Bill Moore Memorial Park was “The House that the Powerhouse Drywall A’s Built” on the weekend as they won the inaugural Happy’s Source for Sports Men’s Baseball Tournament.
The six-team tourney featured round robin games all day Saturday and playoff games all day Sunday. Come Sunday’s semifinals there were three local teams still playing to make the 5 p.m. final. Happy’s Reds held off the Campbell River Blue Jays 4-2 led by game MVP Jeff Meija’s fifth inning, two-run homer.
In the other semi, the Drywall A’s strong pitching staff shut down the Investors Group Dodgers batters throughout the game, led by game MVP pitcher Andy Stewart, to set up the all Comox Valley final.
As 5 p.m. rolled around the skies darkened and the tension was building as both teams were starting their ace pitchers. The Reds’ Scott Judson pitched three scoreless innings to the start the game and the A’s Brad Aitken was just as effective, but the Reds scratched out a run to take an 1-0 lead into the bottom of the fourth inning.
With runners on second and third in the bottom half of the inning, Dennis Barna belted a two-run single to put the A’s up 2-1. The Reds tied the game in the top half of the fifth when a double by Ryan MacKinnon scored Devin Webster, and with one out Cam McDonald scored on a squeeze bunt by Dallas McDonald to put the Reds up 3-2.
The Reds added one more run in the inning as Kaelan Shute singled in Ryan Mackinnon to make it 4-2 going into the bottom half of the last inning. Down to their last at bats and down by two runs, the A’s put base runners on early in the inning to put the pressure on the Reds’ defence – a clutch hit here and an error or two there and suddenly the A’s were right back in the ball game.
With the bases loaded and down by one run, the A’s Jerry Williams singled in Cam Vale to tie the game at 4-4. The Reds’ nerves were high as Rob Mugford walked to the plate with the bases still loaded, only one out, and the tournament on the line.
After a back-and-forth battle with the Reds’ pitcher Mugford hit a broken bat, walk-off single to score Joe Robbins from third to give the Powerhouse Drywall A’s the tourney title.
– Comox Valley Men’s Baseball League
