The Langley Junior Blaze shook off a rare loss — just their fourth of the season — by pounding the ball against the Victoria Junior Mariners, putting up a combined 31 runs to sweep a doubleheader.
Langley shook off the 7-1 home loss to the Abbotsford Junior Cardinals on June 24 by defeating Victoria 14-0 and 17-7 in the provincial capital at Layritz Park on Saturday as they improved to 21-4, 2.5 games clear of second place North Shore for top spot in the B.C. Junior Premier Baseball League.
In the first victory, Michael Stovman came through with both his arm and his bat.
On the mound, he scattered five hits over six innings, walking one and striking out seven for the shutout. And at the plate, Stovman went 3-for-5 with a double, two runs scored and four RBIs.
Jake Kristensen also had a monster game at the plate with three hits and five RBIs, including a grand slam. He was just a triple short of hitting for the cycle.
The game has been scoreless heading into the fourth inning with Langley scoring one run in the fourth, six in the fifth and seven in the sixth.
And the Blaze offence picked up where it left off in the second game, scoring eight
runs in the opening inning of the 17-7 victory.
Jayden Knight (four innings), Brendan Winning (three RBIs), Brockton Wickins (two RBIs) and Cole Schwing (two RBIs) led the offence while Colby Ring earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits over three innings.
The Blaze's lone loss of the week saw them strand 14 base runners in the 7-1 loss to Abbotsford at McLeod Park. Langley lost despite out-hitting the Cardinals 11-7 as Abbotsford capitalized on three Blaze errors. Abbotsford scored all seven of their runs in the fourth inning.
Langley resumes league play on July 8 when they host the White Rock Junior Tritons.