15U National Final - Team BC dominates Team Quebec to repeat as Canadian champions

Team BC only had a couple of hours to recharge and refocus after coming out on top in the fight of their lives against Team Alberta earlier on championship Sunday. Credit to BC’s fantastic parent group for assembling a collection of snacks that the boys could munch on in the comfort of their own hotel rooms prior to getting back on the bus. Once fed, they returned to Parc Paul-Marcel-Maheu for the much-anticipated rematch with Team Quebec, who had to work a lot harder to get to this point. Les Bleus were upset by the Hosts in their final pool A game, knocking them back into the quarterfinal against Team Nova Scotia on Saturday night – exactly how the bracket played out one year ago. Quebec made light work of their Atlantic opponents, then exacted their revenge on the Hosts in a convincing 14-2 drubbing. The bleachers were packed with players and parents from across the country eager to see some compelling baseball, and... well, let’s just say Team BC had other plans. 

Team Quebec 2, Team BC 7 

All season long, Coach Frick has sounded like a broken record preaching to the boys, “Be ready to hit.” Boy did they ever pick the right time to take that message to heart. BC swung at 10 of the first 11 pitches they saw in the bottom of the 1st and grabbed a 4-0 lead before Quebec even knew what hit them. They were facing the same starting pitcher that limited the offense to just 1 hit over 4 1/3 innings in their first meeting, but as Captain Des pointed out, “he was a lot easier to hit when it wasn’t pitch black outside.” He and Jack Redpath got the rally started with a pair of singles, then Bello scored them both when his 0-2 liner to left skipped behind the left fielder. The Quebec defender charged in hard to try to make the catch, and he might’ve had an inning-ending double play if he did because Redpath was attempting to swipe third on the pitch. Instead, it bounced in front of him and he couldn’t react in time to keep it in front. I describe this play in such detail because on the very next pitch, it happened again. This time it was De Meyer who caught the left fielder in between, gladly trading places with Bello to further help his own cause. An emergency mound visit for Team Quebec was in order, but that didn’t stop rookie Hayden Mangat from making a key adjustment at the dish in the aftermath. Team BC was clobbering every fastball down Broadway the Quebec starter had to offer so far, so he went up there anticipating a first pitch breaking ball instead. His approach paid off, as he wasted no time smacking the pitch he was looking for and capped off the stunning 4-run inning with an RBI single. BC hitting coach Ford Marcotte had been waiting his whole career for an inning like this, and he could finally breathe easy knowing that was all the offense his team was gonna need to claim the National Championship.  

One parent asked me later that night at what point I knew that BC had the gold medal in the bag. My answer – after the top of the 3rd. Quebec’s Charbonneau became his team’s first baserunner when he roped a leadoff triple to right field. Dylan De Meyer was making his second appearance on the hill of the tournament for Team BC, and he buckled down at the first sign of traffic. He proceeded to strike out the side, including a lengthy battle with the #9 hitter who fouled off 5 pitches in a row before finally going down looking. The lone runner was stranded at third base, which was no doubt a crushing blow for a team desperate to claw their way back from four runs down. BC added insult to injury by tacking on two more runs in the bottom half. Jack Bello showed off his rare combination of power and speed by creating the fifth run of the game. He split the gap in right-centre field and dove into second for a double, then breezed home as the Quebec catcher threw the ball down the left field line trying to retire Bello on a steal attempt. Tyler McWhinnie continued the parade around the bases for Team BC, busting his slump by cashing in a run on a triple to right. Much like his ill-fated teammate before him, the Quebec right fielder had McWhinnie’s base hit skip behind him as well, and he is the LAST guy you want to be off to the races. Generally speaking, it wasn’t a good night to be a Quebec outfielder. 6-0 BC after 3 complete.  

The only part of BC’s game that wasn’t the sharpest on this night was the defence, giving their opponents about three extra outs to work with in the late stages. Oddly enough, Quebec repeatedly bailed out Team BC by running into outs on the bases. Tregaskis gunned down a pair of runners trying to steal second, who had his shortstop Mason Dubnov to thank for styling like Javi Baez in catching and applying the tags. Not only that, the first out of the 7th was recorded on a backpick at 2nd, as basically everyone on the field for BC caught the Quebec lead runner napping. They all pitched in to support relief pitcher Lucas Holt, who got the win on the bump against Quebec three nights prior. He might not have been the guy you expected to be out there closing the National final, but it exemplified part of what makes Frick an exceptional manager. Holt was the unsung hero of the Jays’ pitching staff down the stretch, stepping up to toss some key innings that helped the team get to this point. This was his third year with the Delta program, working his way up from the Tigers development squad as a grade 7 – he deserved this opportunity, and coach Frick gave it to him. When Bruce Bochy allowed dark horse Josh Sborz to finish the job in game 5 of the World Series, I was reminded of this awesome moment. Just like Sborz did, Lucas Holt earned his final out by catching the batter watching a nasty breaker go by for strike three.  

The Blue Jays Family continues to grow 

One of the most noteworthy parts of this game (and Championship Sunday in general) to me was the contributions of the three pick-ups. De Meyer was the obvious standout, who snagged the game MVP award in 3 of the 5 tournament games he appeared in – if there was a tournament MVP award, he would’ve run away with it. He, along with Tregaskis, Bello and McWhinnie all earned themselves a spot on PBR’s Top 10 Class of 2026 list, which is all the evidence you need that performing well at the Ray Carter Cup is a damn good way for young talent to be noticed. Let’s not forget about Carter Bestebroer, who notched his only two hits of the tournament in the final game and scored the 7th run for BC. Both he and McWhinnie struggled with the bat early on, but perhaps they were both a bit overwhelmed playing with a group of guys they barely knew for the first time. Judging by the way they fit in on Championship Sunday, it’d be impossible to tell that they weren’t part of the well-oiled Blue Jays machine from the start.  

A special shoutout goes to Team BC’s legendary bat boy, William. He was only around on Sunday, but his enthusiasm gave the boys a much-needed boost throughout the semi-final game that they were mostly trailing. He brought the same energy to the BC dugout for the final - against his home province, no less! I was worried he might have to go into hiding after such a betrayal, but the only thing he was worried about was propelling Team BC to victory. He joined in on the dogpile that ensued following the final out and posed at the front of the team photo with the trophy in hand. Merci beaucoup, William! 

I know I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m so incredibly grateful to be a part of the Blue Jays family. The culture that coach Frick and the rest of the staff have built in Delta is undeniable. Congratulations to all the boys who worked their tails off since they became a team in January to accomplish their ultimate goal – you'll forever be champions!!