Bantam AA Stingers Grab Silver at Provincials!

After dropping their first game of the round robin to rival Cloverdale 9-4, the Victoria Stingers needed to win their final three games in order to make Championship Sunday. The first opponent in their way was 2009 and 2010 semi-finalist Prince George, and the Stingers came out strong, beating the Knights 15-4. Next up was tournament favourite Vancouver, who was already 3-0 at the time. Having already clinched a playoff spot, Vancouver decided to save their top pitching and the Stingers demolished them 10-1. Victoria's final round robin test was against a tough Rutland team, who gave the Stingers all they could handle in a 6-4 Victoria win. Victoria's 3-1 record gave them first place in their pool and a semi-final date with Abbotsford. Jacob Lapinski drew the start in the semi-final for the Stingers, overcoming a first inning solo home run to throw a complete game (only 71 pitches) in a 4-1 Victoria win. Lapinski also hit a home run of his own in the winning effort. Victoria's semi-final win set up a date with the extremely talented Vancouver Canadians. After taking a mid-game 3-1 lead, Victoria was unable to stop the Vancouver bats en route to a very tough 9-4 loss. The Victoria coaching staff is very proud of the efforts put forth by these twelve boys. They would like to wish the seven graduating players the best of luck next year in junior premier, and they look forward to working with the returning players on winning it all next season.