The Alberni U11 Jr. boys baseball team won gold in the 12th annual Hopwo invitational tournament in Chemainus that was held June 3–5.
The team won four out of their five games over the three days. This is the first time Port Alberni has taken home a gold medal throughout the 12 years of the tournament.
Coach Jon McDowall said the team played exceptionally in the back-to-back games even through the “scorching” temperatures over the weekend.
Alberni won their first game on Friday against the Salt Spring Mariners, 17-6. During the second day of the tournament Alberni won both their games with scores of 11-10 against the Duncan Pirates and 14-4 against the Ladysmith A’s. Alberni saw their first loss on Sunday morning against the home team, Chemainus, with a score of 7-6 but went on to win the gold medal game against the Duncan Rockies with a score of 11-9.
“One of the highlights of the tournament was during our second game against the Duncan Pirates, Aiden See hit a grand slam home run in the third inning,” McDowall said.
Most valuable player awards went to Aiden See in Game 1, Evan McLeod in Game 2, A.J. McDowall in Game 3, Parker McKay in Game 4 and Cam Mahar in Game 5.
