Two teams went, and both finished in the medals.
Prince George had two peewee teams at a tournament in
West Kelowna (Westbank) this past weekend, the second team filling in for a
lower mainland team that dropped out of the eight-team affair. The two Prince
George teams were set up to be as even as possible, and that turned out to be
the case.
Team Blue started off with a tough 9-0 loss to Vernon on
Friday, with an error-filled five-run first inning making Ryan Hampe the losing
pitcher. But outstanding pitching performances on Saturday by Quinten Astorino
and Ajay Nickolet, and tightened defence, helped Prince George knock off
Rutland 5-2 and Kelowna 5-3 to finish 2-1 and advance to the playoff round on
Sunday. Nickolet threw 74 pitches in his outing, fanning 11, surrendering four
hits, walking none, while throwing 61 of those pitches for strikes. Astorino
struck out nine in his start. Kelowna and Rutland were left to play consolation
games on Sunday.
In the other pool, Team Red opened by run-ruling Nelson
15-5 behind the pitching of Richard French and the breakout hitting of catcher
Seth Lapre, who would have four triples, two doubles and a home run by the time
the weekend was over. On Saturday, Team Red handled the hosts from West Kelowna
9-5, with Joseph JenVenne as the winning pitcher, then completed a perfect
pool-play effort with an 11-7 win over Penticton. Pitcher Tommy Kreitz had a
three-pitch inning in that game.
That meant the two Prince George teams met in the first
playoff game -- an awful long way to go for an intrasquad game! In that game,
Zach Swanson was the winning pitcher in a 9-5 win for Team Red, with both teams
battling hard to beat their friends in an intense game.
Team Red, coached by Russ Pratt, Brad Kreitz and Frank
Werbecky, then lost 2-1 to Vernon in the final. Richard French was the losing
pitcher after Liam Campbell had a strong start. The Prince George team had
ample chances to put up a lot of runs, but couldn't get the key hit with
runners on base. Neither team mustered a hit in the final until the fifth
inning, as pitching and defence ruled the diamond.
Members of Team Blue were Matt Siemens, Soren Erricson,
Quinten Astorino, Ryan Hampe, Ajay Nickolet, Jayan Nickolet, Ryan Bachand,
Brevin Gervais, Kolby Lukinchuk, Raymond Prive, Mitchell Lukoni and Christopher
Magrath.
Players on PG Red were Brady Pratt, Tommy Kreitz, Zach
Swanson, Mikey Schwab, Braeden Wheeler, Seth Lapre, Josh Fielding, Liam
Campbell, Dallas Werbecky, Colin Desrocher, Richard French and Joseph JenVenne.
A very successful weekend for the kids. The final AAA
Knights team roster will be named around May 15, with that team serving as host
squad for the AAA peewee provincial tournament, August 8-11 at Spruce City
Stadium.
The AAA Knights are in Vernon for games May 18-19, then
play in the prestigious John Main Classic tournament in Burnaby on May 23-26
weekend, in a pool with powerhouses White Rock, Vancouver Community and Newton.
Members of the Knights are going to Kamloops on Sunday
for the CABA World Series/Team BC tryouts, a process that started last weekend
with tryout camps in Victoria, Nanaimo, Richmond and Aldergrove. Jim Swanson of
Prince George is the head coach for Team BC.
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Two teams from the Prince George Youth Baseball
Association's peewee division will be in West Kelowna (Westbank, Darroch and
Upper Field) for a tournament this weekend -- and they are doing well!!! Both have reached the playoffs, and will face each other!
Team1 (Blue) is 2-1 -- started with a 9-0 loss to Vernon, then played two very strong games, 5-0 win over Rutland, and 5-3 over Kelowna, with Quinten Astorino, Ajay Nickolet and Kolby Lukinchuk throwing very, very well. Vernon won the pool, Kelowna and Rutland were eliminated. How about the performance of Nickolet, 61 strikes in 74 pitches in the win over Kelowna? Wow.
Team 2 (Red) is 3-0, the product of drubbing Nelson, handling the host West Kelowna Diamondbacks, and defeating Penticton. That puts them first in their division. Seth Lapre is crushing the ball, with four triples and two doubles.
PG Blue will be coached by Denny Astorino, Keith Hampe,
Al Bachand and Ray Siemens, opening the tournament on Friday evening with a
game against Vernon at 5:30 pm. Members of that team are Matt Siemens, Soren
Erricson, Quinten Astorino, Ryan Hampe, Ajay Nickolet, Jayan Nickolet, Ryan
Bachand, Brevin Gervais, Kolby Lukinchuk, Raymond Prive, Mitchell Lukoni and
Christopher Magrath.
PG Blue will then play Rutland at 11 am on Saturday,
followed by a 2 pm game against Kelowna.
PG Red is being coached by Russ Pratt, Brad Kreitz and
Frank Werbecky, facing Nelson on Friday night at 5:30 pm and scheduled to play
West Kelowna (8:30 am) and Penticton (5:30 pm) on Saturday.
Players on PG Red are Brady Pratt, Tommy Kreitz, Zach
Swanson, Mikey Schwab, Braeden Wheeler, Seth Lapre, Josh Fielding, Liam
Campbell, Dallas Werbecky, Colin Desrocher, Richard French and Joseph JenVenne.
The playoff round goes Sunday.
This is all part of the tryout process to determine the
12-player Knights team that will be host for the AAA peewee provincials in
August at Spruce City Stadium.
------------------
We now have two peewee teams going, 23 kids, May 3-5 in West Kelowna (Westbank, fields at Mount Boucherie, near the secondary school and Westside Arena)...
And this is the initial plan for the teams...
TM1 -- Coaches – Keith, Denny, Murray, Al, Ray
(12) Matt Siemens, Soren Erricson, Quinten Astorino, Ryan
Hampe, Ajay Nickolet, Jayan Nickolet, Ryan Bachand, Brevin Gervais, Kolby
Lukinchuk, Raymond Prive, Mitchell Lukoni, Christopher Magrath
TM2 (PG2) – Coaches – Russ, Brad, Frank
(12) Brady Pratt, Tommy Kreitz, Zach Swanson, Mikey
Schwab, Braeden Wheeler, Seth Lapre, Josh Fielding, Liam Campbell, Dallas
Werbecky, Richard French, Joseph JenVenne, Colin Desrocher
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West Kelowna -
Tournament Schedule |
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Pool A |
Pool B |
A1 |
Kelowna |
B1 |
West Kelowna D'Backs |
A2 |
Rutland |
B2 |
Penticton |
A3 |
PG |
B3 |
Nelson |
A4 |
Vernon |
B4 |
PG2 |
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Team |
Field |
Time |
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Thursday, May 2nd |
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West Kelowna vs. Penticton |
Darroch (grass infield) |
6:00 PM |
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Kelowna vs. Rutland |
Upper (all-dirt infield) |
6:00 PM |
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Friday, May 3rd |
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PG vs. Vernon |
Upper Field - West Kelowna |
5:30 PM |
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Nelson vs. PG2 |
Darroch |
5:30 PM |
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Saturday, May 4th |
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Kelowna vs. Vernon |
Upper |
8:00 AM |
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Rutland vs. PG |
Upper |
11:00 AM |
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Kelowna vs. PG |
Upper |
2:00 PM |
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Rutland vs. Vernon |
Upper |
5:00 PM |
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Wkel vs. PG2 |
Darroch |
8:30 AM |
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Penticton vs. Nelson |
Darroch |
11:30 AM |
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Wkel vs. Nelson |
Darroch |
2:30 PM |
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Penticton vs. PG2 |
Darroch |
5:30 PM |
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Sunday, May 5th |
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1st A vs. 2nd B |
Darroch |
8:30 AM |
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1st B vs. 2nd A |
Upper |
9:00 AM |
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3rd A vs. 3rd B |
Darroch |
11:30 AM |
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4th A bs. 4th B |
Upper |
12:00 PM |
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Final of 8:30 & 9:00 |
Darroch |
2:30 PM |
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