The annual Sooke Invitational Slo-Pitch Tournament was a swinging success.
The tournament took place Saturday to Monday at Fred Milne Park, and 27 teams competed in four different divisions.
One Sooke team, the Hawks, were able to come out on top, taking home gold in the B division. Hawks won the game by four runs with a score of 20 to 16.
“It was a really exciting game because it was tight up until our last at-bat, then our bases were loaded and our big hitter on the team came up and hit the ball out of the park,” said tournament organizer Jason Dumont, who has been involved in the tournament since 1993.
Team Long Horned ended up winning the A division, Dad Bods won the C division, and the Stunners won the D division. 10 Sooke teams competed in the tournament, the rest stemmed mainly from Greater Victoria.
“This year we also had a team from Kelowna, one from Vancouver, and one from Campbell River which was exciting,” said Dumont, adding that the best part about the tournament was the comradery, as many of the teams playing were returning teams so most people knew each other.
“It was a fun weekend; the weather held out nicely, and around 200 people came out to watch so the atmosphere was great. Other than a couple of injuries, the tournament was a success.”
Next year Dumont would like more teams to not only compete in the tournament, but also join league play.
“This year in the Sooke league there were 10 teams, and in previous years there were 24,” said Dumont. “I get that times are different, but I’d like to see more teams sign up next season. Slo-pitch is just a fun, social thing for people to do.”
To learn more about Sooke Slo-Pitch or to register a team, please visit the Sooke Slo-Pitch Association Facebook page, or call Jason Dumont at 250-744-8852. League play begins in April.
