A 3-1 weekend has the Gibsons Midget All-Stars poised for a run at the provincial championships.
With a record of 10-6, Gibsons plays host today (Saturday) to second place Richmond in their final two regular season games. A good outing should ensure a berth into the provincials for Gibsons.
Last weekend Gibsons picked up a pair of wins at home against Ridge Meadows then hit the road on Sunday, splitting two with Abbotsford and Tri City.
In game one Saturday, Robbie McFarland pitched six solid outings allowing four hits while striking out three as Gibsons won 5-1.
Robbie also helped at the plate with a three-run homer in the fifth inning.
Game two was a wild affair and was not without its share of controversy.
With Ridge Meadows leading 9-8 in the late innings, Gibsons' coach Gord Letham questioned a pitching change by the visitors. Ridge Meadows tried to put in a pitcher who had pitched in game one and was ineligible to play.
The umpires and B.C. Minor Baseball Association directors finally upheld the protest, which meant the game had to be replayed from the protest point. The Ridge Meadows coach chose to forfeit the contest.
Gibsons was paced by strong pitching from Jarrod Underwood and Warren Collins and two hits each by Adam Windsor, Will Gye, Warren and Jarrod.
Facing a hard-hitting Abbotsford team on Sunday, Jarrod pitched seven solid innings, allowing only two earned runs as Gibsons won 6-5. Gibsons fielded well as Jarrod picked off a runner at first base and catcher Dave Moran picked off a pair of runners in the first inning as well. Will also made a sparkling play at shortstop in the seventh inning to record the final out and preserve the win.
Will and Tony Dill each had two hits in the contest.
In their final game of the weekend, Tri City's pitching held Gibsons at bay in their 4-1 win.
Adam racked up seven strikeouts with no earned runs in five solid innings of pitching. Will made an awesome running dive to catch a fly ball in centre field in the third inning when two runners were on base. However, other fielding errors gave Tri City four runs by the end of the fifth inning.
Bantam's wrap up season The Bantam A All-Stars wrapped up their schedule on Aug. 1 with two losses against Vancouver, ending any chances for a trip to the provincials in Victoria.
The team needed both wins to secure a spot and came close, losing by only one run in both contests.
As much as they tried, Gibsons continued to struggle with their overall pitching and continuously left runners in scoring position at key times. Like several times in recent games, Gibsons mounted an exciting comeback in game one by bunting and stealing to manufacture some runs.
Game two was more promising as Gibsons took a lead into the seventh inning. Up one run, Gibsons needed three outs for a win, but Vancouver came out relaxed and ripped it away.
After a near perfect record of 7-1 to start the season, Gibsons lost five of their remaining six games to finish at 8-6.
"It was unfortunate after such a great start and disappointing to not be able to share the provincials with this group," said manager Lorne Baron. "It really was a special combination of kids and coaches who worked their butts off and gave up everything this summer to have that opportunity. I can only hope that they learn from their mistakes and come back next year with that same attitude that made coaching them such a pleasure."
