The Athletics overcame a tough schedule to be crowned Ladner Minor Baseball’s Mosquito Division playoff champions.
The post-season format featured the six-team division split into two pool groups. The A’s looked to be in tough with the Mariners and Orioles — finalists at the recent Tom Henderson Memorial Tournament.
The A’s outlasted the Mariners 14-8, setting the stage for their next encounter against the Orioles with a semi-final berth on the line. A terrific start resulted in a 6-1 lead before the Orioles came storming back to jump ahead 10-6.
That’s when the Athletics’ bats exploded for 18 runs in the top of the six, on their way to victory and a semi-final berth against the Cardinals — first place finishers in the other pool group.
A barn-burner saw the A’s hold off their friendly rival 11-8 — led by ace pitcher Owen “Otter” Macool who worked a pair of scoreless innings to seal the victory.
The championship game matched the A’s against the Yankees who featured some of the league’s biggest hitters with Macool unavailable on the mound.
The A’s took a 4-3 lead into the top of the third when they produced three straight doubles from Macool, Vaun Sochting and Graham Jackson to extend the margin to 8-3. The team then received outstanding pitching over the next three innings from Noah Murray with big defensive support behind him outfielder Tahano Northey.
With the game on the line in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Smith came up with a spectacular grab at second base and flipped the ball to first for the last out of the game to seal the victory and championship with a 15-7 win.
The A’s roster also includes: Kaleb Simeon, Austin Orellana Murica, Daniel Liu, Cristian Soucek and Sean Jones. The team was coached by Jason Northey, Dave Sochting, Jordy Cunningham and Mike Jones.
Up next for the A’s is the Delta Cup were they will face the league winners from North Delta and Tsawwassen on June 24 at Dennison Park in Tsawwassen.
