Against single-A competition this season, the Pacific Western Helicopters bantam Knights have had no problem reaching altitude. They'll need to soar into the blue again to turn their championship ambitions into reality.
The Knights, a 13- and 14-year-old all-star team from the Prince George Youth Baseball Association, are in Kamloops for the Baseball B.C. single-A provincial tournament. They're seeded fourth in the 10-team event but intend to prove they're No. 1.
"We're going with the mentality that we're going to win and we won't be happy unless we win the provincials," said manager Gary Allbee. "That's our goal."
The Knights play their first game today at noon against 10th-seeded Kamloops. On Friday, they'll be on the diamond against sixth-ranked Aldergrove (8 a.m.) and eighth-seeded Campbell River (6:30 p.m.). The P.G. boys will close out the round-robin portion of their tournament Saturday at noon when they bat against Surrey, which is ranked second.
Clubs in the other pool are top-ranked Ladner, Ridge Meadows, Cloverdale, Burnaby and Vernon.
The top two finishers in each pool will qualify for the playoffs, which will start with semifinal games on Sunday morning. The championship game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Single-A, double-A and triple-A designations are based on the number of registered players in a particular age group. And, the last time the Knights entered a true single-A tournament, they were dominant. The event was held in Pitt Meadows in early July and saw Prince George roll to a 5-0 record, including a 9-0 win against Ridge Meadows in the final.
Ridge Meadows is seeded third for provincials.
Typically, the Knights have an explosive offence. Their most dangerous men at the plate are Bryan Allbee, Dakota Curry, Bailey Mcfaul and Myles Kazakoff, all of whom have home-run power. Defensively, Gary Allbee would like his players to be a little sharper.
"I think our bats are going to do well but we need to tighten up our D," he said.
On the mound, Bryan Allbee and Curry have the two biggest arms for the Knights. Both throw heavy fastballs and Allbee also owns a deadly curve. Keiran Leboe, Koltin Chasse and Craig Budskin can also get the job done on the hill, which should bode well for the Knights because of the strict pitch-count rules at provincials.
Other team members are Mathew Knight, Danny Rockwell, Ethan Donison, Dylan Lukinchuk and Tanner Riplinger. Gary Allbee shares the coaching duties with Dean Kazakoff.
