The Jasper Bears came close to capturing a provincial baseball title, dropping a 7-4 decision to the High Prairie Titans in the final game of the Tier III Mosquito Provincials聽 in High Prairie July 25th to 27th.
The tournament capped a great season, in which the聽 Bears went undefeated in all regular season games against area competition. They captured top spot in both the Whitecourt and Edson tournaments. They also fought hard in the first two rounds of provincial play at home and in Spruce Grove.聽 Jasper finished the year with a 13-7 record.
Jadon Brown and Josh Howes pitched well for the Bears in the thrilling championship game. After a tough first inning the Bears settled down and were exceptional in the field, keeping the game close. Michael Hayashi made a spectacular catch in centerfield for Jasper.聽 The Bears couldn鈥檛 score enough runs and accepted their silver medals as second best in Alberta.
Jasper opened the provincials by downing Red Deer 10-4. Matteo Tassoni, Josh Howes, Jadon Brown and Tristan Erb-Beauchamp split the pitching duties against the Braves.
Matteo Tassoni and Dylan Dekker shared the mound duties in game two against the host team, the best game of the weekend.聽 The eventual champions edged the Bears 8-7.
Jasper downed Elk Point 11-0 in the final game of round robin play. Kelan Polard pitched a shutout and banged a triple against the Sox.聽 The win clinched a spot in the championship game on Sunday.
Selective hitter Cole Borrow was disciplined at the plate in all four games.聽 Utility player Jared Williams was strong in every position that he played. Riley Bridges, a dedicated right fielder, rounded out the Bears鈥� roster for the provincial championship weekend.
Other players who were a part of the 2014 mosquito team include Tanner Carlton, Sarah Hayashi, Owen Kearnan, Jesse Kertesz-Knight and Brayden MacLean.
The coaching staff comprised of John Polard, Kathleen Buffel and Steve Erb-Beauchamp, and deserve a lot of credit. All three are extremely proud of the growth and development of the entire mosquito squad. Bringing home a silver medal is quite an accomplishment in only the second season of organized baseball in Jasper.
Steve Kushneryk
Special to the 51暗网
