It's turning into the arms' race that the managers anticipated.

The Canadian Junior Little League Baseball championship tourney is down to four teams, and the Coquitlam A's currently sit at the top of the pile.

The squad's pitchers helped put the two-time defending national champions in good stead after four days, with a 4-1 record.

They locked up first place in the round robin portion by beating Quebec's Montreal Lynx 9-5 on Tuesday, powered by an efficient pitching tandem of Curtis Taylor and Tyler Jaco.

The pair combined to throw 104 pitches, surrendering nine hits and two earned runs.

Tied 4-4 after four innings, Coquitlam exploded with four runs, getting big doubles from Austin MacDonald, Jaco, Alex Hunt and Javeed Khankashi.

Khankashi finished with three hits and three runs batted in, including a solo home run.

"I hate putting this in an article but we committed seven errors and still won," Wes Taylor said. "So it's assuring to know that we can do it, now let's do it when we're playing our best."

And that's what it will likely take as the A's head into today's critical semifinal. Their opponent had not been determined by NOW press time.

No matter who it is, the A's will have some quality pitchers ready and waiting for them.

"You have to save your pitchers, but it's a hard balance when each game is so close," Wes Taylor said after having rolled through nine pitchers during Monday's double header.

Coquitlam shook off an early morning 8-7 setback to the host Lethbridge All-Stars by out-slugging the Alberta champion Medicine Hat Diamondbacks 19-17 in a key contest.

"It was like no other game, you had to see it to believe it," the manager remarked. "It was a real marathon -- both games (Monday) were, and it really tugged on our emotions to not pull that (first game) out."

The B.C. champs erased a 6-1 D-backs lead by pounding out nine runs, led by a pair of two-run doubles from Tyler Jaco and Curtis Taylor.

The D-backs scratched back to retake the lead by connecting for three runs in the top of the sixth, but the A's wouldn't surrender, lashing out with four in the bottom half to complete the offence. In that inning, Coquitlam cashed in their four runs on just one hit, capitalizing on three Alberta errors.

The manager pointed to a pair of terrific catches made by centrefielder Cole Dowling, who robbed one D-back of a homer and ended the game on a sprawling grab with two men on base.

Khankashi, the catcher, set the tone by going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and three runs batted in, while MacDonald and Curtis Taylor were both 3-for-5 at the plate, driving in a pair of runs each.

Hayden Jaco collected the win on one-and-a-third innings of work, fanning a batter. He had two runners aboard when he registered the final out for the win.

Against Lethbridge, the B.C. crew saw a 4-3 lead evaporate in the fifth when the home team scored five times to jump ahead 8-4. But they put together a strong charge in the seventh, plating three runs. Mitchell Anderson singled and was followed by walks to Khankashi, Cole Dowling and MacDonald, setting up a bases-loaded chance with Tyler Jaco at bat. The rightfielder hit into a double play to end the game.

Coquitlam began the tourney by clobbering the Maritime champion Sydney Mines Ramblers 15-5 in a five-inning contest, and Ontario's Orleans Red Sox 18-12. MacDonald launched a pair of home runs in the opener, accounting for five runs batted in.

A victory in today's semifinal will put Coquitlam into tomorrow's championship final.