Lon’s Gun Show earned bragging rights for the year, picking up a 7-0 win over the Brewers to claim the men’s fastball league playoff championship at Hackett Park in Sechelt last Sunday afternoon.
The Gun Show had a tough road to the final after they lost their first game to the Big Deals on Saturday. That meant the Gun Show had their backs to the wall the rest of the way in the double elimination tournament. But the Gun Show responded, beating Custom Carpet, Gilligans and Big Deals 9-2 in the second semifinal to earn their shot at the title. The Brewers beat Big Deals 6-1 in the first semifinal game.
The Aug. 10 tilt was a rematch of last year’s final, which the Brewers won.
The Brewers threatened to score early several times, but Jody Underwood, Conner Cross, Nate Deboer and Shane Heuring were solid defensively for the Gun Show in the infield and shut down the early rallies.
The first run of the game wasn’t scored until the third inning when Eoin Ross bunted Mike Husband over to second to put him into scoring position, which the Gun Show were able to cash in.
In the later innings, Corey Bergnach from the Brewers put himself in position to score, but Steve Stevenson picked him off at third.
According to Gun Show pitcher Mike Sopow, the game was a lot closer than the score would indicate.
“The big difference was our defence — we didn’t make any mistakes for the Brewers to capitalize on,” Sopow said. “It was a great weekend of ball. All the games were competitive and entertaining, and the park was packed with lots of fans out to cheer on the teams.”
Sopow said he was very pleased with the whole season.
“The playoffs really capped off the year,” he said. “Early in the season there was a lot of blow out scores, but as the season went on, the games became much closer and more competitive and the playoffs were much of the same. Really good ball.”
In the Beer Cup Final, Custom Carpet edged the Gibsons Jays 8-7 thanks to Matt Fawcus who hit in the game-winning run, which he stated was a “block-off.”
