The Gibson's Coastal Tires midget team finished their regular season in a flurry, playing seven games in the past week, including three double headers.
After a slow season, limited by wet weather, Gibsons finished strong with six wins, finishing league play tied for first.
Gibsons got off to a great start this month with a 8-4 victory over their Sechelt rivals on June 2. Behind the strong pitching of David Diether, James Duff and Chris Hanchar, plus the booming bats of James Chung and Jason Chung, Gibsons grabbed a first inning lead and never let up against three Sechelt pitchers. The coaches were especially impressed with the errorless fielding of the team.
Last Saturday, Gibsons travelled to Surrey where they took two from the Newton Rays in a make-up double header from April.
On Sunday came a double header with the visiting Cloverdale Hitmen, a game that would settle the first-place standings in the Newton Interlock League.
The first game was dominated by outstanding pitching as Gibsons was held to one run in a 2-1 loss, their only loss of the season. Strong outings by the Gibsons' tandem of David Diether and Brendan Barnum held the Hitmen to two unearned runs, with the winning run being scored in the top of the seventh. Diether recorded an impressive 11 strikeouts in five innings.
The second game of the day resulted in an embarrassing "melt down" by the visitors from Cloverdale, and Gibsons, behind starter Chris Hanchar, trounced the Hitmen 15-3. Gibsons jumped out to a four-run lead in the first inning, thanks to Tommy Nesbitt's triple down the right field line that drove in three. An entertaining diversion was provided by a streaker who made a startling jog across the outfield grass from the Cloverdale side, although most Gibsons' spectators were sure the hooded streaker was a local male.
Gibsons players are now awaiting their playoff schedule.
In bantam action, the Gibsons Maycon team enjoyed a successful home weekend by taking both ends of a double header against the New Westminster Royals by the same score of 14-2, while the Devlins split a double header in Richmond winning the first game 6-4, thanks to the strong pitching of Montana Moriaty and Luke Martin.
-Submitted
