15U Nationals Day #2 – Another day, another thrilling win for Team BC

Never a dull moment for the boys in baby blue. Team BC battled for nearly three hours on Thursday to begin their tournament on a winning note, and on Friday they did so for even longer thanks to a thunderstorm that delayed the action for an hour and a half. Their next opponent was the host team from Saskatchewan, a provincial team that consists of players that were not selected for the other Saskatchewan team that BC has yet to face. The hosts dropped a 10-3 decision to Ontario the night before, so they were desperate to avoid an 0-2 start.

TEAM BC 6, Saskatchewan (Host) 4

               BC came out with three solid at-bats in the top of the 1^st that unfortunately resulted in nothing – a couple of very hard-hit balls by Laird and Billing right at Saskatchewan defenders squashed what could’ve been the second straight first-inning tally for the team (third straight if you go back to the provincial final). They managed to get a runner into scoring position in each of the next three innings but couldn’t find a way to bring either of them around for the game’s first run. Starting pitcher Ivan Simbulan made it through his first three innings of work unscathed, surrendering just two singles and a walk, but couldn’t keep the hosts off the board for a fourth straight frame. The rally began with the leadoff man reaching on an infield throwing error, then a one-out single to right placed runners at 1^st and 3^rd. A passed ball brought the first run home and two-out single cashed in the second, the latter of which was the last batter Simbulan would face. He handed the ball over to yesterday’s starting catcher Desmond Tregaskis, who retired the next four batters in only 10 pitches, but Saskatchewan still carried a 2-0 lead into the top of the 6^th. Langley’s Luke Laird led off by cleanly beating out what appeared to be a routine grounder to the second baseman – speed kills, as they say. However, Saskatchewan starter Willis Simair struck out each of the next two BC hitters, Laird still standing at first with two outs. Then Simair lost his command, and the inning started to shape up eerily similar to the 3^rd inning of Saskatchewan’s previous game. Ontario rattled off 5 runs against them with two out and nobody on, and BC was poised to put a 5-spot of their own. Brodie Tse walked on 4 pitches, Ed Wilde got nicked in his jersey, loading the bases for pinch-hitter Nathaniel Kolmel. He worked a walk on 7 pitches, forcing in a run as BC finally got on the board. That would be all for Simair, he departed having worked 5 2/3 innings, the 6 free passes proving to be the killer. And then… thunder. What a time for a delay – 2-1 ball game with bases loaded and two outs, and BC’s chance to flip the script would have to wait until the storm passed.

               Noah Farnden, who was awarded the MVP snapback hat from yesterday’s game, was also the guy who had to think about how he would break the game open with his at-bat to resume play. The first pitch delivered by Saskatchewan’s new chucker was airmailed to the backstop, gifting BC the tying run. Three pitches later, Farnden lifted a high flyball to deep left field that just dropped at the base of the fence, out of the left-fielder’s reach, scoring two more runs for BC to give them a 4-2 lead. Sawyer Shears stepped in next, who had an excellent day defensively at second base, and he demolished the first pitch he saw over the right fielder’s head for a looooooooong RBI single. If only he had a couple more degrees on the launch angle, that would’ve been a no-doubt 2-run bomb. That made it 5-2, but the hosts responded with two more in the bottom of the 6^th. With two out and the bases juiced, Saskatchewan’s #8 hitter snuck a grounder just inside the 3^rd baseline for a 2-RBI single to make it 5-4. New pitcher Brodie Tse took over following the delay, and he got out of the jam with the lead thanks to a sparkling defensive play by Laird at short, moving to his right to field a bouncing ball and firing across his body to record the third out. A couple more two-out walks cost the hosts an insurance run, Wilde coming through with his second RBI hit of the tournament to make it 6-4. Tse converted the save in the bottom of the 7^th despite allowing a two-out single, and Team BC emerged with another highly entertaining victory.

               Two more round robin games remain for BC, the first of which comes Saturday morning at 8:30am local time against Ontario. If they can win that one, they’ll clinch first place in Pool A, and they can breathe easier in their second game against the Saskatchewan provincial team at 2:30pm. The bottom line is Team BC only needs one win tomorrow to advance to everybody’s favorite day – championship Sunday.