VICTORIAVILLE, QUEBEC — For the second straight time, the same Whalley baseball team has fallen short in the final of the Canadian championships, after losing 6-5 to Saskatchewan on Thursday (Aug. 7).
The Whalley senior team was trailing 5-2 at the start of the seventh inning, but managed to claw its way back and tied the game before taking to the field in the bottom half of the inning.
With two players out and the bases loaded, Saskatchewan won the game with a walk-off base hit.
Manager Doug Wong said the boys played their hearts out and that all of the other teams were cheering them on.
"It brings tears to my eyes to just think how close we were. I'm getting emotional just talking about it," said Wong.
"A lot of kids made personal sacrifices to be here. One kid came home from a family trip in Taiwan," he added. "A lot of kids had personal things in their lives that they left behind just to come here and play."
Both teams started the game with great pitching and fielding, and the game was scoreless after three innings.
When Saskatchewan was up to bat in the fourth, Whalley made a couple of defensive errors that Saskatchewan capitalized on and took four runs in the inning.
Whalley managed to half the deficit in the top of the sixth, but Saskatchewan picked up a run in the bottom of the inning.
Whalley tied the game in their last at bat, and even left runners in scoring position, but couldn't manage to get a hit before Saskatchewan got the third out.
Despite the loss, Wong is extremely proud of his squad and said that after qualifying for their third national championship, the talent level in Whalley is immeasurable.
The team had to change up their game plan for the playoff round after Deacon Legris, one of the team's top pitchers, separated his shoulder sliding into third base during a round-robin game.
Had the team won, they would've qualified for the Senior League Baseball World Series in Bangor, Maine, which runs from Aug. 9 to 16.
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