In a dramatic comeback CityWest won the fourth annual Ridley Island Charity Slo Pitch tournament on Aug. 19.
This was the second year in a row the telecom team took the tournament. This year, they advanced through a field of nine corporate teams beating DP World 15-14 in the final game.
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“The hardest thing to do in sports is repeat right?” said Jordan Johnson, who batted in two runs. “So it feels great to help bring it back to CityWest again. It’s been a lot of fun.”
The annual event raises funds, which are donated to a different charity each year. This year, approximately $2,000 went to the Postmen Fire Fighters. Amy Lashek, who helped organize the tournament along with Forrest Shale and Jamie Malthus for North Coast Charity, said there were new entrants, which helped to make for a competitive tournament.
“It’s been a great weekend with great participation and great weather,” Lashek said.
Despite the tight score in the final game, DP world started the game off with the momentum. DP World’s first five batters got on base and were batted in to give the team an early 5-1 lead at the end of the first inning. From there CityWest was forced to play catch up.
“We put ourselves in hole early, but we pulled together and came through,” Johnson said.
The rally began at the bottom of the fourth inning where despite putting some runs on the board, CityWest was still trailing 11-5. A timely hit from Johnson with runners on base helped to score two runs and cut into the deficit. CityWest was then able to hold DP World scoreless in the top of the fifth inning to give themselves a chance to come back.
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“Little things just started going right, everyone started to relax a little bit and we started playing the game like we know how to,” Johnson said.
CityWest scored three and five runs in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings respectively while holding DP world to only three runs to win the game.
The charity tournament has raised approximately $12,000 over the time that it’s been organized. Lashek said North Coast Charity hopes to bring it back again next year with additional concessions and activities for families and their children.
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