MOOSE JAW - The Â鶹ÊÓƵeast A's, who play most of their games out of Alameda, have captured a provincial championship.
The A's defeated the Regina Athletics 13-1 Sunday afternoon in Moose Jaw to win the Baseball Saskatchewan U15 AAA Tier 2 provincials. The A's were the class of the tournament, posting a perfect 5-0 record and outscoring their opponents 67-27.
In the opener, the A's and the White Butte Broncos were tied 3-3 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, but the A's scored nine in the fourth and added two in the fifth to invoke the mercy rule. Jaxon Kuchinka had a double and four runs batted in (RBIs), while Seth Franklin scored three times.
Luke Holman pitched all five innings, allowing three runs and striking out five.
The next game was the toughest, a 9-7, extra innings win over the Regina Wolfpack. The A's rallied from a 4-1 deficit through four innings, took a 5-4 lead but gave up a tying run in the bottom of the seventh. Then they outscored the Wolfpack 4-2 in the extra frame.
Nathan Gardiner had a run, two hits and an RBI for the A's, who had 10 stolen bases in the win.
Tyson Hardy and Tristan Brownridge shared the pitching duties. Hardy struck out 12 batters in five innings.
Next, the A's and the Regina Athletics were tied at 4-4 entering the bottom of the fourth, but then the southeast entry took over with six in the fourth and two in the fifth.
Kuchinka and Holman each had three runs, two hits and an RBI, while Hardy had two hits and four RBIs.
The final round-robin game was a 16-7 win over the Moose Jaw Canucks. The A's scored seven in the fourth and five in the sixth, and they belted out 24 hits, with nine players getting at least two hits in a balanced attack. Hardy once again had four RBIs, and Holman and Kuchinka had three runs each.
Reese Copeland started and went six innings for the A's.
The Â鶹ÊÓƵeast A's needed just 4 1/2 innings to defeat the Athletics in the provincial final, thanks to four runs in the third inning and eight in the fourth. Holman had two runs two hits and three RBIs while Caden Dorrance added two runs, two hits and two RBIs.
Brownridge and Dorrance combined to allow three hits in five innings.
Coach Trent Dorrance said the players pitched very well during the weekend, with the starts going deep in each game and the relievers pitching near-perfect baseball.
The team batting average was .416 for the weekend, with everyone contributing to the lofty figure. Dorrance noted they were second in batting average and runs this season.
The Â鶹ÊÓƵeast A's were the top-ranked team in Tier 2 at provincials. They finished ninth in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League's regular season with a 12-16 mark, finishing one game out of a playoff spot. The top eight teams went to Tier 1 provincials and the other five were in Tier 2.
