OK Tire won the A division final Sunday at the Nelson Mixed Slo-Pitch playdowns at the Lakeside Park ball diamonds. They defeated the Competition in the final 20-15. OK Tire had a 14-12 lead into the 7th inning. They became only the second team ever to win the A final twice.
UnKnowns, last year’s A division winner, won the B division final over Molson Finley’s in a game that was close until the last three innings. Finley’s took the B division last year.
Cardinals took the C division over Ripping Giraffe. It was 2-1 going into the 5th when the Cardinals pulled out back-to-back five-run innings to put the game away. Ripping Giraffe made it to the final in their first year in the league.
“It was just incredible,” said league president R.J. Warren. “To see them go through to the C final they had to play some pretty good ball.”
Warren said he was a bit surprised the Cardinals wound up in the C division, as he expected them to be contenders in the B division.
“In general it was a good weekend, a lot of fun,” Warren said. “There were a lot of high scoring games and low scoring games. Sometimes it was good defence, sometimes it was bats.”
The Tin Tippers were named the most sportsmanlike team.
The tournament opened Wednesday with an eight-inning game, and on Sunday in the C division semi-final, UpTown and the Competition also went to eight innings. With the score tied 6-6, UpTown had the go-ahead run on third base in the bottom of the 6th, and on second in the bottom of the 7th, but it was the Competition that scored in the eighth to win 7-6. The game ended on a double play.
Total Chaos took the regular season title. “They played the season like a house on fire but couldn’t put it together in the playoffs,” Warren said. They were knocked down to the B bracket and then the UnKnowns kept them out of the finals.
Warren said the league is a mix of not only men and women but ages and experience. “Having younger teams and established teams is really good. Everyone has fun through the season, but playoffs tighten up. A lot of people have played very competitive ball, but we want to make sure we are a fun league.”
He also noted that several teams, including the UnKnowns and the Competition, are comprised partly of family members.
The league honoured Nelson and District Credit Union for their financial support with opening pitch ceremonies in the finals. The credit union has always had a team in the league.
Thankfully, Warren said, there were no major injuries over the weekend. He was also grateful to city workers for making sure the fields were ready to go following the big storm a few weeks ago.
