The top two teams in the round robin will play for the BC Little League title today at Andy Bilesky Park at 1:30 p.m.
District 5 Lynn Valley will play District 3 Whalley for the BC championship and a berth to the Canadians after Lynn Valley defeated the Trail All Stars 5-2 and Whalley beat Little Mountain 6-2 in Friday’s semifinal.
Trail played solid baseball with pitcher Brady Augustin throwing a no-hitter through four innings and the All Stars holding a 2-0 lead, when a couple of bad bounces dashed the Trail All Stars quest for a sixth BC Little League championship.
Lynn Valley led off the fifth inning with a routine grounder to the second baseman that at the last minute took a huge hop. Trail’s Ewan Brown somehow managed to snag it and keep it from going in the outfield, but couldn’t find the handle and the runner was safe at first.
Augustin struck out the second batter on four pitches, however, the next batter walked, and Lynn Valley’s shortstop Armann Drar stepped up and hit a routine fly ball to right. On any other day, in any other inning it would have been the All Stars third out, but as fate would have it, two runs scored on a dropped ball to tie the game at two.
A walk to Nick Frers brought Cameron Macleod to the plate and the catcher launched a three-run home run over the centerfield fence to make it 5-2. Trail got out of the inning, but after putting two men on in the top of the sixth, and the tying run at the plate, Lynn Valley shut the host team down for the victory and berth into Saturday’s final.
The All Stars got off to a good start, when Landan Uzeloc and Calvin Morrison walked to lead off the first inning. Willem Terwood scored both runners on a hit to right centre then let Augustin work his magic through four innings.
The Nelson native struck out six, giving up five runs on two hits, and four walks.
Lynn Valley went undefeated through the round robin and will try to keep that streak going against 5-1 Whalley this afternoon.
