It was the best James Raymond had seen the Penticton Thunder peewee AA U13 baseball team play.
Even though they lost the championship game of the Interior Region playoff 7-6 in three extra innings to Kamloops 1 River Dogs in the 10th inning at Kiwanis Field on Father鈥檚 Day.
鈥淭hey were absolutely fantastic. The pitching was on. The hitting was there. The defence was amazing, absolutely amazing,鈥� said Raymond, coach of the Thunder.
The game slipped through their fingers on a pickoff attempt at the top of the 10th when their first baseman couldn鈥檛 quite snag the throw. That allowed the runner to make it all the way to third and eventually score. Thunder pitcher Cody Thompson was upset about the play but he was able to compose himself and get the outs needed following some encouraging words from Raymond.
鈥淭hey are a high intensity group. They compete hard,鈥� said Raymond. 鈥淲hen things don鈥檛 roll out the way they want them to, they get down on themselves, but they bounce back so quick. They are such a resilient group of kids. They lift each other up every time.鈥�
Jack MacIntosh of the Thunder said they had their chances.
鈥淲e just couldn鈥檛 quite pull them out,鈥� he said.
Being loud and positive from the dugout throughout the tournament was key for the Thunder. Jack MacIntosh said if they weren鈥檛 like that they would not have done as well as they did.
鈥淥ur team motto is never give up. That鈥檚 exactly what we did,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e just didn鈥檛 come out with the win.鈥�
In a back-and-forth affair Raymond said and Kamloops was a classy team to play.
鈥淭hey absolutely bring our team to the very top, they elevate our game,鈥� he said.
Dayne Raymond was named the Thunder鈥檚 most valuable player in the championship game. Dayne caught the entire game, which the coach said is rare at this level. During the match he threw out two runners and connected for a few hits. The Thunder opened with a 15-0 win over 琉璃神社, then edged the West 琉璃神社 Diamond Backs 9-8. They cruised past the Vernon Canadians 1 18-7 to advance to the final. The Thunder finished second in the Interior Division and now look to build the momentum into the summer season with a push to advance to provincials.
In other South Okanagan Minor Baseball Association action, the bantam AA Tigers won three of four games. They opened the weekend settling for a split with North Shore, winning the first game 9-6, then lost the second match 6-3. On Sunday, the Tigers swept 琉璃神社 11-5 and 13-0. Against 琉璃神社, Marlo Spence pitched a full game, while Michael Weibe nearly did the same in the other game. Dexter Madsen came in to relieve and earn the save in the seventh inning. Matt Olsen had a solid weekend at the plate, with one of his hits being a triple.
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