After a scintillating summer, the Decorum Painting Angels head into the off-season on top of the local softball world.
They put the wraps on the Spruce City Men’s Fastball Association season Thursday night at Spruce City Stadium with an 8-3 win in the playoff final over the LTN Contracting Reds.
Nick Potskin held the hot stick for the Angels, going 4-for-4 with a home run and two runs batted in.
“It was a good performance and a great team effort,” said Angels pitcher Robbie Antoine, who earned the win on the rubber with two strikeouts in the seven-inning final. “The Reds are always good for a battle, that’s for sure. It’s never an easy game against them and it was a close game the entire time.”
Down 2-1 in the fourth inning, the Angels sent the heart of their batting order to the plate and scored four runs on Reds pitcher Norm Linton, who totaled seven strikeouts while going the distance.
“Norm is a good pitcher and we got the best of him,” said Antoine.
Brett Mueller led the Reds attack with two hits in four at-bats and he scored two runs.
Decorum Painting went 3-0 in the double-knockout playoffs and including tournament play and league games the Angels finished with a 22-4-1 record. They finished first in the league standings with a 16-3-1 mark, while the Reds went 13-7-1. LTN Contracting was the hottest team down the stretch in the seven-team league with 10 wins and tie after a 3-7 start.
The Decorum Painting roster includes Antoine, Nick Potskin, Ryan Howse, Jarrett Potskin, Tyson Ghostkeeper, Theo Potskin, Brady Potskin, Hunter Potskin, Shawn Basi, Clint Sam, Jared Tom, Caleb Poitras, Jagger Busch and Andrew Ghostkeeper (bat boy).
Meanwhile, on the provincial fastball scene, two Prince George men’s teams have brought home hardware this season.
The Prince George River Kings edged the Victoria Outlaws 3-2 in Sunday’s final in Abbotsford to claim the provincial men’s C championship. Jessin Potskin ended it with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning. The River Kings went undefeated at 6-0.
In July,, Falcon Contracting of Prince George wrapped up the B.C. masters championship title in Kelowna with a 9-6 win in a nine-inning final over the host Kelowna team.
The Aken Lake Silvertips, a select team made up of players from the Spruce City league, will compete in a tournament this weekend in Cahahoo, Alta. They’ll also travel to Siksika, Alta., near Strathmore, for a tournament Sept. 10-12.
Next weekend in Saskatoon, starting on Sept.1, the Big Guy Lake River Kings will begin their quest for national glory in the Rawlings tournament.
