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Braves win AAA tier 2 provincials

The Red Deer Servus Credit Union Braves captured the provincial bantam AAA baseball Tier II championship in Okotoks during the weekend.The Braves posted an undefeated record, beating the Edmonton Cardinals 5-4 in the final.

The Red Deer Servus Credit Union Braves captured the provincial bantam AAA baseball Tier II championship in Okotoks during the weekend.

The Braves posted an undefeated record, beating the Edmonton Cardinals 5-4 in the final.

The Braves led 3-1 after the first inning and 5-1 after three with the Cardinals making a game of it with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth.

Brendan Baker picked up the win, tossing five innings of three-hit, three-run ball. Ty Wagar came on and worked the final two innings, yielding two hits and a run.

Kyle Ringdahl went three-for-three at the plate with two singles and a double and drove in four runs. Wagar had an RBI single while Kane LeBlanc, Mike Ozga, Baker, Spencer Otto and Kacey Straub added singles.

In round-robin play, the Braves downed the Sherwood Park Gold 15-2 in five innings, the Cardinals 9-6 and the Sherwood Park Green 16-0 in five innings.

Baker, Ozga and Wagar shared mound duties against the Gold. Ozga collected two singles, a double and drove in five runs while Baker had a single, double and three RBIs. David Coley added a single, double and two RBIs, LeBlanc two singles and an RBI and Kyle Kryczka a single and two runs batted in. Straub, Ringdahl and Ethan Ropcean added singles.

Ozga pitched six innings against the Cardinals, allowing six hits while Wagar worked the final three outs on 18 pitches.

At the plate, catcher Straub was four-for-four with four singles and drove in a run while Baker had three singles and two RBIs. LeBlanc had a pair of singles and a double with an RBI while Ozga added a single and two runs batted in. Coley, Kelsey Lalor and Kryczka also collected RBIs.

The Braves jumped on the Green team for nine runs in the first inning.

Spencer Otto and Ropcean shared mound duties, each throwing 35 pitches and allowing one hit.

Baker was four-for-four with four RBIs while LeBlanc was three-for-four with an RBI and Wagar had a pair of hits and an RBI. Matt Lyons and Lalor each drove in two runs while Kryczka and Ringdahl collected RBI singles.

Baker was named tournament MVP, finishing with a .714 batting average while allowing three hits and three runs in a pair of mound appearances.