A six-game winning streak came to an end for North Island Bantam AAA Royals baseball team in provincial championships held in Kamloops last weekend.
The team earned a birth in the provincials after attending a qualifying tournament in Victoria the weekend before. At the qualifiers, Royals was a team on fire.
In the first, Royals took down Burnaby Braves by a score of 9-3. Clutch hitting, error-free defence and solid pitching by Powell River’s Austin Brown helped earn the win.
The team then played Nanaimo Pirates who had won five of their last seven games. The winner of this game would get the berth in Kamloops. Royals scored a run in first and then again in the second inning to go up 2-0. The lead held until the bottom of the fifth, when the Pirates strung together a few hits. After scoring a run on a hit to deep left field, the relay combination of centre field, third base and catcher threw out a runner attempting to score from first base to end the comeback attempt. Royals scored two more times in the sixth and then seven times the seventh inning to get the victory. Final score Royals 11, Pirates 1. Bryce Stromquist threw 75 pitches in a complete game masterpiece.
Royals’ coach, Lee McKillican, liked his team’s approach. “It’s a simple game to win when your pitchers throw strikes, your defence plays error-free and your batters put the ball in play,” he said. “Nothing fancy, just 12 young men playing good, sound baseball.”
Games started on Thursday, August 1, for the Royals at the provincials. Ten of the top bantam teams competed for a chance to earn a berth at the Western Canadians later in the month.
The Royals continued their winning streak against Victoria Red Eagles, Aldergrove Dodgers, White Rock Tritons and Kamloops River Dogs, placing first in their pool for an excellent provincial start.
In the semifinal game on Sunday, August 4, Royals faced the first-place team from Pool A, Vancouver Mounties, and were defeated. Unfortunately, the result knocked them out of going any further in the competition.
The team worked well together throughout the summer and was assisted by many business sponsorships, for which the players and McKillican are very grateful.
