Team BC took on New Brunswick in the 3 pm game and again got good pitching but the bats came alive as they recorded 9 hits. Marcus Drewry tossed a complete game 5 hitter and was full value for the win allowing only 1 walk and striking out 5. The Jays finally got off to a good start scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning on back to back doubles by Landon Briscoe and Brody Hawkins and an rbi sacrifice fly by Dustin Dhanani and an rbi single by Garrett Wiese. New Brunswick scored single runs in the top of the first and top of the 3rd to tie the score. The jays scored the winning run in the bottom of the 6th as Thomas Bidzinski singled, Stefan Mckee bunted him to 2nd, Aaron Witzke pinch ran and scored on a throwing error by the pitcher. Tyler Pentland, Ian Horne and Landon Briscoe each had 2 hits.

On Sunday the teams that do not make the playoffs all play a game for next years seeding and so Team BC will play Team Saskatchewan at 9:30 and Dawson Newman will get the start on the bump. The top 2 from each division will be in the playoff rounds and championship game also on Sunday.

Team BC has two games on Saturday – Ontario at 8am and New Brunswick at 3pm and it goes without saying these are both do or die games. If they can win both them they have a decent chance to go to the playoff rounds.

Cody Chartrand will pitch the 8:30 am game against Ontario and we will see where we go after that result.

Dany Paradis was the winning pitcher limiting the Jays to just 4 hits and 1 run. For Trois Rivieres, Jeremie Chalifour,Maxime Brouillard and Raphael Gladu each had 2 rbi’s. For BC Landon Briscoe had a hit and scored the only run, driven in by a Cam Strachan double.

Team BC will need to get over this lost quickly as they face Manitoba Friday at 2pm where Connor Russell will take the hill and try to get the Jays back on track.

linescore: TR 502 001 3 11 runs 13 hits 0 errors
BC 000 001 0 1 run 4 hits 3 errors
OTHER SCORES ON OPENING DAY:
Manitoba 11 New Brunswick 4 Quebec 5 Nova Scotia 1 Ontario 1 14 Manitoba 4
Saskatchewan 5 Newfoundland 1 Nova Scotia 3 Ontario 2 1

Pointstreak is available for all games on Baseball Canada web site: www.baseball.ca

The trip is expensive however it is a great opportunity for these young players (all college kids) to showcase their talents, gain valuable experience, find out how their abilities stack up compared to kids from other parts of Canada, and hopefully be seen by the myriad of major league scouts in attendence. The trip is funded partially by the Jays organization, a fee for the players, a contribution from Baseball BC, and a donation from the Kinsmen Club of Kelowna. The Jays organization was thrilled to receive the support of the Kinsmen Club and we thank them very much as they have helped make this trip possible for the kids.

Team BC’s schedule starts on Thursday night at 7:30 against the host Trois Rivieres team. The host is expecting a big crowd so our guys better be prepared. Their other games are Friday at 2pm vs Manitoba, Saturday at 8:30 am vs. Ontario and 3pm vs. New Brunswick. The top 2 teams in each division make the playoff rounds which commence Sunday morning at 9:30am.

For tournament information go to the Baseball Canada website: www.baseball.ca click on Championships, Junior, and you will be sent to tournament site.

Some of the local kids, and or Okanagan College Coyote kids, making the trip are Dawson Newman, Marcus Drewry,Tyler Pentland, and Stefan Mckee . Also going are some kids from this summers Jay’s team Thomas Bidzinski and Dallas Monk.

The Jays got beat by Nanaimo 13 – 4 however starting pitcher Mike Monster was injured early in the game, taking a hard comebacker off his pitching arm and leaving the game. The relievers didn’t fare well but the hitters produced 11 hits but just couldn’t get timely rbi’s. Tyler Enns was 3 for 4, Jordan Varga 2 for 4, Steffan Mckee 1 for 3 with 2 rbi’s, and Bryce Wilkie 2 for 3.

The pitching short Jays took on Trail in the final round robin game and had another 1 run loss 10 – 9. Jordan Varga had a huge 4 rbi game including a double and a home run, Jared Johnson was 2 for 3 and an rbi and Dallas Monk had 2 rbi’s. Needless to say the WCA Jays could have picked up 2 wins if all their pitchers were at the tournament but it was a good experience for the young Jays and perhaps it will help them prepare for the National Juniors next week in Quebec.

Ultimately Langley won the championship today with a 6 – 1 victory over Kamloops. Later this month PG will host the Canadian Senior Championships.

The Jays and Sun Devils then engaged in a 7 inning barnburner with Kamloops escaping with a 4 – 3 win. The Jays actually appeared to score the tying run in the 7th inning however the umpire chose to call the runner out.

On Sunday Jays starting pitcher Dawson Newman got off to a rough start giving up 2 runs in the first and 5 in the 2nd, issuing 5 walks and giving up just 5 hits, and this time the Jays could not mount a comeback as Kamloops pitcher Lee Ingram was in complete control.

Both teams now play in the BC Senior Championships this weekend in Prince George with Kamloops playing Prince George at 6pm and Kelowna playing Langley at 830pm. Kelowna plays Nanaimo at 1pm on Saturday and Trail at 3:30pm on Sunday.

Pitchers Brad White and Jeff May shared the pitching duties and did not allow the diamondbacks a hit. Vernon’s 3 runs, 2 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd innings, came as a result of a total of 6 walks, an error and a couple of fielders choice ground balls.

The Jays jumped out to a 1 – 0 lead in the 1st inning when Vincent Ching walked, Jared Johnson doubled scoring Ching. Down 3 – 1 going into the bottom of the 3rd inning the WCA Jays bats came alive scoring 6 runs. Ching, Jordan Varga, Thomas Bidzinski, a 2 rbi double, had key hits coupled with a couple of Vernon errors.

The WCA Jays put up another 5 in the bottom of the 4th including another 2 rbi hit by Bidzinski and a tripleby Ching’s, his 3rd hit of the game.

Things get a little tougher for the Jays on Saturday when they face one of the best senior teams in the province, the Kamloops Sun Devils, at 7:30pm. Prior to that game the Sun Devils play the Diamondbacks at 5pm. The OMBL playoff final is scheduled for 1pm Sunday. All games at Elks Stadium.

Jordan Varga hit an inside the park home run in the 5th inning picking up 3 rbi’s. Varga was 3 for 4 on the night and scored 3 runs as did Johnson. Newman had another triple in the 5th and Sean Mcmillan had 2 hits. Mike Tongue, Jeff May and Josh Makler each pitched an inning but the highlight was the return of Ryan Kheen who pitched his first 3 innings of the year. Ryan, now 28, who played in Kelowna several years ago, and wants to now make a comeback, did not look out of place.

The Jays now host the OMBL Playoffs starting Friday night at Elks:
FRIDAY JULY 27 730PM JAYS VS VERNON
SATURDAY JULY 28 5PM VERNON VS KAMLOOPS
8PM KELOWNA VS KAMLOOPS
SUNDAY JULY 29 1PM FINAL – 2 BEST RECORDS

The playoff is for the Bruce Mckenzie Trophy and the seeding for the BC Senior championships being held in Prince George August 3 – 6.

The WCA Jays then play host to the 2012 Okanagan Major Baseball League Playoffs which determine who attends the 2012 BC Senior Championships in Prince George over the August long weekend. The combatants are the Kamloops Sun Devils, Vernon Diamondbacks and WCA Kelowna Jays.

The Jays won the Bruce Mckenzie Trophy in 2009 and 2010 and Kamloops won it in 2011 in an exciting extra inning game. The 2012 version of the Kamloops Sun Devils are a very solid team and will be tough to beat.

The Jays are missing injured star center fielder Ray Guyton and starting catcher Stefan Mckee, both on the D/L, and this leaves some big shoes to fill by some of the young Jays.

OMBL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE

FRIDAY JULY 27 VERNON VS KELOWNA 7:30pm
SATURDAY JULY 28 KAMLOOPS VS VERNON 5pm
KAMLOOPS VS KELOWNA 7:30pm
SUNDAY JULY 29 FINAL (TOP 2) 1:00pm

The Jays will then (hopefully) attend the BC Senior Championships starting Friday August 3rd – Monday August 6th,
in Prince George. The Jays 21 and under players will then attend the Canadian Junior Championships in Trois Riviers, Quebec, August 16 –21.

The Bulldogs picked up a run in the first inning as the Jays seemed a bit nervous, committing 2 errorsm with 2 out, but pitcher Jorhn Kaluzniak quickly settled down and got them the third out. The Jays scored 2 runs in the third inning as Burnaby pitcher Quinn Allen walked Brad White, Dallas Monk singled, Vincent Ching walked, and White and Monk scored on a fielders choice by Jordan Varga and and error by the pitcher on Tyler Enn’s ground ball. The Jays picked up another run in the 5th as Brad White doubled, and Vincent Ching singled him home. But in the bottom of the 5th Burnaby picked up to runs on a single by Takedo Sakurai, a double by James Zamko, and a single by Brody Hawkins, tying the score at 3. Burnaby took the lead in the bottom of the 6th on a single by Colby Rossi, an error on Landon Briscoe’s ground ball to shortstop Jordan Varga, a sacrifice bunt by Tyler Pentland and a sacrifice fly by Sakurai. With the Jays down to their last out in the top of the 7th (tournament games all 7 innings) Jordan Varga hit a clutch double which scored Dawson Newman, who was pinch running for Brad White who had reached first on an error and was bunted to 2nd by Dallas Monk. Mike Monster came in to pitch in the 7th and shut the door until the bottom of the 9th when Brody Hawkins singled, Carter Sherban singled and and a miscue in the jays outfield allowed Hawkins to score the winning run. A thrilling game, an unfortunate miscue, and the Burnaby Bulldogs are the 2012 B C Junior Champions.

There wasn’t much difference in the two finalists and either team was capable of winning. The fans were treated to a thrilling game, decided in the 2nd extra inning, and both teams can hold their heads high as they gave their all. The Jays will now represent BC at the 2012 Canadian Championships in Troi Rivieres, Quebec and Burnaby will do likewise in 2013 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.