Coming off the best regular season in their brief history, it鈥檚 little surprise the are considered the favourites heading into the championship.

Playing in the familiar surroundings of Edith Gay Park, the host Sun Devils couldn鈥檛 ask for a much better scenario for the 2017 provincial tournament.

Still, with just four days and a handful of games remaining in the season鈥攁nd six other teams aiming for the same coveted prize鈥攈ead coach Rob Law said his club will be taking nothing for granted.

鈥淲e had a great regular season, but provincials are a completely different story,鈥� said Law, whose club went 30-8 to finish in top spot. 鈥淵ou play four round robin games against four different teams, so every inning of every game is crucial.

鈥淓very team in the league has beaten us at one time or another this year, so there鈥檚 no letting your guard down. For our guys, each game will be about playing seven innings with everything they鈥檝e got.鈥�

The Sun Devils open provincials on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. against Victoria. Round robin games will follow against Vernon and North Shore on Friday, then North Fraser on Saturday.

Like any game or tournament, Law expects his favoured Sun Devils will face some adversity this week at provincials. But based on both team chemistry and character鈥攚in or lose鈥攖he head coach knows his players will leave it all on the field.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just an amazing group of kids,鈥� said Law. 鈥淚 haven鈥檛 seen a team that鈥檚 gelled like this one. They鈥檝e got each other鈥檚 back and when somebody makes a mistake, there鈥檚 someone there to pick him up. It鈥檚 a tight knit group.

鈥淓very kid has taken turns stepping up this year,鈥� he added. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e confident but not cocky going into this. Most of all, we want them to have fun, enjoy this and just play hard.鈥�

The Sun Devils round robin schedule is:

Thursday, July 27 vs Victoria Eagles鈥�2:30 p.m.

Friday, July 28 vs Vernon Canadians鈥�9 a.m.

Friday, July 28 vs North Shore Padres鈥�3 p.m.

Saturday, July 29 vs North Fraser Nats鈥�3 p.m.

The B.C. championship final is set for Sunday, 3 p.m. at

鈥⑩赌⑩赌�

Nelmes no-hits Victoria

In a season that produced more than a few highlights, Dreyton Nelmes and his Sun Devils teammates waited until the last game of the regular campaign to provide perhaps the most memorable moment of all.

The 16-year-old pitcher threw a complete game, no-hitter on Sunday afternoon, as 琉璃神社 blanked the Victoria Eagles 9-0 in the finale of a four-game series.

Nelmes wasn鈥檛 actually aware he had a no-no going until the fifth inning when he heard a Victoria opponent bring it up.

Once his teammates found out鈥攊n keeping with traditional baseball superstition鈥攖hey made no mention of the no-hitter and instructed Nelmes to go sit silently by himself at the end of the dugout.

With the sixth and seventh innings to go, Nelmes simply followed the fundamentals of pitching like any other game.

鈥淚 was thinking two more innings to go and as long as we win, that鈥檚 all that matters,鈥� said Nelmes, a Grade 11 student at Immaculata. 鈥�(The no-hitter) was in the back of my mind but it was really just doing what I needed to do to help win the game.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a team game, I had to rely on my teammates and there鈥檚 no way we could have celebrated this together without them,鈥� added Nelmes, who struck out seven batters. 鈥淚t鈥檚 starting to sink in what I did, it鈥檚 nice, but I鈥檓 more happy for the team.鈥�

The Sun Devils鈥� defense was airtight behind Nelmes, making several big plays including Spencer Klassen鈥檚 leaping grab at second base to take a sure hit away from the Eagles鈥� batter.

鈥淗e actually looked like he climbed on air, amazing,鈥� Sun Devils coach Rob Law said of Klassen鈥檚 catch.

As for Nelmes鈥� performance, Law said it has a special place in the Sun Devils鈥� three-year history.

鈥淚t was truly amazing what he did,鈥� added Law. 鈥淥ur coaching staff leaned in and whispered to each other after the fifth inning and said鈥� 鈥榊ou see what is going on here?鈥� The three of us just nodded.

鈥淚t was great to watch, I have goosebumps talking about it.鈥�

Nelmes鈥� effort was preceded by another stellar outing on the mound by a Sun Devils鈥� pitcher. Jordan Laidlaw tossed a complete game one-hitter in a series opening 10-0 victory on Saturday.

鈥淓verything was working for him, he had full command of his pitches, it was pretty to watch,鈥� Law said of Laidlaw鈥檚 win.

The clubs split the other two games of the series, with the Sun Devils winning 6-5 and the Eagles bouncing back with a 2-1 win Sunday morning.

鈥⑩赌⑩赌�

Sun Devils grads

This Sunday night, when the dust settles from the provincial championship, five Sun Devils will officially bid farewell to the program.

Jay Taylor, Noah Foufoulas, Kurtis Wall and Gavin Barrett will all play baseball next season at their chosen university or college, while Noah Ringness-Law will take a year off from school.

Taylor, who went 4-1 this season with a 3.78 ERA, will attend College of the Sequoias in Visalia, California, and will take Auto Mechanics and the core courses to get into physiotherapy.

Foufoulas is going to Thompson Rivers University in the CCBC and will take architectural engineering.

Kurtis Wall, who batted .375 this season, will also go to TRU and will enroll in Bachelor of Business Administration to pursue a degree in Finance.

Barrett, who went 7-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 2017, will stay at home to play in the CCBC with Okanagan College, while taking Associate of Arts leading into a Bachelor of Arts.

Ringness-Law, who led the Sun Devils with an eye-popping .459 average, 37 stolen bases and 31 RBIs, and had no fewer than half a dozen schools interested in his services, is weighing his options of where he鈥檒l play next season.

Wall, Barrett and Ringness-Law have all been with the program since its inception in 2015.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to be missed,鈥� head coach Rob Law said of all five players. 鈥淭o see how far all of them have come since joining the program has been great to watch. These (provincials) will be their last games in that uniform. I know I鈥檓 likely going to be teary-eyed when it鈥檚 all over.鈥�