Silver lining for Kelowna baseball team

Published: August 28, 2012 12:00 PM
Updated: August 28, 2012 12:15 PM

The 2012 season didn't have the golden ending the Kelowna Cubs were hoping for.

Still, in the eyes of coach Mike Chamberlain, a silver medal as Team B.C. at the Western Canadian Peewee AA Baseball Championship was an accomplishment worthy of considerable celebration.

"Each time you look at it, the silver medal tends to shine a little more," said head coach Mike Chamberlain. "I look at the work we put into this, all the work the kids put in, and to walk away with something like this is pretty nice. I'm pretty proud of it and I think in time the kids will be, too. Of course they wanted gold, but silver is awfully good, too."

Carrying the colours of Team B.C., the Cubs headed to Morden, Manitoba Aug. 16 to 20 for the Westerns riding an 11-game winning streak.

Kelowna had gone undefeated at the zone championship, then did the same earlier this month in Chilliwack at the provincial championship as they claimed the B.C. title.

At Westerns, the Cubs continued their roll as the B.C. squad posted a 4-0 record in the round robin, extending their win streak to 15 games.

It wasn't until the final against Team Saskatchewan (Muenster Red Sox) that the Cubs met their match.

The Cubs had beaten Saskatchewan 7-4 in the round robin, but in the championship ran into a tough left-handed pitcher. Liam Hughes also pitched well for Team B.C., going 6 1/3 innings and striking out 13.

With the score tied 1-1 in the top of seventh inning, Team Sask struck for two runs to take a 3-1 lead. The Cubs were unable to rally in the seventh and were forced to settle for the silver medal.

"We had everything we wanted, we went 4-0 in the round robin, we were feeling strong and healthy," Chamberlain said. "But they had this big, strong left-hander who was really in control. We did a pretty good job over the course of the season coming through with runners on base. But against him we couldn't get it done. The boys still did a great job and gave it everything they had.

"This was a hard-working group that tried to get better everyday," he added. "It was fun watching their progress and it was an exceptional group of kids."

After the 2012 house season ended, the Cubs added two players from Rutland and began the summer ball schedule in early July. Over the summer, Kelowna posted a 26-5 record.

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Source: http://www.kelownacapnews.com/sports/167723025.html

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