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Challenge ahead for Cap-abilities |
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Written by JIM SWANSON, Citizen Sports Editor
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Monday, 21 July 2008 |
Jared Young of the Prince George Cap-abilities Little League all-star team is out at first in Monday’s game against Layritz. Prince George dropped to 2-2 in the eight-team provincial championship, going on at Joe Martin Field, thanks to an 11-4 setback. Morgan Varley of Layritz had two home runs, including a grand slam in the fifth inning that changed a 5-4 game into a one-sided score. (David Mah photo)
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An 11-4 loss Monday to Layritz at the provincial Little League tournament at Joe Martin Field leaves the city’s top team with no margin for error. For Cap-abilities (2-2) to make the playoffs, which means finishing top-four in the eight-team event, it’s likely the Prince George boys will have to win two of their three remaining games.
That means a victory over either undefeated White Rock, who improved to 4-0 on Monday with another mercy-rule triumph, this time 11-1 over Dunbar, or over Dunbar, who dropped to 3-1 with Monday’s result.
Prince George plays White Rock today (12:15 p.m.), and Dunbar on Wednesday (5:45 p.m.). The host team closes the round-robin by facing the second Prince George team, LTN Contracting, on Thursday (5:45 p.m.).
“We’re still in there, and we still have a good shot at it,” said Cap-abilities manager Leon Mosure, moments after ending a long post-game meeting with the players.
“We’re looking forward and being positive, which is the best thing we can do.”
Things started well for Prince George on Monday, but didn’t end quite so well. After Layritz star Morgan Varley -- much, much more on him later -- homered off Prince George ace Jared Young’s third pitch of the game, Cap-abilities came back with three runs in the bottom of the first. The first two runs plated on Cuyler Aubichon’s bomb, the third the result of Stephen Penner’s home run on the next at-bat.
Varley, whose fastball has been clocked in the upper-60-mile-per-hour range, came on in relief of starter Dallas Patterson and shut the door on Prince George, striking out 11 batters in five innings of work, allowing only two hits. For good measure, he added his second home run of the game, a grand slam in the top of the fifth inning -- a low, hard drive that might not have left the yard if not for the ramp the ball found at the top of the glove of Prince George centrefielder Aubichon, who inadvertently deflected the ball over the fence while reaching high to make the grab.
The glancing blow was part of a six-run inning for Layritz, their outburst aided by a defensive blowup that led Prince George coach Randy Potskin to make a visit to the mound so he could get his fielders back on track.
Varley ended 3-4 at the plate, with the two long balls and five runs batted in. Even his one ‘out’ was scored as a ‘reach on error,’ but that at-bat was yet another hard-hit ball.
Mosure found a silver lining.
“It was better than (Sunday),” he said, referring to a 21-0 collapse against Hastings.
“We had a few minor errors in the one inning, but other than that we played a pretty good game. It was tight until that grand slam, and even that was a good break for (Layritz).”
Mosure hadn’t decided on a starting pitcher for today’s game with White Rock, but knows his team will have to be at its best to challenge a squad that has outscored its opposition 67-2 through four games.
“Nobody thinks it’s going to be easy -- it’s going to be a tough game, but I think our boys are up for it,” said Mosure.
In the late game, a battle between winless teams went to Mount Seymour, defeating LTN Contracting 14-4 in a game shortened to five innings. At 1-3, Mount Seymour remains barely alive in the hunt for the last playoff spot, while LTN Contracting is at the bottom of the pack at 0-4, but the team was celebrating its first runs of the tournament.
In the other game Monday, Trail posted the biggest upset of the tournament by blanking Hastings 6-0. The Trail club, with just nine players in uniform, improved to 1-3 while handing Hastings its first defeat (3-1).
White Rock leads the standings at 4-0, while Hastings and Dunbar are one game back at 3-1. Layritz and Cap-abilities are tied at 2-2, with Layritz holding the first tiebreaker (head-to-head result) should the teams end up knotted for the fourth-and-final playoff berth.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 21 July 2008 )
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