For the second time in three seasons, the Ridge Meadows Royals have won the Midget AAA regular season title, after sweeping both the Mid-Island Mustangs and Victoria Mariners last weekend.
The Royals finish with a record of 37-5, the best in club history.
On Saturday the club sent Nathan Kitamura to the mound in game one. Mid-Island scored an unearned run in the second but Ridge came right back with a pair in the third on a Cole Ross two-out two-run single. That was all the scoring as Kitamura went the distance on a five-hitter.
The second game of the day was not as close, as the Royals scored two in the first and five in the second to take an early lead that they would not relinquish as they went on to win by a final of 9-4. Brandon Sound picked up the win throwing four shutout innings before giving way to Dylan MacDermid who threw the final three in relief.
Sound (1-1, RBI, run) and MacDermid (3-3, two RBI, two runs, SB) also paced the offence.
Sunday saw the Royals sweep their final two games of the season from a strong Victoria Mariners club, bringing the Royals’ home record to 21-1, the only blemish being an April loss to Chilliwack.
The first game saw Keanen Buckley throw six strong innings allowing only one earned run on one hit. Alex Miyahara finished up the game in the seventh to help preserve a 5-3 win. Offensively, Miyahara (0-1, run, RBI), Kevin Bork (2-3, double, two RBI, run), and Eric Blower (1-3, RBI, run) led the way. The final game of the regular season had lefty Cole Johnson get the start and put forth one of his best outings of the season, pitching in to the seventh before allowing an earned run, eventually giving way to Joey Tack who completed a 7-5 Royals win. Tack (2-3, two runs, RBI, SB), Tarin Richardson (2-3, RBI, run), and Ross (1-3, double, RBI) all contributed to the win with solid games at the plate. The Royals will enter the Provincial Championships as the number one seed which will start Thursday in Kamloops.
• The Royals will open the Provincial Championships on Thursday against the Richmond Chuckers at 3 p.m.
sports@mapleridgenews.com
