The Cloverdale U15 Reds are division champs.
The team came from behind to down North Langley 10-9 in the U15 Bantam A Tier 2 division championship game played June 16 at Cloverdale Ball Park.
“The final game was a definite back and forth affair,” said coach Coach Gerry McPeake. “Each team held the lead at different points in the game.”
North Langley led first, as they were up 2-0. Cloverdale then tied the game 2-2. It was North Langley’s turn next when they added a pair of runs to go up 4-2. But Cloverdale tied it again after than when they added their own pair of runs.
The Reds continued the see-saw battle when they took the lead 9-7 after the 6th inning.
“This set up the exciting seventh and final inning,” added McPeake. “North Langley tied the game 9-9 with a clutch base hit in the top of the seventh inning.”
Cloverdale headed into the dugout in the middle of the seventh with a chance for a walk-off championship win.
“(The Reds) then had their last at bat, hitting two singles and stealing two bases.”
Those hits and steals set up Greg Zakarian with a storybook opportunity in the bottom of the 7th. When Zakarian stepped up to the plate, he smacked a game-winning single to seal the walk-off win.
“The victory was especially rewarding given that Cloverdale’s roster consisted of only 2008-born players, typically rosters are a mix of 2007- and 2008-born players,” explained McPeake.
He said the teams went 7-7 over the course of the regular season, the first full season for everyone on the team since pre-COVID-19 days.
“In the playoffs, after dropping their first game, they won their next four games, setting up the exciting final with North Langley.”
editor@cloverdalereporter.com
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