Jays split week with two one-run games

June 3, 2015 · 0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte

The Aurora Jays split their North Dufferin Baseball League schedule last week with one win and one loss.

Riding a four-game winning streak, the Jays entered their Tuesday home game against the Midland Indians sitting second in the standings.

The bats were once again firing with the Jays going up 7 – 0 after just two innings of play. Ian Rettie, the team’s slugger so far this season, had a walk and a double to contribute to the lead.

Starting pitcher Ian Milne was perfect through four innings, giving up his first run of the evening in the fifth and three more in the start of the sixth before getting yanked. He struck out five in his efforts.

Up 8 – 4 heading into the seventh and final inning, Zach Wiseman and the Jays gave up five more runs to give Midland a 9 – 8 lead in an impressive comeback. Chris Rettie came in for the final two outs, striking out one and giving the Jays a chance down by one run.

An error and a handful of hits put the Jays back on top of the see-saw game, winning by a score of 10 – 9.

In Clearview the next night to face the Orioles, it was the Jays that had to crawl out of an early deficit. Starting pitcher Rob Spencer gave up five runs in the first two innings, sparked by some easy walks for the Orioles.

After a solid shutout third inning, he gave up one more run in the fourth before making way for Brent Owen in relief. Spencer, in his first start with the Jays, gave up five hits and six runs through four innings, walking five batters and striking out three.

From there, Owen went almost perfect, allowing just one hit for the remainder of the game and zero runs, giving the Jays a chance for a comeback while down 6 – 3 in the seventh inning.

A combination of errors and singles had the Jays going through the order and crossing the plate, but two runs were all they could muster in their last at-bat for an eventual 6 – 5 loss.

It was the first loss of the Jay’s season since their opener, when they fell in a low-scoring game to New Lowell at the beginning of May.

The loss, however, drops the Jays to fourth in the NDBL with a 5-2-0 record. Following a Tuesday home game with the Bolton Dodgers, they will be looking to improve with a double-header against the Creemore Braves on Sunday.

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