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John Desaulniers left the Northwest Bay Chieftains starving for hits after the first game.
But the road team was able to take a bite out of Murray Armstrong to salvage its evening.
Desaulniers tossed a no-hitter to lead the defending Rainy River District Fastball League champion Sight & Sound Wolves to a 1-0, five-inning victory over the Chieftains in the opener of a doubleheader Tuesday evening at VanJura here.
But Northwest Bay battled back with a 5-2 win in the five-inning nightcap to earn a split in what was a makeup game from May 16.
The ninth-place Chieftains (5-11) were overwhelmed by Desaulniers, who looked like the force he was in last year’s playoffs in pitching fifth-place Sight & Sound (11-5) to the RRDFL title.
The Wolves then led 2-0 early in second game before the Chieftains came alive with one in the second inning and then a two-run homer by Darren Smith off Armstrong in the third.
The visitors added insurance in the fourth when Braden Smith’s two-run double to centre fell just out of the reach of Derek McKinnon.
Sight & Sound threatened to rally in the fifth, getting its first two runners on against Tanner Smith, who went the distance in both games for Northwest Bay.
But the Chieftains snapped their six-game losing streak with
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the rarest of defensive gems.
Rob Kinsman hit a chopper back to the hurler, who flicked the ball to first to get the speedy batter.
Nick Wepruk then tried to score on the play from third, but was gunned down at home.
Matt Dunne–thinking that was the third out–then vacated second base to return to his dugout.
When he realized his mistake, it was too late and he was tagged between second and third to complete the triple play (though technically he already was out for having headed back towards the bench).
In other action Tuesday, Couchiching Raiders (11-4) passed the Wolves for fourth place after being awarded a forfeit win over the last-place Northwest Bay Juniors (0-14).
At the top of the standings, meanwhile, the beat went on for the league-leading Dawson Tigers (14-1) and second-place Barwick Blue Knights (14-2).
The Tigers cruised to a 34-6 rout over the 10th-place Rainy River Royals (3-8-1).
Marty Kreger and Matt Anderson homered for the Tigers while Jeff Morrison improved his record to 13-0 despite giving up a season high in runs.
Chris Stone took the loss.
As for Barwick, they rolled to a 19-7 win over the 12th-place Sabaskong Cubs (3-13).
DJ Mosbeck homered in support of winning pitcher Brandan Pratt.
Roger Allen homered in a losing cause for the Cubs.
The seventh-place Sabaskong Lakers (8-7-1) made up for a 18-1 makeup game loss Monday to the Stratton Eagles with a 16-8 win against the 11th-place Manitou Thunderbirds (3-11) the following night.
Matt Comegan got the win while Mike Jourdain was tagged with the loss.
Guy Arpin got the win for sixth-place Stratton (10-6) over Kyle Copenace and the Lakers on Monday.
There was no result as of press time for the game between the third-place Fort Frances Braves (11-1) and eighth-place Windey’s Warriors (6-8).
Stratton’s game against the 13th-place Sabaskong Goldeneyes (2-10) was postponed.
A full slate of games are scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m., including a first-place showdown in Barwick between the Blue Knights and Dawson.
The Braves are at Couchiching to face the Raiders, Sight & Sound visits Manitou, Windey’s plays at the Goldeneyes, and Stratton hosts Rainy River.
The Cubs and Lakers will battle in Sabaskong while the Chieftains and Juniors clash in Northwest Bay.
