As the weather heats up, so too are the Abbotsford Cardinals.
The local B.C. Premier Baseball League club solidified its grip on a playoff berth by sweeping four games on Vancouver Island on the weekend.
The Cards swept the Parksville Royals on Saturday by scores of 1-0 and 8-6, then traveled to Nanaimo and beat the Pirates 2-0 and 6-2 on Sunday. The Abbotsford squad leaped from eighth to sixth place in the BCPBL standings at 21-20, and they're above the .500 mark for the first time this season. They've won six in a row, and eight of their last 10.
In Saturday's opener in Parksville, Steven Federau surrendered just three hits while going the full seven innings, striking out seven along the way. Ryan Lucky scored the game's lone run on a sacrifice fly from Max Chadsey.
In the back half of the doubleheader, the Royals rallied from a 6-2 deficit in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. But the Cards bounced back to put two on the board in the top of the eighth, as Ryan Green and Federau crossed the plate, and relief pitcher Ryan Martin picked up the save.
Tyler Dobos submitted the Cards' second pitching gem of the weekend, holding Nanaimo to five hits over seven innings in Sunday's opener. Chadsey's bat powered Abby to victory in the second game of the day – the centre fielder drove in four runs.
The Cardinals have six games remaining in the regular season, and just one of them is at home. They host the North Delta Blue Jays on Thursday at 7 p.m. at DeLair Park.