The Gibsons Minor Ball Association (GMBA) was well represented around the province last weekend as four teams took to the field in search of provincial championships.
The peewee all-star Dodgers came home victorious after a gold medal performance in Campbell River. The Mosquito Dodgers finished in third place, earning the bronze medal in Burnaby, the bantam Dodgers lost out in the semifinal in Chilliwack, while the midget Dodgers went 1-3 in Victoria.
In Campbell River, Gib-sons played hard in every game, ultimately earning their title after defeating the defending champion Victoria Tigers in a taut, suspenseful 8-6 final.
Throughout the tournament, Gibsons relied on their solid pitching staff to limit the opponents' chances, but in the end it was the Dodgers' bats that really did the work. With everybody in the line-up contributing, Gibsons tallied 75 hits in six games, including nine home runs. Game MVPs were Griffy Goyer, Cosme Hlatky, Josh Bozak, Dallas Colpitts and Elvis Lu.
In Burnaby, 10 teams competed for the title. The event kicked off last Friday with a skills competition, and Gibsons finished third in the combined skills of infield speed/fastest team/home run derby.
Rain and the home field advantage helped Burnaby defeat Gibsons 12-2 in the first game. By the afternoon the weather cleared and Gibsons got their bats working with everyone hitting in a 20-8 win over Surrey.Sunday saw less rain and Gibsons continue its winning ways against Salmon Arm winning 11-5. A game in the afternoon against Port Alberni once again showed the hard work and dedication of Gibsons with a 10-1 win.
In the semi final, Gibsons put together its best effort of the tournament, but came up on the wrong end of a 9-3 score against Vancouver. Ladysmith and Gibsons, both with a record of 3-2, tied for third and in the afternoon played one last game for fun where all the players had a chance to play somewhere they don't usually play.
The weather actually cooperated for a great end to a long weekend of baseball.
In Chilliwack, Gibsons set a new bench mark for future Coast teams as they finished preliminary play with a 3-1 record. The improvement in the players' mental attitude, focus and defensive play was far beyond that of round robin play during the four weeks prior to the tournament. Strong pitching and tight defensive play dominated the semi final against Surrey. After seven innings of chess-like, strategic play the Dodgers lost 3-2. Coaches Brian Scarr, Dave Diether, Bill Campbell, Sam Dill and David Barnum were pleased to see the athletes rise to the challenge of provincial play and would like to thank the parents and the community for the support this season.
In Victoria, Cam Graham got the start against Campbell River on Thursday and pitched four solid innings, but the visitors chipped away for a 3-0 lead. Russell Thorsteinsson entered in the fifth and kept the visitors off balance with his knuckle ball, allowing Gibsons to climb back in, but Campbell River Hung on for a 3-2 win.
Andrew Baron was named game MVP.
Gibsons faced Port Coquitlam in game two and fared much better picking up a 7-4 win. Josh Lagace was voted MVP on the strength of three hits, a walk and scoring two runs. Greg Kelley also had a strong game with two singles and two RBIs.
In game three, North Delta, the eventual tournament champs, proved to be too much for Gibsons jumping out to a 6-0 first inning lead and never looked back in a 13-1 win.
Newton hosted Gibsons in game four what turned out to be a great offensive contest.
Ryan Mills got the run to put Gibsons up 8-7 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but Newton scored to get the tie and had the winning run on third with one out. A ground ball sent the runner home, but he couldn't beat a throw from Nick Biden and lowered the boom at full speed knocking Andrew out at the plate. Coaches and players stormed home plate and Newton received a player suspension and the second out. Newton dropped a blooper over short that scored the eventual 9-8 winner. Russell was awarded Gibsons MVP and Mike Brackett had his best game at the plate going two for two with a walk.
"All four GMBA all-star teams did exceptionally well this summer season - the best overall results in years," said GMBA president Brian Scarr. "The key to success, dedicated coaches at all levels, exceptional preparation and the inclusion of strong players from Central Baseball League in our line-ups. GMBA has been committed to improving player and coaching development the last two years and we're seeing the positive results. Gibsons all-stars of 2008, from all levels have made Gibsons proud."
