The softball season ended on a bit of a down note for the Gibsons Peewee Crusherz in Kamloops.
Gibsons had high hopes for a strong showing at the provincial championships held July 9 to 11 in Kamloops, but some tough luck and a few bad bounces contributed to a ninth-place finish.
Gibsons opened the tournament with a 6-5 loss to Fleetwood from Surrey then met Vernon in game two.
The Crusherz rebounded from the loss and won the game, but controversy ensued over a pitching substitution.
"We started one of our mid-range pitchers against Vernon and fell behind early," said coach Todd Bozak. "We decided to put in our top pitcher, which we hoped would allow us to slow down Vernon's attack and get us back into the game. It worked, and we came back and won, but Vernon disputed the game saying we illegally substituted our pitcher."
The organizing committee allowed Vernon's dispute to stand and the result was thrown out. The game was replayed the following morning at 7 a.m. prior to Gibsons scheduled game against Powell River.
"Everyone was pretty upset that the win was taken away," Bozak said. "I think that really took the wind out of our sails."
Gibsons lost the game by three runs to Vernon, then lost a close 5-4 game to Powell River.
Gibsons won its last game 17-2 to Castlegar, but one win was not enough to get the team into the playoffs.
"To be honest with you, we should have taken it," Bozak said. "We had a great team this year, but the ball seemed to bounce the wrong way everywhere we turned. It's unfortunate, because everyone was pretty excited and felt confident we'd win a medal."
