The Gibsons Jays men's baseball team started its season with a fourth place finish at a tournament in Maple Ridge.
The Jays finished with a record of 2-2 at the eight-team tournament held over the May long weekend.
The losses were both by only one run and in the last inning of each game. The Jays performance was all the more remarkable in view of the fact that this was an open tournament with top teams and many elite players from the Lower Mainland taking part.
Gibsons opened with a 3-1 win over Maple Ridge highlighted by Stefan Reeves who threw no-hit ball through six innings. He came within three outs of throwing a no-hitter and closed out the Twins with only two hits and one run.
Game two was a 9-0 rout over the Langley Expos.
Russell Thorsteinssen travelled all the way from Kamloops by motorcycle to pitch for Gibsons. His parents and grandparents came to watch the game and he made them very proud with his shutout performance.
"Russ's stock-in-trade pitch is the knuckleball that had the Expos hitting pop ups and easy ground balls all game," said manager Gary Pennington.
Leading the Jays were Brandon Elsdon with two hits and Nick Pennington with three hits and four stolen bases.
Game three was a 1-0 loss at the hands of the Aldergrove Cubs.
In its final game, Gibsons lost another close game to a second Maple Ridge team.
Elsdon pitched a masterful game, striking out five.
In addition to their fourth place finish, the Jays made a real mark in the tournament according to Pennington, as all four pitchers threw complete games, and, in doing so, had the lowest ERA of any team. The Jays also made the fewest errors in the tournament and led in terms of stolen bases.
"Many spectators and other coaches said they were very impressed at the unique pre-game focus and preparation shown by the Gibsons' players," Pennington said.
Leading hitter for the Jays was Nick Pennington with seven hits, two of which were drag bunts. Evan Murphy continued his perfect defensive record as a catcher by throwing out another runner attempting to steal second base. He has now thrown out all three runners who have attempted to steal on him.
Taylor Fancher, Greg Kelley and Danny Byers, all made spectacular diving catches that were of a major league character. This "all out" style of play also resulted in injuries to key players, but recruits from the Coast's former Alumni League, Jackson and Leon Wright and Chris Branbury, helped in major ways, as did Julio Pena and Rob Thompson from the Lower Mainland Baseball Association.
"In the final analysis, the team did the Sunshine Coast proud, not only by their on-field performance as the youngest team, but also in the way they handled themselves through adversity and afew questionable decisions and close calls," Pennington added."The camaraderie that the team developed over the course of the tournament will hold them in very good stead for the remainder of the season."
-Submitted
