The Red Deer CarStar Braves were just an inning away from returning to the 18U Baseball Alberta Elite League (BAEL) championship final.
They were up 4-2 heading into the seventh inning of the semi-finals against the Calgary Bisons but the visiting team notched four runs to advance to the provincial final at Great Chief Park on Monday.
Braves head coach Josh Zanolli said it was a heartbreaking way to end the season.
“We were one out away up two in the seventh with nobody on and we just couldn’t get a ball to hit at us… It just kind of slipped away from us. It was tough but we played well,” he said.
“We played as good as we could this weekend and it’s probably the best we played all year. No fault on the guys at all.”
Starting pitcher Matthew Murray threw six and two third innings with six strikeouts meanwhile in the batters box Ryley Doig led the way with two RBIs.
“Murray was unbelievable. That’s the best he’s been and we just got a couple of bad breaks that’s all it was,” Zanolli said.
To begin the tournament on Thursday at Great Chief Park, the Braves beat the Webber Wildcats 14-4 followed by an 11-1 victory over the Neutral Hills Wranglers on Saturday.
On Sunday they also beat the St. Albert Cardinals 7-3 and the Edmonton Padres 10-6 to earn their spot in the semi-finals on Monday.
This season the Braves finished first in the regular season standings with a 24-8-4 record in the BAEL. Zanolli explained in hindsight it was a successful year despite coming up short in provincials for the second consecutive year.
“Second year in a row where we had a team that we thought could win. We were right there with a chance and came just short. It’s unfortunate but that’s sports,” he said.
Zanolli added the crowds at Great Chief Park were great and felt the players responded well to the energy of the fans.
“We played excellent defence all weekend and we hit really well. I think we had five home runs and a whole bunch of extra-base hits,” he said.
“Our parent group they were unbelievable this weekend. We had rain which cost us a day so it was just more work for the families. The Great Chief Park crew was great and the City of Red Deer was great just helping us get the diamond back in shape.”
Looking ahead to next season coach Zanolli anticipates they’ll lose a few players but expects they’ll be competitive again.
“We’ll get a good group back so we’ll be strong again next year and we’ll give it another go.”
In the championship finals at Great Chief Park on Monday afternoon the Parkland Twins defeated the Calgary Bisons 3-2 to win 18U BAEL provincials.
Coming up this weekend from Aug. 4-6 the Sylvan Lake Mariners will host the 11U AA Tier II provincials at Four Seasons Park and the Red Deer Porrtin Pipeline Braves will host the 11U AA Tier III provincials at West Park in Red Deer.
In Sylvan Lake, the Mariners will also host the 18U AA Tier III provincials at Gulls Stadium
