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Pitching fuels Blaze to victory

Dominant pitching helps Langley capture tournament title
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The Langley Blaze were crowned champions of the LBI tournament on Sunday at McLeod Park. Submitted photo.

Dominant performances on the mound helped the host team capture the Langley Blaze Invitational title.

Langley Blaze hurlers were dominant over the weekend, combining for a team earned run average of 1.10 as they went 5-1 to capture top spot at their host tournament.

The games were split between McLeod Park, City Park and Abbotsford’s Delair Park.

In Sunday’s championship final against the North Shore Twins, Danny Berg did it both on the mound and at the plate for the Blaze.

Berg scattered eight hits over 6.2 innings, allowing three unearned runs in the 4-3 victory.

He also helped his own cause with a two-run triple and then another RBI as well.

Daniel Martin had the other RBI and Gus Wilson went 2-for-3.

After the Twins cut the lead to 4-3 in the top of the final inning, Michael Stovman came on to earn the save.

Berg also led all hitters in the 13-team tournament with a .625 batting average, going 10-for-16.

The Blaze had won their pool with a 3-1 record, defeating Whalley 4-1 — in what doubled as a PBL league game — behind a complete game, 10 strike-out performance from Stovman.

Stovman, Mac Berry and Jaydon Knight each had two hits in a 12-4 win over the Mid Island Pirates in game two while game three saw Kyle Gee need just 81 pitches in a 4-0 win over the Brampton Royals.

Langley’s lone round-robin loss was a 6-5 defeat to Okotoks Red with the Alberta visitors scoring four times in the sixth to tie the game and then winning it in the bottom of the seventh.

Colby Ring struck out five and allowed just one run in the loss.

In the semifinals earlier Sunday, Kyle Prather struck out eight while allowing just three hits in an 8-0 win over Brampton.

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Langley Blaze’s Danny Berg was named the top hitter at the Langley Blaze Invitational after cranking out 10 hits over six games.


About the Author: Langley Advance Times Staff

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