Jays improve winning streak to four

May 27, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

The Aurora Jays’ bats are heating up early in the 2015 North Dufferin Baseball League season, as they improved their record to 4 – 1 with another pair of wins last week.

Fresh off a week that saw the senior team drive in 38 runs over two games, they hosted the Angus Black Sox at Lambert Willson Park on Tuesday.
The result was a 5 – 1 win for the Jays, giving up just their sixth run in that same time period.

Three days later in Ivy, the Jays faced some stiffer competition in the Leafs, victors of the 2014 NDBL playoffs.

Brent Owen earned his second start on the mound this season, going the first five innings before being replaced by Brad Crosby, who already had a hard-hit home run in the game.

Down 5 – 4 going into the top of the seventh, it was the familiar face of Ian Rettie which cleared all three bases with a double to give the Jays the lead.

“He is a beast,” said coach Rob Wilson. “Game by game, the guy kills it for us.”

Crosby, meanwhile, got the win after pitching a shutout final inning for a score of 7 – 5.

Five games into the regular season, the Jays’ run support is second only to the New Lowell Knights, who have revamped their game play and boosted their pitching this year to become the early powerhouse in the NDBL. Since their loss to New Lowell in the first game of the season, the Jays have scored an incredible fifty runs over the last four games – all wins.

“We’ve always been a pretty balanced team, but to put up the numbers we’ve had has been a good sign,” said Wilson, who called the NDBL a “hitters league.”

“While we want our pitching and our defense to be tight, it’s nice to know we can keep pace if we have a slow start or an error with the mitts.”

A number of veteran players have stepped into a more prominent role this season, including the likes of Stephen Vallee.

“Vallee is seeing beach balls right now,” said Wilson. “He would admit last year was not his best, but he’s worked hard to get back on track and it’s paid off so far.”

Though the season is young, Vallee and Rettie are the early league leaders in batting so far, each hitting over the .500 mark.

Defensively, the effort and the skill is certainly also there for the Jays. In their matchup with Ivy, two separate plays at the plate were crucial in the winning effort.

Following a home game against the Midland Indians and a road matchup with the Clearview Orioles earlier this week, the next chance to catch the Jays in action will be when they host the Bolton Dodgers on Tuesday.

For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.ndbl.ca.