Penticton Tigers are on the prowl for first place in the 21-team B.C. Baseball 15U AA bantam standings.
The club added a pair of wins in a double header against the visiting North Delta Rays last Saturday at McNicoll field to remain in second spot.
The Tigers have only lost one of their 14 games this season, sporting a win percentage of .929. The Surrey/Newton Canadians are first with .941 with 16 wins and one loss.
The only loss for both teams was to each other in an April double header in the Lower Mainland, their only meeting of the regular season.
The Tigers dropped the first game 13-8, bouncing back with a 5-1 decision in the second.
Penticton has scored 166 runs so far this year and given up just 48, while the Rays have scored 204 and allowed 56.
The Tigers were also the gold medal champs in their only tournament so far. That was two weeks ago at the Tsawwassen Grand Slam Victoria Day tourney, the Tigers coming back from a fifth-place seeding in the round robin.
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In the opening game against the Rays, starter Ben Avila went the distance on the mound giving up just a single run in a 5-1 victory.
“Ben just threw a gem of a game. He was really on and when he’s on he tough to beat,” said Penticton assistant coach James Raymond. “And of course catcher Marlo (Spence) behind the plate called a phenomenal game as well.
“I was talking to plate umpire from the first game and he said it was probably one of the best games he’s called in a couple years.”
The Tigers did most of their scoring early on, jumping into a 4-0 lead and playing tight defence from there in adding another run in the latter stages of the contest.
In the second game, the hosts got the bats working in a big way, like they have for most of the season to date, blasting the Rays 17-8.
“I can honestly say right now our entire line up is hitting top to bottom. I think our lowest average on the squad right now is .250 which is pretty nice,” said Raymond. “We also have five pitchers in our starting rotation and I would say we have another four or five in the bull pen, so we’re pretty deep there.
“That’s what helps us in our tournaments is that we have five starters in any given day and we know they’re all going to give us something to work with.”
Four Penticton players were among the 44 players in the province invited to attend the 15U Selects Camp this weekend in Richmond.
It is a development camp put on by the B.C. Baseball High Performance Committee.
Following the camp, 13-16 players will be selected to represent B.C. Baseball at the Pastime Tournaments Northwestern University-Great Lakes Wood Bat Classic July 5 to 8 in Chicago, Ill.
The Tigers have this weekend off and will be back at McNicoll field the following Saturday, June 9, when they will host the Kamloops River Dogs in a double header at noon and 3:15 p.m.
On June 10 they are off to Vernon for two games against the Canadians.
