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Richmond trio help Blue Jays win championship

Chuckers alumni have leading roles in North Delta's run to premier junior title
Richmond News
baseball
Richmond City Baseball grads Zach Besler, Noah Or and Alex McCrae helped the North Delta Blue Jays capture the junior premier provincial championship last weekend in Victoria.

A trio of Richmond players had leading roles in helping the North Delta Blue Jays capture the B.C. Premier Junior Baseball League championship for the first time since 2011.

The Jays capped an unbeaten run in Victoria with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over the North Shore Twins in Sunday’s championship game. North Delta’s roster featured Zach Besler, Noah Or and Alex McCrae. All three joined the program coming through the Richmond City Baseball Association, including a stint with the Bantam AAA Chuckers.

The Jays’ run to the championship began with a 14-4 romp of the White Rock Tritons. Or, the team’s starting catcher, who skipped his final year of Bantam eligibility to join the BCPBL, led a 16 hit attack with three singles and an RBI. Besler also drove in a run.

Besler was then in outstanding form on the mound in a big 2-1 win over the Nanaimo Pirates. The second-year standout went the distance, allowing just two hits and striking out four — throwing 90 pitches.

Or had another productive outing at the plate with three more hits and scored both of his team’s runs.

North Delta then clinched first place in its pool with a 7-3 win over North Shore, in a showdown of two of the top three teams in the regular season. It was McRae’s turn to shine on the mound with a complete game five hitter — tossing 132 pitches in total.

Besler scored a pair of runs and Or added another hit.

Sunday morning’s semi-final was tight affair as North Delta slipped past the Whalley Chiefs 3-2. That set the stage for a rematch with the Twins for the championship and North Delta received another outstanding pitcher performance — this time from Japanese exchange student Gota Kinoshita who threw six solid innings.

Besler and Or scored all the runs the Jays would need. They each also added a stolen base.

North Delta was coming off a solid 30-14 regular season that saw Besler lead the entire league in hitting with a .430 average. He also finished with a 9-6 record on the hill with an impressive 2.17 ERA.

Or finished with a .302 average and led his team with five triples.