Tyler Hoefer was near perfection for the Richmond Bantam AAA Chuckers.
Making his first start in nearly a month, the ace right-hander pitched a no-hitter over six innings as the Chuckers rolled to a 100 victory over North Island on Saturday at Blundell Field. Hoefer issued just a single walk and struck out 16 as Richmond broke up a tight game with three runs in the fourth inning and five more in the sixth. He lowered his ERA to 0.67 with 75 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched.
Isaiah Hayes and Mitchell Rennie paced the attack with three RBIs each. Spencer Rankin added a pair of hits and three stolen bases.
The Chuckers capped a successful weekend homestand by sweeping a pair from Nanaimo on Sunday - 17-7 and 19-10.
Hoefer led the way in the opener, this time at the plate with six RBIs and a long two-run homer. Logan Newman added a double and three RBIs to go with his three hits. Noah Or and Isaiah Hayes also enjoyed three hit outings.
Nathan Nerona got the win on the mound.
The nightcap saw the hosts pound out 20 hits, scoring seven times in the second and four more in the third to overcome an early 5-2 deficit. Newman capped his productive day with three more hits and three runs. Ryder Mavis added three runs on two hits while Marc Ashford and Rennie had a couple of hits and two runs each.
The Chuckers now stand at at 17-5 in the B.C. Minor Bantam AAA Baseball League, leaving them just a few percentage points back of front-running Vancouver. Richmond will have a stern test tonight in Cloverdale against the 17-6 Spurs.
