Midget AAA Royals win BC Minor 'Team of the Year' Award for 2015
Posted February 20, 2016
On Saturday the Ridge Meadows Midget AAA Royals were presented with the BC Minor Baseball 'Team of the Year' Award at the annual awards luncheon. This marks the second time in six seasons that the team has received this honour, and caps off a truly remarkable season by the club.
The Ridge Meadows Midget AAA Royals have enjoyed a great deal of success over the past 15 years. Prior to 2015, the team had won the Provincial Championships in 2005 and 2009 as well as Western Canada Championships in 2001, 2002, 2005, and 2009. The 2015 edition of the club not only added to this storied history, but in many ways may have been one of the best teams the program has ever produced.
This team showed commitment from Fall Ball in 2014 right through the end of the summer of 2015. From the beginning, it was clear that this was a special group who had a chance to achieve great things. After having only one player graduate from the 2014 team, the 2015 edition was full of experienced players who had a strong desire to work as a group to obtain a common goal.
The unofficial start to the 2015 season took place in March when the team travelled to Arizona, where they finished as Co-Champions of the BLE Arizona Invitational Tournament. After returning, they travelled to Kamloops where they lost in the Semi-Final of the Best of the West Tournament. This team really took off once the regular season began. After starting 4-2, they put together an 14 game winning streak. Then, after having that streak snapped, they won another 20 games in a row before dropping the season finale to finish with an unbelievable record of 38-4, winning the regular season title by a full 9 games. During this team, the Royals also won a tournament in Aldergrove (going undefeated in doing so) and also fell in the championship game of another tournament in Kamloops.
After an incredibly successful regular season, the Royals travelled to Nanaimo to take part in the Provincial Championships. The team road it's well-balanced attack of dominating pitching and consistent hitting to a perfect 4-0 round robin record. After defeating Chilliwack in the semi-finals by a score of 9-4, the Royals outlasted a strong Kamloops team to win the championship game by a score of 2-1.
The 2015 edition of the Ridge Meadows Midget AAA Royals finished with an overall record of 69-19-3. They showed incredible consistency with their ability to play at a high-level over such a long season. The team never stopped improving and saved their best baseball for the end of the season. These players and coaches all bought in to the common goal, and pushed each other to improve and work hard. This is a group who Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball and BC Baseball should be proud to be associated with. They are testament to what can be achieved through dedication and hard work.
