The Prince George Timberwolves got more than they bargained for Sunday at Ron Wiley Field.
The let an 8-2 lead over the Williams Lake Prospects slip away in the second game of a bantam boys softball doubleheader and the outcome was seriously in doubt until the T-wolves bats came to life in the tiebreaker seventh inning.
With plenty of run support backing him up, Dylan Tarasoff ended it with two strikeouts in the bottom of the inning. Timely hits from Omar Medina, Brady Barber and Brydon Lessard off Williams Lake pitcher Chris Fontaine allowed the T-wolves to avenge a 12-7 loss to the Prospects earlier in the day.
The Prince George team of 16-year-olds opened the season a couple weeks ago in Valemount with a pair of wins over Kamloops. The two teams will meet again June 22 in Williams Lake in a three-team mini-tournament hosted by the Prospects. The T-wolves are also booked to play in a tournament in Surrey, June 13-15, leading up to the bantam B provincial championship in Clearwater, July 7-9.
Eleven T-wolves players will form the bulk of the Zone 8 team for the B.C. Summer Games in Nanaimo, July 17-20, joining up with pitcher/third baseman Brandon Moore of 100 Mile House and shortstop Omar Medina of Valemount to take on the best in the province. They'll have about 10 games under their belts before they begin the Summer Games tournament.
"Two years ago we came fourth in Summer Games and this year we should be good this year to get medal," said T-wolves captain Brandon Hanson. "We have probably the best hitting team we've had in a couple years and our pitching is strong. We're all friends on the team and you're excited to play every day.
"I love this sport. I played baseball [with the bantam Knights] last year and I didn't really like it as much as fastball and I wanted to come back for Summer Games. Fastball is a faster game because the bases are so close."
The T-wolves have some dependable bats in the hands of Tarasoff, Hanson, Lessard, Nick Olson, and six-foot-five Spencer Dempsey. Perhaps their greatest strength in their pitching. According to Wilson, Moore offers up the best junk, but Daniel Hansen, Graham Walkey, Hanson and Tarasoff can all throw heat and have a collection of tricks up their sleeves.
"We're lucky we have five pitchers, Brandan Moore is probably the top one, but having those other four that are backups makes a big difference," said T-wolves head coach David Wilson. "We're still gelling a bit, getting things going, but we've got some good talent here."
Moore played for Williams Lake Sunday. He was the winning pitcher in the first game and scored two runs in the second game. Fontaine scored the tying run in Game 2 in the bottom of the fifth and Williams Lake still had nobody out, but the five-run rule ended the Prospects' turn at bat and killed the rally.
Shortstop Medina, centre fielder Lessard and second baseman Olson bring speed to the plate. Tarasoff and Hanson switch off at catcher when they're not standing on the rubber. the core of the team has been together for about six years. They play each other in house league games Spruce City Minor Softball Association Monday and Wednesday nights.
Medina and Brevin Nowoczin hit home runs in the first game.
In addition to the Summer Games, the T-wolves are also taking at aim at the Western Canadian championship Aug. 8-10 in Duncan. The top two teams from the provincial tournament as well as the host team from Duncan will qualify.
"We haven't been to Westerns before so it would be good to go at least once," said Hanson. {The provincial tournament] will be competitive but I think we can tough it out and get a couple wins and go to Westerns."
The other Timberwolves players are Austin Haugen, Lucas Day, Dyland Frankworth,. Mike Olson and Dean Tarasoff are the assistant coaches and Julie Dempsey is the team manager.
