After blazing through round-robin play at a tournament in Kamloops last weekend, the midget AAA Cowichan Valley Mustangs ran into trouble in the semifinals on Monday.
The Mustangs were a base hit away from going unbeaten in the round robin as they collected three convincing wins and one narrow loss. Their bats were silenced, however, in the playoffs.
“We ran out of gas on Monday,” Cowichan manager Tod LeSergent said. “Small roster and a couple of injuries made it tough. [Kelowna pitcher Dreyton] Nelmes was very good for them. It was a good test overall and we came away with a win over Kelowna who were undefeated in our league going into the tournament so we are happy with our results.”
The Mustangs trounced Kelowna with an 11-2 five-inning mercy win in their tournament opener on Saturday. Cam LeSergent was outstanding, going 4-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and a stolen base, while Nolan Fothergill went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two steals. Fothergill was also dominant on the mound, pitching four and two thirds innings, and surrendering just one earned run on three hits while striking out seven.
Cowichan’s only loss came later that day when they were edged 5-4 by the host Kamloops River Dogs, who went undefeated to win the tournament. One base hit might have changed the entire outcome. Morley Scott went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a stolen base, and both LeSergent and Hayden Plester were 2-for-3 with a steal.
They bounced back the next morning with a 14-3 win over the Central Okanagan Sun Devils, with whom they had split a doubleheader in league play a week earlier. The Mustangs’ nine hits were spread out through the lineup: Fothergill went 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs and Matteo Iorio went 2-for-2 with two RBIs to lead the way. Scott and Josh McCann also had two RBIs apiece, and Andrew Strobl was a force on the base paths with three steals. Scott pitched four innings, allowing five hits and three runs while issuing four strikeouts.
The Mustangs wrapped up pool play later that day with a 6-4 victory over Prince George. LeSergent and Scott both hit triples as they went 3-for-3 and 2-for-3, respectively. Scott added a pair of RBIs and two steals, while LeSergent had one steal. Cameron Linn gave up just one earned run over four innings, and LeSergent got the last four outs.
The rematch with Kelowna in the semifinal didn’t go Cowichan’s way, with the Sun Devils prevailing 8-0. The Mustangs were limited to two hits, as Iorio and Fothergill both went 1-for-2, and Billy Ramwell had one stolen base. Fothergill and Ramwell combined to allow only three earned runs over six innings as defensive errors led to most of Kelowna’s offence.
The Mustangs will be back in the Interior this Saturday as they visit Central Okanagan for a doubleheader.