Midget & Bantam Royals Lose in Semi-Finals at Best of the West
Posted April 18, 2016
For the second consecutive season, both the Midget and Bantam Royals qualifed for the semi-finals in their respective tournaments at the Best of the West tournament in Kamloops. However, as was the case in 2015, both teams lost their semi-final games. After going a combined 5-1 and each winning their pools during round robin play, they were unable to finish of their strong weekends with trips to the championship games.
The Bantam Royals came out swinging as they opened the tournament on Friday with a pair of mercy-rule wins. They opened the tournament with an 18-6 win over the Calgary Bandits. Derek Livesey went 2-2 with a triple and 3 RBI's while Darian Guemos was 2-3 with a double and a pair of RBI. In the second game of the day, the Royals again swung the bats well and defeated Absolute Baseball Academy by a score of 12-1. Oliver Para (2-3, double, 3 RBI's), Brendan Morrison (3-3, RBI), and Nathan Lusher (2-2, 2 RBI's) paced the offence.
On Saturday the Bantam Royals won their third and final round robin game over Kamloops 4-1 to finish pool play a perfect 3-0, and as a result finished first in Pool B and secured a spot in the semi-final. Nick Stroud was dominant on the mound, finishing with 6 innings, 5 hits, no runs, no walks, and 9 strikeouts. He also chipped in at the plate going 2-2 with a walk. The Royals faced the Okotoks Dawgs in the semi-final on Sunday, but came out flat and some poor defence led to a 10-4 loss.
The Midget Royals began the weekend with a 10-5 loss to the Tri-City Indians. However, they were able to bounce back on the evening game with a solid 10-0 victory over Sherwood Park. Tyson Floris was masterful on the mound, throwing a complete game shutout for the victory.
Heading in to Saturday, the Midget Royals knew that they needed a win in order to secure a spot in the semi-finals. Backed by a solid performance on the mound from Josiah Williams (5 innings, 1 earned run, 7 strikeouts), the Royals defeated the Okotoks White Dawgs 5-2. Nick Peters led the way with the bats, going 2-3 with a double, a triple and driving in all 5 Royals' runs. Corey Vallee was 2-3 with a double. The win gave the Royals first place in Pool B and a date with the other Okotoks team (Red), in the semi-finals. In that game, the Royals held a 6-3 lead in the 6th inning but a 4-run inning for the Dawgs led to a 7-6 loss for the Royals, despite out-hitting Okotoks 14-6.
Overall it was a great weekend for both Royals' teams. The boys gained some great game experience while playing some teams that they don't normally get to face. The weekend also provided some great team bonding which will no doubt prove invaluable as the season progresses. This week both teams return to league play, as the Bantam Royals play a pair of road games while the Midget Royals head back to the Interior next weekend to face Kamloops and West Kelowna.
