They went into the B.C. Midget AAA Baseball Championships in Kelowna ranked seventh. They finished third after knocking off two teams rated ahead of them.
Rick Leroux is ecstatic about how the Vernon Canadians ended the season, falling 7-5 to the No. 1 Cloverdale Spurs.
“We did what we set out to do by going into the final-four playoff round where we gave the Spurs a run for their money, and with a couple of breaks, could have been in the final,” said Leroux. “It was a good overall tournament and the players should be very proud of what took place. We lose seniors Ethan Huizinga, Landon Currie, Corey Anderson and Kadyn Thomas next season while 10 players will be of age to return to what should be another good year of Midget triple A ball for Vernon.”
Ryan Gudjlek hammered a three-run home run over the right field fence to put Vernon in front 3-1 in the third inning. Gudjlek and Thomas were left stranded in the seventh. Jarod Leroux pitched the full seven innings for Vernon, allowing eight hits.
Gudjlek went 4-for-9 with a .444 batting average, while Leroux was 7-for-16 for a .437 batting average in the tournament. Caden Doyle hit .308 with four hits in 13 at bats.
The C’s lost 9-5 to the North Fraser Nationals, bowed 5-0 to the eventual champion Kelowna Sun Devils, outlasted the third-place Victoria Eagles 8-6 and shut down the North Shore Rays 3-0 in preliminary play.
Huizinga tossed a complete-game six-hitter against the Rays, while Dawson Chase was 2-for-3.
Chase cranked a line-drive grandslam homer over the 16-foot right field fence to help Vernon ground Victoria. Gudjlek doubled and singled in two at bats.
plate appearances. Raynan Campbell and Thomas handled the pitching.
Leroux went 3-for-4 with a double, while Doyle was 2-for-4 with a double as the Canadians fell to North Fraser.
The C’s will hold a one-day evaluation camp for Bantam players moving up to Midget AAA sometime this summer. Players are urged to call Rick Leroux at 250-558-1488.
