The Gibsons Dodgers peewee all-star team started last week's play by travelling to Newton for a game on July 11. Combining solid defence, great pitching and an explosive display of hitting, the Dodgers won 25-6 in five innings.
On Wednesday, July 13, in front of a terrific crowd at Brothers Park, the Dodgers hosted the Surrey Spartans in an early season battle between the only two undefeated teams left in the Lower Mainland division.
While both teams struggled at times with the drizzly weather, it was the Spartans who took the lead early and led after the first two innings.
The Dodgers clawed their way back into it and took the lead 5-4 by the end of the third inning. From that point on, the Dodgers took control and came away with a 9-5 win. The Dodgers are now alone in first place with a 4-0 record in league play.
As a busy week of baseball continued, the Dodgers travelled to Burnaby to play in a weekend AA tournament. The team was looking forward to the greater challenge that would be provided by the AA teams.
On Friday, July 15, the Dodgers met the North Delta Diamondbacks in what would prove to be the most exciting game of the season so far.
The game was a seesaw battle, and as the final inning started, the Dodgers were up 10-5. North Delta came storming back, scoring seven runs in the top half of the inning to take a 12-10 lead.
Down to their last three outs, the Dodgers refused to quit, and their first five batters were able to tie the score with excellent base running and timely hits.
With two out and the winning run at third base, Logan Nattall stepped up to the plate. Fighting the North Delta pitcher on every pitch, Logan took the count to three and two, and then got the pitch he was looking for, crushing a line drive home run over the left field fence to secure the walk-off 14-12 win.
The second game on Friday was against the host Burnaby Braves, and although the Dodgers struggled to regain their form after the earlier dramatic win, they still hung on for a 14-7 victory.
The Saturday games were all rained out, so the Dodgers advanced to the semifinal game on Sunday, again against the Braves.
This time the AA Braves rolled out their ace pitchers, and the Dodgers hitters struggled to get anything going offensively.
The Braves broke the game open with a five-run fourth inning and handed the Dodgers their first loss of the season, 12-2.
Although the loss eliminated the Dodgers from the tournament, the boys showed they can compete at the AA level by winning two out of the three games.
The next home game for the Dodgers is Wednesday, July 27, at 6 p.m. at Brothers Park in Gibsons.
- Submitted
