100 Mile ‘n Hour Squirts boys softball team put the pedal to the metal to earn a silver medal at the 2012 U12 Boys Provincial Championships in Fleetwood, July 6-8.
Representing Cariboo Northeast, the team, coached by Kyle Moore and Pat Findlay, finished the preliminary round robin with two wins and a loss, which earned them a berth in the final with the Richmond Mariners.
Their single round-robin loss was to the Mariners, known rivals from the past that had beat them quite handily twice before, and Moore says his team’s confidence plummeted when faced them in the final.
“The kids figured they were beat before they even played.”
100 Mile was down 8-0 after the second inning, and then Moore called a huddle.
“I told them they could beat this team and I told them the Richmond team wasn’t beating them, they were beating themselves. Then they came around.
“It’s really hard to stop kids from getting down on themselves once they’re down. After the huddle, they all picked up their heads and started hitting and catching.”
After the reboot, 100 Mile went on to score five runs and shut out Richmond in the third inning. The fourth saw another run and a shutout, and in the fifth they brought in four runs and allowed one to the Richmond team for a 10-9 lead.
Tension and hopes were high in the sixth inning, as 100 Mile needed just three runs to win. With 100 Mile runners on second and third, it looked promising, says Moore, but Richmond managed to get a third out before any of them could make it home.
They didn’t win the gold, but they’d earned the silver, the coach adds.
“I couldn’t have been prouder. They all did what they had to do. They’re an excellent group of kids.”
