The White Rock Tritons under-15 team finished a long season on a high note, winning bronze at Western Canada Bantam AAA Baseball Championships earlier this month in Spruce Grove, Alta.
White Rock slotted into third position in the eight-team tournament after losing its semifinal match 12-2 to the North Shore Twins, who went on to capture the title on the final day of the tournament Aug. 14.
“It was nice to see a B.C. team take it down, even if it wasn’t us,” said Tritons coach Jordan Broatch. “And for us, if we had to lose, it’s at least nice that it was to the team that ended up winning it all.”
White Rock won twice and lost once in round-robin play, before squaring off against North Shore.
While many youth baseball teams still playing at this time of the year were summer-league squads put together upon completion of the regular spring season, Broatch’s group has been together since early March. The long season eventually began to take its toll on his young players, he said.
“They were a little bit fatigued,” he said. “I mean, I’m exhausted as a coach, so I can only imagine how they feel.”
The Tritons were in the western showdown after finishing second to the Langley Blaze in provincials earlier this month.
The Blaze – who captured the provincial title on a seventh-inning RBI single – advanced to nationals in P.E.I.
“It would’ve been nice to get to nationals, but we looked at (Western Championships) as a great opportunity to go out and just have fun,” said Broatch, adding that while in Spruce Grove the team scheduled a number of non-baseball-related activities with that in mind. “It’s been a long season, but a really great season.”