For the second consecutive year the Prince George IDL Midget Knights will play in the provincial baseball final.
Jared Young shut down the Kelowna Cubs hitters in the 2012 B.C. Minor Midget double-A tournament semifinal Sunday morning at Citizen Field and his Knights teammates provided enough offence for a 2-0 win. Young gave up three hits and struck out 11 Cubs' batters.
The victory sends the Knights into today's final against the Tsawwassen A's. The A's edged the Ridge Meadows Royals 4-3 in the other semifinal.
In 2011 the Knights reached the final but had to settle for second place.
Prince George provided Young with the run support early as Mark Mosure and Jordan Patterson both reached base in the first inning - Mosure on a walk and Patterson with a single. Having stolen second base already Mosure used his speed to score on his teammate's single.
An error by the Cubs had Patterson in scoring position at second when Jody Hannon sent a ball into the outfield. Patterson scored easily.
The early runs were the only blemishes Cubs starting pitcher Cory McCoy made in six inning of work. McCoy, the youngest, at 15, and tallest, at six-foot-three, player on the Kelowna roster, was solid on the mound allowing only five hits in the game. The Cubs' hurler also had five strikeouts.
The Cubs best opportunity to tie the game came in the top of the fourth inning when a pair of defensive errors allowed the visitors to put runners on second and third base. But Young bailed out his Knights' teammates forcing a soft infield hit for the easy out at first base to end the inning.
Young struck out four of the last six hitters he faced before securing the win for the Knights when he forced pop ups on consecutive pitches in the top of the seventh inning to end the game.
The winner of the final earns the title of B.C. midget double-A champion and a berth in the 2012 Western Canadian Midget Baseball Championship, Aug. 16-20, in Morden, Man.
The Knights and A's face off at Citizen Field for the right to represent B.C. in Manitoba at 2 p.m.
