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Jays sit third in League standings after another week of wins

June 18, 2014   ·   0 Comments

By Jeff Doner

The Aurora Jays senior men’s baseball team has escaped yet another week without taking a loss, earning two wins and a tie to give them a 10 – 1 – 1 record at the mid-point of the season.

They now sit third overall in the North Dufferin Baseball League standings, but have played fewer games than the only two teams ahead of them – the Bolton Brewers and the Ivy Leafs.

Last week started with an all-around effort against the Lisle Astros.

With the dependable Dan Lehmkuhl starting on the mound, the Jays gave him run support early on, scoring four runs in the first inning.

From that point on the Jays didn’t look back, as Lehmkuhl slammed the door with a complete game shutout victory, while the offence tacked on three more runs in the later portion of the game to give Aurora a 7 – 0 win.

“I felt really good early on,” Lehmkuhl said postgame. “It’s a long game for this time of the year, so I definitely felt pretty tired towards the end, but I was pretty happy with it overall.”

Lehmkuhl returned to the team for 2014 after playing the previous five seasons in Thornhill and is feeling right at home.

“It’s a great bunch of guys to play for,” he said. “I’ve never had as much fun playing as I have with these guys. It’s a good group for this league and we’re having some success, which is nice. The win streak makes it a lot more fun to come out and play.”

Lehmkuhl has given the Jays another strong arm they will need to make another run this year.

Contributing offensively for the Jays was Chris Fafalios with a triple, a double by Fab Dolan and two runs scored by Brad Crosby. Outfielder Ryan Lewis made the Lisle pitchers work by drawing three walks.

Two nights later, the Jays took to the road for a tilt with the Angus Black Sox.

Brent Owen pitched a solid game, but the bats hit a dry spell and offered little support in a game that ended with a 1 – 1 tie.

That tie could have easily been a loss, but outfielder Stephen Vallee threw out the potential winning run at home plate in the final frame.
The tie snapped the Jay’s win streak, but still keeps them without a loss since the first game of the season.

On Sunday, the Jays were keen to get back into the win column against the Barrie Angels in what turned out to be another close game.
Veteran pitcher Ian Milne got the start for the Jays and pitched well to earn the win, while the trusty Zach Wiseman registered the save.
Team manager Rob Wilson said it was a good all-round effort for the team as they dug in for a 7 – 6 victory.

Earlier in the week, Jake Pinnegar said he was pleased with the way things were coming together for the Jays and that he likes the way the team grinds out wins.

“We’re playing all parts of the game well; hitting, pitching and defence and we’ve been able to win the close games and get a couple of blowouts as well, so yeah, it feels pretty good,” he said.

“We can stay composed and not lose our heads in close games no matter what calls the umps make, we seem to always be in the game no matter what happens.”

         

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