The Delta Tigers came up with a hard-earned doubleheader split on Saturday then did some scoreboard watching Sunday before celebrating their B.C. Minor Baseball 15U AAA tier one regular season pennant.
The Tigers’ 25-3-0 record was good enough to hold off the West Coast Cardinals (23-5-0) for the division's top spot but the end result still came down to the final day of the schedule.
That’s when the Cloverdale Spurs (14-14-0) did Delta a big favour and took a pair of games from the Cardinals by 6-5 and 6-3 scores.
The first place finish means the Tigers get an automatic berth into next month’s Baseball B.C. national qualifier tournament — Aug. 9-12 at South Surrey Athletic Park.
Like the Cardinals, the hosts had their hands full with Kamloops River Dogs on Saturday at Cromie Park in Ladner.
The Tigers opened up a 6-0 lead in game one then held off the River Dogs for a 7-5 victory.
Ryan McCarthy had a pair of hits and also picked up the save for starter Luke Siemens who was two outs from going the distance.
Kamloops spoiled a potential pennant-clinching party for one day at least by taking the nightcap 7-6. Boston Warkentin had 14 strikeouts in an extended relief role.
Noah Thomas and Noah Cassie each had a pair of hits.
A number of Tigers are off to Cowichan this week to play for the Vancouver-Coastal Zone team at the B.C. Summer Games.
The team’s next big task is defending its B.C. Minor provincial championship — Aug. 2-6 in Chilliwack.
