

James Cain earned the win, with Aaron Dick and Jeremy Filipek doing a solid job in relief.

And in Thursday's game, the Blaze exploded for six runs in the sixth inning, to turn a close game into a rout.

Jerod Bartnik had two hits, including a triple, and three RBIs. Krische also hit a triple and drove in another run.

Matt Cratty drove in a pair and Houle had one more RBI to give him a share of the league lead with 17.

Justin Geerts went the distance, scattering six hits and one walk in seven innings. He also struck out eight batters.

Langley will look to extend their win streak when they host the North Delta Blue Jays (10-14) on June 11 (Saturday) and the Parksville Royals (15-8) on Sunday. Both days are doubleheaders and at McLeod Park.