The U12 100 Mile ‘N Hour fastball team competed in the Clearwater tournament on May 28-29, which was nicknamed the “Mud Bowl” when the teams found the fields flooded.
Coaching staff had to rework the schedule and make the fields playable with assistance from the parents before the tournament got underway later in the afternoon.
100 Mile’s first game was against Merritt and the rain and mud made for a messy first outing, as Merritt won 18-6 by mercy rule. Each team was awarded with a Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, with Jackson Hooper winning it for 100 Mile.
Barriere was next, which had three U14 players and some U12 players from Clearwater. The weather threatened to end the game prematurely but it held off with Barriere winning 20-10. MVP was awarded to Kyson Hopson.
The turn around 100 Mile needed came against Clearwater. Coach Rob Sanford reorganized the lineups and the players brought renewed focus leading to a 17-4 victory for 100 Mile. Noah Sanders received MVP.
Final game on Sunday against Barriere began with an unexpected surprise. Barriere still had U14 players on its roster despite having had the whole morning to find more U12 players.
But the 100 Mile team didn’t complain and instead brought a renewed offence. 100 Mile scored three runs in the first and completely shut out Barriere. The second inning had even more intensity as 100 Mile were able to score five additional runs.
They held the lead until the bottom of the seventh when a U14 player from Barriere whacked a grand slam to tie the game. Barriere scored an additional single to win 9-8.
Despite the weather and age difference, Sanford says he was very proud of players going up against the odds.
“Our kids knew the Barriere team had a big time advantage carrying those older kids but they dug in and went right in after them with all they had.”
The U12 team also just competed in the Fleetwood tournament on June 10-12.
