Bantam Royals Fall in Tsawwassen Tournament Final
Posted May 24, 2016
The Bantam Royals finished as the runner-up this past weekend in the Tsawwassen May Long Weekend Tournament as they fell in the final to Delta by a score of 2-0. The team went undefeated before coming up short in the championship game.
The Royals started the tournament with a pair of wins on Saturday in pool play. In the first game, the Royals overcome 9 errors to defeat Cloverdale by a score of 9-7. Nick Baust was named the game MVP as he hit a 2nd inning solo home run and also pitched 2 innings. Darian Guemos also hit a solo home run in the win. In the second game of the day, the Royals beat the Richmond Chuckers by a score of 8-4. Guemos was named game MVP pitching 3.1 innings.
After winning their pool with a 2-0 record, the Royals advanced to the quarter-final where they again met up with Richmond. This time the game was not close, as the Royals used a 12-run 1st inning en route to a 16-1 mercy win. Guemos hit a grand slam, while Nick Stroud hit a 2-run home run and Owen McCuaig had a 3-run triple. Brody Clark pitched all 4 innings to pick up the win.
On Monday, the Royals took on the Burnaby Braves, whom they had yet to face this season. Baust got the start and pitched 5 solid innings en route to a 7-2 win and a berth in the final. Stroud came on in relief to close things out. Rylan Slaughter was named game MVP for his solid work behind the plate.
With Delta defeating Cloverdale in the other semi-final by a score of 8-7, the match-up was set for the championship game. Guemos started for the Royals and was very solid in throwing a complete game (6 innings, 2 runs, 4 hits, 2 walks, 12 strikeouts). However, the Royals bats went completely silent and were unable to muster anything offensively, as they lost by a score of 2-0. McCuaig was named game MVP after throwing out a runner at the plate from the outfield.
Overall it was a very solid weekend of baseball for the club. Despite the fact that they were unable to complete the tournament win, the experience will prove valuable later on in the season. The Royals get right back at it this week as they will host the Mission Twins on Thursday at Hammond Stadium before embarking on a 6-game road trip which begins with weekend games in Burnaby and Vancouver.
