It was so special the first time that the Burnaby Braves did it twice.
In the span of just a week, the under-15 baseball team captured a pair of provincial banners to continue a dream season.
Burnaby played host and claimed the Baseball B.C. AA title with an 11-9 victory over Tri-City, thanks to a two-run bomb off the bat of Jack Suttle in the sixth inning. Suttle hammered the pitch over the fence to unlock a 9-9 contest, while the Braves closed it out in the seventh.
Turning in sharp pitching work over the seven innings were Jordan Swannie and Sean Coventry.
It wrapped up a six-game series where Burnaby outscored its competition 70-26, with the only blemish coming in the final round-robin game. That setback – 6-1 to Delta – provided just the extra-kick they needed, said manager Antonio Dal Sasso.
“The turning point was us losing the fourth game in the round robin,” said Dal Sasso. “We had gone over 20 games without a loss, and the loss really got our boys refocused in the semis and finals. (Coaches) Brent Swannie and Rob Tinucci did a great job in keeping the boys loose and focused.”
The squad responded with a resounding 12-1 victory over Prince George, led by Kevin Morgan’s pitching and home runs from Carter Findley and Jordan Swannie. It gave them a healthy boost heading into the final, where they were pushed right to the limit by Tri-City.
A week earlier, Burnaby proved unstoppable at the B.C. Minor provincial tournament, posting five mercy-rule victories including a 22-3 decision over Ladner that saw Suttle blast a grand slam and Stefano Dal Sasso and Coventry also going yard.
Delivering strong innings of work throughout the week were Nolan Keller, Kevin Morgan, Jordan Swannie, Coventry and Suttle.
The home runs and clutch hitting has emerged just as the coaches hoped during the tournament stage, but manager Dal Sasso notes the squad’s pitching has been their bread and butter en route to the twin provincial titles.
“Pitching has always been our biggest strength and now the bats have finally arrived – the boys have changed their approach at the plate. We used to pop up and strike out. Now we hit line drives and almost never strike out. Hit the ball hard and great things will happen,” he said.
The win streak was a product of hard work, as they maintained a positive attitude even when a few players struggled.
“You can tell the boys were getting better weekly and when a few of the boys weren’t firing on all cylinders, other players stepped up and kept the team going,” said Dal Sasso.
The road continues this weekend, as the team is in San Diego for the Summer Sizzle Wooden Bat tournament, which the Braves will use to prepare for next week’s Western championships in Kam-loops. Manager Dal Sasso said confidence is pretty high right now.
“It’s been a great ride for these young boys and the families, so hopefully we can finish on a high next Sunday and complete one of the best years ever for a team out of Burnaby,” he said.
The team consists of: Christopher Chang, Joon Choi, Mathew Condor, Sean Coventry, Stefano Dal Sasso, Carter Findley, Nolin Keller, Kevin Morgan, Gabriel Shewfelt, Jack Suttle, Jordan Swannie, Lucas Tinucci, Matthias Vaid, manager Antonio Dal Sasso, coaches Brent Swannie and Rob Tinucci.
