For the first time in the 31-year-history of the Chris Fenton Memorial Baseball Tournament, a Chemainus team has kept the title at home.
The host peewee team beat Tri-Port 12-2 in the tournament final on May 14 to become the first hometown team to win the championship.
“We didn’t know until Larry [Hopwo] announced it at the trophy ceremony,” assistant coach Glen Williams said. “It was kind of a surprise. They were really proud and ecstatic. They were a happy bunch of kids.”
The Chemainus team swept its way through the tournament, beating the Ladysmith Dodgers 9-5, the Duncan Cubs 13-12, the Duncan White Sox 16-5 and the Salt Spring Islanders 12-6.
Two Duncan teams ended up facing off for third and fourth place, with the White Sox defeating the Royals 17-12. Second-place Tri-Port was named the most sportsmanlike team.
With nine wins and just one loss in league play this season, it’s been a big turnaround for the Chemainus team from last year, although the team is largely the same.
“Last year we had to sort of cobble together a team and call up a couple of kids from mosquito so we could have a team for the older kids,” head coach Matt White said. “We only won two games last year.”
There’s a chance that the success will carry over to next year. Of the 14 kids on the roster, five will age out, including Jace Hamm and Laine Hogstead, who Williams described as the “main leaders” on this year’s squad. The team has two mosquito-age players, and the rest are first-year peewees with another year of eligibility.
“It’s a talented group of guys and girls,” White said.