The Ladner Red Sox capped an outstanding all-star baseball season with a silver medal at last weekend's Mosquito A Provincial Championships in Cloverdale.
After going 3-2-1 in Zone One qualifying play, Ladner cranked up its game at the provincial tourney - producing wins over Victoria (4-1), Penticton (9-4), Prince George (11-4) and Chilliwack (18-16) to win its pool group. The locals then moved onto the semi-finals where they came through with a thrilling 5-4 win over host Cloverdale.
The impressive run concluded in the championship game which featured plenty of offensive fireworks in an 18-14 loss to Abbotsford.
Meanwhile, in Rutland, Ladner Minor Baseball's Bantam AA team proved to be the surprise entry of the tournament, coming ever-so-close to reaching the gold medal game.
The Red Sox's spot at provincials wasn't secured until the final couple days of playdowns as a roller coaster run produced a 5-5 record. However, they got off to a terrific start in the Okanagan heat with wins over Prince George (7-0) and Rutland (13-3) - setting the stage for a pivotal Saturday against top seeds Cloverdale and Surrey. Ladner dropped a 13-12 heartbreaker to Cloverdale but then clinched a semi-final berth with a big 12-10 win over Surrey - eliminating a team that went 8-1-1 in playdowns.
Ladner was considered the heavy underdog in its semifinal game against unbeaten and pre-tournament favourite Vancouver but more than held its own - taking a lead into the late stages of the game. However, Vancouver rallied to force extra innings and went on to pull out an 8-7 victory.
In Midget AA action, Ladner was considered one of the teams to beat in Duncan after putting together a sparkling 14-1 record in qualifying play.
Ladner lived up to the hype early on with wins over Newton (11-1), Vancouver Minor (9-5) and Ridge Meadows (18-11) before dropping a 6-5 decision to Campbell River. The locals moved onto the semi-finals where they didn't have an answer for the Prince George bats in an 18-11 loss.
Tsawwassen also earned a spot at this tournament and went 1-3 in round-robin play with a win over Coquitlam Moody (17-11) and close losses to Duncan (10-9), Aldergrove (4-3) and Prince George (3-1) Also on the Island, Ladner's Pee Wee AA team advanced to the semi-finals before falling 11-1 to a powerhouse Burnaby squad that outscored its opponents 34-3 in the playoff round en route to the title.
Ladner had opened the tournament with a 7-3 loss to Abbotsford before battling its way back into contention with wins over Comox Valley (15-9), Cloverdale (12-7) and Oceanside (21-11).
At the Mosquito AAA Tier One Championships in Cloverdale, Ladner missed out on the playoff round after going 2-2 in preliminary play.
The Red Sox opened with a 7-2 loss to Abbotsford then blasted Rutland 16-0 before a tough 4-2 loss to Victoria. They rebounded to defeat Richmond 4-1 but it wasn't enough to advance. A small consolation was seeing the two teams to beat Ladner meet in the final with Victoria doubling Abbotsford 14-7.
