BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Register
It took two weekends to complete, but Sydney Mines finally captured the provincial Bantam A baseball championship.
Sydney Mines won the provincial title Sept. 6 in Berwick, defeating Pictou 11-6 in an entertaining final in which Sydney Mines led early, Pictou came back to make it close, then Sydney pulled away.
The tournament got underway Aug. 28 and three games had been completed and a fourth (between Pictou and Sydney Mines) was in progress when play was suspended due to rain and wet field conditions.
Sydney Mines and Pictou completed their game on a neutral field in Port Hawkesbury (with Sydney Mines winning 11-9), and all six participating teams reconvened in Berwick Sept. 5 to finish what they had started.
Host Berwick finished the round robin with one win and two losses. In their opening game against Halifax, Berwick led 7-6 in the late innings, but was unable to stop a late comeback and ended up losing 14-7.
In their second game, Berwick took an early 10-0 lead on Cole Harbour and, this time, held on for a wild 17-15 victory.
Berwick’s final game was another wild one that ended in a 17-14 Yarmouth win. At one point, Berwick led 8-1 and 11-8, but was unable to muster the runs needed to win late in the game.
According to Berwick coach Phil Vogler, “the game of the tournament” was a 2-1 Sydney Mines win over Yarmouth. Yarmouth pitcher Luke Muise pitched a complete game and threw fewer than 80 pitches in a losing effort, which Vogler stressed, “is a great outing” considering the strict pitch counts in minor baseball.
Muise, largely on the strength of that performance, was named the all-star pitcher for the tournament, even though his team didn’t win and, in fact was eliminated in the semifinals.
Vogler was pleased overall with his team’s performance against the best Bantam-level teams and players in the province.
“The team has improved a lot this year, and the players should be proud of their accomplishments.”
Berwick won a silver medal at an A/AA tournament in Fredericton and brought home silver again from an A tournament in Dartmouth.
Last weekend, Berwick captured the Bluenose League championship at a tournament hosted by Hants North, topping Westphal/ Port Wallis in extra innings, then coming back to defeat the host team in an entertaining final.
Vogler suggested, “judging by their results this season during tournaments, exhibition games and league play (in which they compiled a 12-1-1 record), this team is definitely headed in the right direction.”
BY JOHN DECOSTE
Kings County Register
It took two weekends to complete, but Sydney Mines finally captured the provincial Bantam A baseball championship.
Sydney Mines won the provincial title Sept. 6 in Berwick, defeating Pictou 11-6 in an entertaining final in which Sydney Mines led early, Pictou came back to make it close, then Sydney pulled away.
The tournament got underway Aug. 28 and three games had been completed and a fourth (between Pictou and Sydney Mines) was in progress when play was suspended due to rain and wet field conditions.
Sydney Mines and Pictou completed their game on a neutral field in Port Hawkesbury (with Sydney Mines winning 11-9), and all six participating teams reconvened in Berwick Sept. 5 to finish what they had started.
Host Berwick finished the round robin with one win and two losses. In their opening game against Halifax, Berwick led 7-6 in the late innings, but was unable to stop a late comeback and ended up losing 14-7.
In their second game, Berwick took an early 10-0 lead on Cole Harbour and, this time, held on for a wild 17-15 victory.
Berwick’s final game was another wild one that ended in a 17-14 Yarmouth win. At one point, Berwick led 8-1 and 11-8, but was unable to muster the runs needed to win late in the game.
According to Berwick coach Phil Vogler, “the game of the tournament” was a 2-1 Sydney Mines win over Yarmouth. Yarmouth pitcher Luke Muise pitched a complete game and threw fewer than 80 pitches in a losing effort, which Vogler stressed, “is a great outing” considering the strict pitch counts in minor baseball.
Muise, largely on the strength of that performance, was named the all-star pitcher for the tournament, even though his team didn’t win and, in fact was eliminated in the semifinals.
Vogler was pleased overall with his team’s performance against the best Bantam-level teams and players in the province.
“The team has improved a lot this year, and the players should be proud of their accomplishments.”
Berwick won a silver medal at an A/AA tournament in Fredericton and brought home silver again from an A tournament in Dartmouth.
Last weekend, Berwick captured the Bluenose League championship at a tournament hosted by Hants North, topping Westphal/ Port Wallis in extra innings, then coming back to defeat the host team in an entertaining final.
Vogler suggested, “judging by their results this season during tournaments, exhibition games and league play (in which they compiled a 12-1-1 record), this team is definitely headed in the right direction.”
