Not even getting no-hit in their third game could slow down the Langley Blaze.
The Blaze lost 8-0 in that contest to the Nanaimo Coalminers and one more loss would have eliminated the team from the senior men’s B.C. provincial baseball championships over the weekend at Prince George’s Citizen Park.
“We just laughed if off,” said Blaze first baseman Scott Webster.
“I don’t know of too many teams that get no-hit and come back to win (provincials).”
But the Blaze did just that.
The team doubled up the host team from Prince George 6-3 in the quarter-finals and then exacted a measure of revenge, defeating Nanaimo 5-1 in the semifinals. Langley then wrapped up the provincial title with a 6-1 victory over the Kamloops Sun Devils on Monday, earning a spot at the 2013 Canadian senior men’s national championships in Windsor, Ont.
The Blaze received a two-hit gem by pitcher Corey Parsons.
Webster, who hit three home runs in the tournament was named most valuable player.
“It was a team effort,” he said. “It could have gone to anyone.”
The Blaze finished the six-game tournament with nine home runs.”
“We came alive,” Webster said. “And it was a nice hitter’s park.”
In Langley’s first two games, they edged Kelowna 8-7 in extra innings and then shut out Trail 7-0 in game two.
“We basically pulled through with some timely hitting and good pitching,” said coach Dave Diachuk, adding the team was not at 100 per cent because of injuries.
“We battled through inning by inning and pitch by pitch and got things done.”
“But this was our goal from day one and we put together a team we though could do it.,”
As for the play of his MVP, Diachuk said Webster was a worthy selection.
Webster hit .444 (8-for-18) with six RBIs.
“He sends shivers down the spine of our opposition because every time he swings the bat, they hold their breath,” Diachuk said.
The Blaze, made up of local players home for the summer from their collegiate teams, wrap up the season with the Grand Forks International Tournament from Aug. 29 to Sept. 3.