Midget Royals Fall in Kamloops Tournament Final
Posted July 6, 2015
The Midget Royals looked to be on the verge of their second tournament title of the season this past weekend in Kamloops, but they could not hang on in the final game and ended up placing second in the 10-team Kamloops Can-Am Classic.
The tournament began on Friday morning with a game against the Calgary Dinos. Seth Injates had a strong game on both sides of the ball: throwing 7 strong innings allowing 2 runs on 4 hits and striking out 7, while also driving in 3 runs. However, the Royals made a few costly mistakes and ended up on the wrong end of a 5-4 score in 9 innings. In the second game of the day, the Royals bounced back with a 2-1 win over the North Delta Jr. Blue Jays. Chris Bailey started on the hill for the Royals and went 4.2 innings while striking out 3. Tristan Reed picked up the win in relief, allowing only 1 hit while fanning 3 Blue Jay batters.
On Saturday the Royals entered the day knowing that they needed two wins in order to have a chance at qualifying for the semi-finals. The bats came out hot as they mercied the Aldergrove Dodgers 10-0 in 6 innings. Trevor Biggin dominated on the mound for the Royals, allowing only 2 hits while striking out 5 on 63 pitches. The Royals' fourth and final round robin game saw them match-up against the Spruce Grove White Sox. In a tightly-contested game, the Royals scored runs in the 6th, 7th, 8th, and 10th innings to win by a score of 5-4. Trevor Reed threw 7.2 innings allowing 4 runs while striking out 6. Seth Injates drove in Domenic Baptista in the 10th inning to secure the walk-off win and a place in the semi-finals.
Sunday morning's semi-final had the Royals take on the White Rock Jr. Tritons. Chris Bailey, in his second start of the tournament, was lights-out on the mound, throwing a complete game shut out while fanning 7 batters in a 6-0 win. Brayden Slaughter led the way offensively, going 3-4 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. Kyron Smith also had a strong game, going 1-3 with 2 runs scored and a stolen base.
After Spruce Grove defeated Sherwood Park in the other semi-final, the championship would be determined in a rematch from the previous night. Much like the day before, this game was a barn-burner that came right down to the final pitch between two solid teams. The Royals jumped out to an early lead and held a 4-0 advantage after 4 innings of play. Spruce Grove, much as the Royals had done the night before, fought back and tied the game 4-4 after 5 complete innings. The Royals jumped back ahead and held a 5-4 going to the bottom of the 7th. However, the Royals could not hold on despite being a strike away from victory, as the White Sox scored 2 runs to win by a final of 6-5. Domenic Baptista was very solid on the mound for the Royals, and aside from one rough inning held the Spruce Grove batters in check. Kyron Smith had a solid day at the plate, hitting a double and a triple with an RBI and a run scored.
Despite the final game not going their way, the Royals had a strong weekend overall and showed a great deal of resiliency and competitiveness. The experience of this weekend will only help them as they get set to compete in the Provincial Championships at the end of the month.
The Royals will return to league play this week, with 5 games on the schedule. Their magic number to clinch the regular season title is one, and they will have their first chance to secure their 3rd pennant in 5 seasons with a win against Tri-City on Wednesday.
