White Rock 11U AAA Team – 2017 Provincial Champs!

The White Rock 11U AAA Tier 1 Tritons won the provincial title on the August long weekend in Cloverdale, capping off an amazing 26-1 season.

The tournament began on the Friday against Cloverdale, with the boys coming back to win a hard fought game 9-8. The game was highlighted by a 1st inning 3-run homer from Ben McKinnon to keep the game close, scoring Matty Ng and Vasya Seymour. In the 2nd, the hit parade continued, with Max Ross hitting a triple to score Austin Hexter. Consecutive doubles by Ben, then Jack Clayton pushed the score to 7-4 White Rock. Later in bottom of the 5th, White Rock found themselves down 8-7 when Vasya hit a game-tying solo shot on the first pitch of the inning. Tyson Craven had the go-ahead RBI on a double. Ben then entered the game in the top of the 6th to preserve the win.

Friday afternoon, White Rock had a statement game, shutting out Nanaimo 15-0. Zak Burden and Max Ross pitched a combined no-hitter, as the team played error-free defence behind them. Matty had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-3 with 2 doubles and a homer, good for 5 RBI on the game.

On Saturday morning, the team suffered their first loss of the season, losing to Abbotsford in a slugfest. The boys jumped out to a lead in the 1st inning on a RBI single by Garin Wickstrom, but found themselves trailing going to the top of the 6th. Jack hit a solo shot, and Sam Manship scored with some heads up base running on a passed ball to make it close, but the final ended up as 11-8 for Abbotsford, setting up a must-win game later in the day.

Saturday evening, the boys punched their ticket to the playoff round with a 13-2 win against Kamloops. Max Ross came to the mound in the 2nd inning, and pitched an efficient 4 innings, using just 51 pitches, and allowing just one earned run. In this game, Danny Berringer hit a long double off the fence, and had 3 RBI on the day. The game ended on a dramatic walk-off grand slam homer by Ben in the bottom of the 5th to put the mercy rule into effect.

Sunday morning’s semi-final game showed that this team scores from anywhere in the lineup. 9 different Tritons players had at least one RBI, and every single player scored at least one run in a 19-6 win. White Rock had 4 home runs in this game – Ben with 2, while Danny and Sam Persaud hit one each.

The final game was a back-and-forth affair, with White Rock coming back from 1-0 and 3-1 deficits to eventually tie the game and win the championship in extra innings. After Abbotsford took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd, with 2 outs in the top of the 3rd, Matty hit a long double off the top of the left field fence, scoring Zak to tie the game. Top of the 4th with 2 out, trailing 3-1, Jack launched a huge solo homer to straight away center, hitting the concession stand before it landed.

The Tritons were still down 3-2 until the top of the 6th inning, their last chance to tie. Matty reached on a walk, and advanced to 3rd on consecutive passed balls. Vasya Seymour then sacrificed on a grounder to the 1st base side, scoring Matty to force extra innings.

The game stayed tied until the top of the 8th inning. Then, as they have done all season long, the Tritons started a long rally – this time from the 8 spot in the order. After Sam Manship grounded out, Sam Persaud singled on a liner to left, Max Ross singled on a beautiful bunt, and Danny walked to load the bases. Persaud scored the go-ahead run on a passed ball, while Zak battled hard but popped out on an 8 pitch at-bat for the second out. With 2 outs and 2 on base, Austin Hexter hit a towering fly to right for a 2-RBI double, making the score 6-3 Tritons. Matty, Vasya, and Ben all singled to run the score to 9-3 when the inning ended on a strikeout.

Abbotsford rallied for 2 runs in the bottom of the 8th, but the game ended when Austin fielded a grounder at 3rd and threw to Zak at 1st base for the final out. Persaud and McKinnon had combined to pitch a great 8 innings, each of them striking out 7 batters.

This team went undefeated in all their tournaments, and all their league games throughout July. Their only loss on the season was to Abbotsford in the provincials. The hallmarks of this team are depth of pitching, and hard hitting from anywhere in the lineup. All 12 of the players on this team threw from the mound in a game, and all 12 had the power to hit the ball out of the park.

Huge thank you goes out to the great group of families that were so dedicated, and all of the players that put in the work, and were so determined to learn and grow throughout the season. Congratulations to all of the White Rock baseball teams this summer!

White Rock 11U AAA Tier 1 All-Stars – Boulanger…

The 2017 White Rock 11U AAA Tier 1 All-Stars won the Boulanger Memorial tournament championship, capping a great weekend of baseball on the Canada Day long weekend.

In the round robin games, White Rock showed that they have a hard hitting lineup, and the rally starts from anywhere in the order. In Game 1 against Richmond, Jack Clayton hammered a 2-run shot, and Ben McKinnon launched 2 homers for 5 RBI. In Game 2 against Chilliwack, Sam Manship and Austin Hexter each had home runs. In Game 3 against Victoria, Austin Hexter hit his second home run of the tournament.

In the semi-final game, 3 White Rock pitchers (Vasya Seymour, Matty Ng, Garin Wickstrom) combined on a 3-hit shutout in a 10-0 win over Ladner. White Rock jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first, which featured a 2-run homer from Max Ross. White Rock then extended the lead to 8-0 in the second inning on the strength of a 2-run homer by Tyson Craven.

White Rock prevailed 4-2 over Cloverdale in a tight final game, which featured some remarkable team defensive play, and timely hitting. Ben McKinnon pitched 4 solid innings as White Rock came back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits to tie the game twice. In the bottom of the 4th inning, Tyson Craven doubled to drive in a run, and Garin Wickstrom followed that up with an RBI single to give White Rock a 4-2 lead. Vasya Seymour took the mound in the top of the 5th, striking out 1 and walking 3 batters to load the bases. Just when it looked like Cloverdale would rally, White Rock brought the infield in, and turned a gem of a double play going 6-2-3 (McKinnon, Ng, Burden) to put out the fire. Vasya finished the 6th inning by striking out the side to earn the save, and MVP honours.

So far, this team has gone 14-0 in combined tournament and league play. Good luck to all the other White Rock teams in July – here’s to a successful run for these boys of summer.

White Rock U9 Tadpole All-Stars – Andrews Invitational Tournament…

The 2015 White Rock U9 Tadpole All-Stars won the Andrews Invitational championship, going a perfect 15-0 in tournament play this summer. For these kids, this is the first season where they pitch to batters, and hit from other pitchers.

Andrews Invitational Tournament Recap

Game 1 featured great hitting throughout the lineup and some solid defense. Vasya Seymour got things started with a triple in the 1st inning, scoring lead off hitter Matthew Ng, while speedster Max Ross busted out of a slump going 2-for-2. The play of the game was a highlight reel sno-cone catch by Ben Friedel in right field, who then threw out a runner at 2nd for a double play, earning him Game MVP honours. In games 2 and 3, White Rock kept the bats going and ground out a couple sloppy wins, taking both games 22-11 and earning a spot in the semi-final.

In the semi-final game, White Rock allowed 3 runs in the top of the 1st inning, but roared back to score 4 in the bottom, and kept the bats going on their way to a 15-4 win. Ben McKinnon went 2 for 3, with 3 RBI in the game. Sam Persaud had one heck of a 5th inning, tracking a long fly into foul ground at left field in the top half, then picking up 2 RBI with a clutch base hit that ended the game in the bottom half, earning his team a spot in the tournament final.

White Rock prevailed 3-2 over Ladner in a tight final game, which featured the return of great team pitching, and some remarkable team defensive play. Briggham Kokotailo set the tone for the pitchers, striking out the Ladner side in the top of the 1st. Vasya Seymour went 2-for-2, scoring once, and also pitched a scoreless inning. Ben McKinnon struck out one, and walked the bases loaded. Just when it looked like Ladner would get on the board, Ben Pulfer snagged a hard line drive at 2B, then flipped the ball to 1st for a smart double-play to end the threat. Pulfer also pitched a scoreless inning to earn himself Game MVP honours. Zak Burden and Sam Persaud each pitched a solid inning, allowing 1 run each.

The Boys of Summer – I never will forget those nights / I wonder if it was a dream

Personally, the last 5 weeks have been a blur. Many times I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be at work the next morning or at the ball park. The team played a total of 26 games, and practiced on most of the other nights. Some personal highlights of the season for me:

• The dedication of all of the families to the team. One of our practices was scheduled for the Monday after a tournament; the coaches decided to call it “optional”. Every single player showed up. It turned out to be a 3 hour long batting practice session, with many of the dads shagging fly balls and grounders, trying to show the kids “how it’s done”.
• The willingness of siblings to help. All of the players have siblings, but 3 in particular – Evan Ng, Liz Kokotailo, and Madelyn McKinnon went above and beyond. I half expected to hear Evan wailing about being boredddddd, but instead he took on the role of team scorekeeper and statistician. He might be halfway to a degree in sabermetrics. After Coach Randy was on the injured reserve, Liz and Madelyn helped to keep the practices and pregame warmups going with their live arms.
• There is crying in baseball. And it usually occurs when kids don’t get on base. The hilarious part of it is that all the kids were really good at getting on base. In those moments when the tears flowed, the kids were so good to each other, picking their teammates up when they were feeling down, and helping each other get back on the field and play their best.

It has been one heck of a season for all of us. As I write this, there is a hole in my heart that is roughly the size of a baseball. I’ve received emails and texts from the other coaches already, talking about being bored, and of course, watching baseball. Because after coaching baseball for 30 straight days, you take a break from that by watching more ball.

Thanks to everyone involved for all the wonderful memories. Here’s to many more hazy summers filled with baseball dreams.

White Rock U9 Tadpole All-Stars – Ridge Meadows Tournament…

Last weekend, the White Rock U9 Tadpole All-Stars played in the Rupert Reed Invitational Tournament in Ridge Meadows. The boys went undefeated, posting a 5-0 record on their way to the tournament championship.

At this age group, pitchers are only allowed to pitch one inning per game. A deep pitching rotation and solid bullpen are the hallmarks of this team, as 6 White Rock pitchers combined to pitch 2 no-hitters in a row. In the last game of the tournament, the boys defeated the Ladner Red Sox 9-5 in an exciting final. Early in the game, the top of the order delivered 4 runs in the top of the 1st inning for White Rock. In the bottom of the 1st, Zak Burden made a solid defensive play at 2nd to preserve the lead.

Later in the top of the 4th inning while nursing a 5-4 lead, White Rock broke the game wide open on a clutch 2 RBI double by Austin Hexter, who drove in what turned out to be the game winning runs.

Many of these boys are still 8 years old, but are displaying some great baseball smarts. Throughout the tournament, the boys displayed a combination of patience and power at the plate, and showed flashes of smart and aggressive base running.

So far this summer season, the boys have gone 10-0 in tournament play. Their last tournament of the summer season will from July 26 to 29, in Cloverdale.

U9 Tadpole All-Stars – Newton Cook Tournament Champs

This weekend the White Rock Tadpole U9 All-Stars went undefeated on their way to the championship at the Diane Cook Tournament in Newton. These boys pitched for the first time in a game this week, and did very well for themselves, playing some great baseball.

Some of the highlights included some excellent shut-down pitching from Ben McKinnon throughout the tournament, stellar defensive plays from Vasya Seymour, and consistent hitting from Matthew Ng.

The final game against the Cloverdale White Spurs was a back and forth affair, with numerous lead changes in the first 4 innings. The highlight of the final game was a 2 run double to left center from Briggham Kokotailo in the bottom of the 4th, who earned Game MVP honours in the final with those clutch RBIs. White Rock shut down Cloverdale the rest of the way to earn the championship.

With offensive and defensive contributions from every single player in the lineup, it really was a great team effort. The boys played great baseball not just for their age, but any age. Moreover, they are picking each other up, and being excellent teammates. Lots more great baseball is in store for these boys of summer.

The team’s next tournament will be in Ridge Meadows, and they will finish the season with a final tournament in Cloverdale.