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Runner-up placings for Spurs

Baseball teams finish second at nationals, Westerns
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Cloverdale Minor Baseball has a pair of silver medals from regional and national competition.

The Cloverdale Spurs placed second at both Baseball Canada’s 15-and-under Bantam Boys Championship in Vaughan, Ontario, and the 18-and-under Western Canada Midget AAA tournament in Winnipeg.

In the 15-and-under competition, Cloverdale dropped the final 8-1 to Ontario in a game that was close until the top of the seventh inning when the eventual champions scored five runs. The Spurs had an early lead, scoring their run in the second inning when Matthew Poirier singled to score Noah Or. Ontario scored two in the top of the third inning to take a lead they would not surrender.

Representing BC Minor Baseball at the 11-team championship tournament, Cloverdale began the round robin competition with two consecutive losses.

Their only game Thursday was a 4-2 loss to Ontario. Cloverdale trailed 4-0 before getting on the scoreboard in the sixth inning. Cole Ensing singled to score Tyler Hoefer, then Carter Loewen went home on an Ontario fielding error.

Spurs pitcher Matthew Poirier allowed just one unearned run in three innings pitched but took the loss. He had three strikeouts and allowed two hits. Loewen pitched two innings, allowing two unearned runs while collecting three strikeouts.

Cloverdale fell to 0-2 (won-lost) and on the verge of elimination from the championship after dropping a heartbreaking 4-3 decision to the host team from Vaughn.

Leading 3-0, the Spurs allowed two runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh. The game was scoreless until the fifth inning when the B.C. champions took the lead. Brodan Bydeweg singled to score Or from second base, then Loewen drew a bases-loaded walk to score Chase Stewart.

Stewart earned an RBI in the sixth with a sacrifice bunt to score Tanner Carmont.

Four Spurs pitchers combined for 13 strikeouts, with Hoefer getting seven and Allan Hogg collecting five.

After the slow start over the first two days, the Spurs turned things around on Saturday with two wins and the necessary run difference to earn second place in their pool and a berth in the semifinal round of the playoffs.

The first win was a 10-3 victory over Quebec. Taking advantage of five Quebec errors and five walks, the Spurs scored their 10 runs on just six hits. Or, with a pair of singles and two runs scored, was the top batter while Cole Ensing threw a complete-game three-hitter for the winners, walking just one batter while striking out five.

Later in the day, Cloverale scored three times in the sixth inning to be ark a 1-1 tie and defeat Alberta 4-1.

Aiden Mordecai was the winning pitcher for the Spurs, fanning eight Alberta batters while allowing one earned run on six hits and a walk.

Ensing led the offense with two hits, a pair of RBIs and one run scored.

In a rematch against Quebec in a semifinal game Sunday morning, the Spurs rapped out 12 hits and coasted to a 9-3 victory.

Hoefer struck out nine Quebec batters while walking just one and allowing five singles. Of the three runs allowed, just one was earned.

Stewart, Markus Gregson and Rhys Cratty had two hits each for the Spurs, with Cratty using a pair of triples to score two runs and drive in two others. Or also tripled and finished with two RBIs.

At the Midget tournament in Winnipeg, Cloverdale began with four wins, only to lose their final two contests.

Cloverdale stopped the Southeast Twins 7-3 Thursday night, then swept both games Friday. The Spurs defeated the St. Albert  Cardinals of Alberta 3-2 in the afternoon, then topped Boni Vital 5-3 in the evening.

Two more games were played Saturday, but Cloverdale needed only a win in the first to clinch first place. They ran their record to a perfect 4-0 (won-lost) with an 8-1 victory over the Winnipeg South Chiefs before dropping their first of the tournament, a 4-0 setback against the Regina Athletics.

Finishing first after round robin play, the Spurs faced St. Albert in the final, and fell 5-0.