Youve heard of the comeback kids. Little Mountains 9/10 Little Leaguers have another name. We were dubbed the cardiac kids, said manager Blair Shapera.
After erasing deficits in two playoff games to reach the Little League B.C. Championship Saturday at Victorias Layritz Park, the boys from Little Mountain drubbed the host team 12-0 to win with confidence and bring home the clubs first 9/10 title in their 63-year history. Last year, South Vancouver Little League won the same tournament for the first time in its history.
The final was a bit anti-climactic. Getting there was just ridiculous, said Shapera.
The best thing is coming through adversity It built such character in that group. They really came together as a team and supported each other. We were just saying to them: Youve just got to believe you can do this.
Before they rallied their bats and self-belief, Little Mountain fell behind, twice.
Against Victorias Layritz on Tuesday in a must-win playoff game, Little Mountain sank into a six-run deficit before the first inning was even over.
It was, I think, two bunts, two errors, two walks a hit batter and a blooper single, said Shapera. A Layritz runner also raced in from third to score on a wild pitch. And all of a sudden it was 6-0.
Little Mountain scored in the third when Sawyer Huck Henstridges line drive brought home Gareth Wintjes but Layritz answered in the bottom of the inning to keep a six-run lead. With two outs in the fifth, Little Mountain scored three runs to close the gap at 7-4.
Pitcher Lucas Yang struck out two batters to close the inning and Little Mountain answered at the plate with three runs to tie the game at 7. In the seventh (and final) inning, Wintjest and Yang each brought in a run to give Little Mountain the 9-7 lead and the win.
Against Layritz, pitching favoured Little Mountain, said Shapera. The big difference was the amount of pitching we had versus what they had. They used their couple of best pitchers to beat White Rock and they didnt have much left.
But Little Mountains uncontainable power came off their bats. This was the best hitting team wed ever had, said the coach of 20 years. Despite the trouble theyd get into on the field, the bats never stopped.
The same story played out in the semi-final against New Westminster on Friday in Victoria. Little Mountain made two errors and allowed three runs but answered with powerful hitting to trail 3-2 after the first inning. In the next inning, New West doubled their score on three walks with the bases loaded. Thomas Iverson threw out a base runner at home to protect the score and end the inning trailing 6-2. Wintjes tripled in the third for a single RBI and the score held at 6-4 until the fifth inning when Little Mountain scored two more to tie the game. With two out, New West scored two runs to go ahead 8-6.
Going into the final inning, Shapera asked the lowest batter on the rotation, Jenmark Ramos as he prepared to lead off: Do you believe?
Hesitant at first, Ramos wasnt used to starting the rotation. If you go up there like that, youre already out, said Shapera. You can hit this. You believe it.
Ramos answered with a triple. Carson Buschman-Dormand eventually brought him home with a single and Little Mountain trailed by only one with the bases loaded. New West walked the batter to score the tying run for Little Mountain and then, the bases still loaded with Keegan Dusty Lott on third, Lewis Antonuk smacked a hard grounder to the short stop who fired the ball home for the force out. The throw was a little high, said Shapera. Dusty slid in to home as the catcher leaped to catch the ball. It was a very close play but he was called safe game over!
The final didnt deliver the heart-stopping tension or excitement of the previous two games but the result still favoured Little Mountain. They met the Little League from Layritz a second time and this time blanked the hosts 12-0.
Little Mountains allowed no runs and scored in each of the games four innings before the mercy rule kicked in. Wintjes had a single and three RBIs and Little Mountains output totalled five runs in the third inning.
KERRISDALE HOSTS B.C. CHAMPIONSHIP
Hastings Little League defends its B.C. title this week at the 2013 provincial championships at Elm Park in Kerrisdale. As last years champs, the Hastings All-stars went on to win nationals and represented Canada at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
Unbeaten in two games, Hastings (2-0) meets North Vans Forest Hills (2-0) Tuesday in their third game of the seven-game round-robin tournament. They play White Rock (2-0) at 3 p.m. Wednesday.
Dunbar (2-1) plays last years hosts Trail (0-2 ) Tuesday and meets Kerrisdale (0-2) 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Kerrisdale Little League hosts the provincials at their home park on 41st Avenue and the final is scheduled for 2 p.m. July 28 at Elm Park.
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