Great pitching, tight defence and timely hitting.
The Lomak midget Knights are getting all three in abundance at the midget double-A provincial baseball championship in Richmond and have advanced to today's semifinal round.
The Knights completed a perfect 4-0 run through their pool Sunday night with a 6-4 win over Ridge Meadows.
The Knights have flown under the radar on the provincial scene this year and weren't considered one of the favourites to win the eight-team double-A tournament. But after convincing wins over Kamloops, 6-4; Tsawwassen, 6-0; and Newton, 23-11, the Knights know now the time they spent on the field playing against men in the Northland Dodge Senior Baseball League has served as an ideal training ground.
Pitcher Matthew Knight got Prince George off on the right foot in the first game against Kamloops, tossing seven strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings while giving up just two runs and a walk. Craig Budskin allowed just two more runs in 3 1/3 innings of relief and Bryan Allbee came through with three hits.
Kamloops was threatening in the bottom of the seventh inning but Myles Kazakoff preserved the lead with a diving catch in centre field to double up the baserunner.
In the Tsawwassen game, Dustin Aldana took a no-hitter into the seventh and final inning and came out of the game after allowing a hit with one out in the seventh. Aldana leaned on his fielders to get himself out of tight situations and helped his own cause by picking off runners at second and third base. Knights catcher Scott Walters went 5-for-5 with two triples and three singles.
"Dustin Aldana and Matt Knight have both thrown sensational for us, over the course of the last month those two have been great," said Dean Kazakoff, who's sharing the coaching duties with Shane Taylor.
"We've been getting incredible team defence."
The Knights played Newton Saturday night in their first game on an artificial turf diamond and had trouble adjusting to the synthetic environment, allowing eight runs in the first two innings. But they got used to the bounces off the infield turf in the third inning and teed off on Newton's pitching.
Myles Kazakoff started for the Knights and Budskin came in trailing 9-7 in the fourth and picked up the win.
The Knights will play either Ladner or Campbell River in the semifinal round today. The two lopsided wins allowed the Knights to save their ace pitcher, Allbee, who is expected to get the call to start the semifinal. Ridge Meadows will also advance to the semi and the winners will play in tonight's final.
