It was a season of perfection for the South Delta Brewers.
The junior men’s baseball team went undefeated in the regular season (14-0) then captured B.C. Minor Baseball’s provincial title with a come-from-behind 6-5 win over the White Rock Wranglers in last Sunday’s (Aug. 21) championship game at Winskill Park in Tsawwassen.
The Brewers become the first team in league history to repeat as provincial champions while hosting the tournament on their own diamond.
They leaned on the pitching talents of Cam Gray and Declan Forbes to open the playoffs with wins over Aldergrove (9-1) and White Rock (10-2).
Gray helped his own cause with a three-run homer against the Wranglers to secure a spot in the final.
White Rock bounced back to trim Ladner 2-1 and earn another shot at the Brewers.
The Brewers jumped out to a 3-1 lead thanks to timely hits from Riley Baines and Tanner Gushel.
White Rock stormed back to take a 5-3 lead into the seventh.
The hosts answered with one run in the bottom half of the inning then added two more in the eighth to complete the comeback.
Hits from Spencer Mallard, Dawson MacPherson, Forbes, Baines, and Gray sparked the rally.
The Wranglers had the game tying run on first, but Aiden Wood struck out the final two batters to seal the win. His four innings of relief earned him the co-game MVP award with Gray who earlier worked his maximum five innings.
Also contributing with consistent team play all season was Iver Jackson, Colten McDougall, Charlie Morrison, Ryan Scarr, co-captain Robert Scarr, Travis Pink, Tyler Lauinger, Christian Herbst, Max Kirshenblatt, Greg Nikas, Aiden Hansen-Bukata and co-captain Tavin Jackson.
Contributing to the season success of the Brewers but unable to attend the provincial’s weekend was co-captain Tavin Jackson.
The coaching staff of Dan Hodgens, Steve Pink, Steve Sim, Connor Sim, and Donny Mackintosh are very proud of the work ethic of the Brewers all season and would like to thank the support of the executive from Tsawwassen Amateur Baseball Association.
The Brewers dedicate the provincial championship win to one of the first South Delta Junior Men’s coaches Dave Edinger who sadly passed away earlier this spring.
The provincial title was the fourth in the club’s 10-year history. They will look for more success at the upcoming B.C. Senior Open.
