PORT HARDY—The ball season finished up last weekend at the Storey’s Beach diamonds with a pair of wrap-up tourneys.
The ladies closed out the Slo-pitch season in style with a down-to-the-wire, extra inning final before the men’s teams took to the field for the fastpitch final.
A field of six ladies teams played off Saturday to leave No Glove No Love facing Combo B in the finale.
It took an eighth inning to separate the teams, Alysha Nelson’s drive to left field bringing home Nikki Richards to give No Glove the 16-15 win after Combo was held scoreless at the top of the inning.
A huge rally at the bottom of the seventh saw No Glove pull back an eight run deficit to tie the game and force the extra inning.
A three-run double from Combo’s pitcher Sterrin Lazarowich added to an earlier RBI to give Combo a daunting 15-7 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
When a No Glove sacrifice hit to centre field gave Combo a second out for two scored the game looked in the bag. But No Glove’s batters kept finding the gap for base hits.
Erin Klatt stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and her right field single brought home a pair of runners. Ruth Jacobson then drove down the left to bring in another and close the gap to three.
Raylene Clair, who opened the inning, returned to the plate with bases loaded and her single to centre field brought two more home before Arlene Clair drove in the tying run.
A potential game-winning hit over third base by Richards was superbly caught on the dive by Combo’s left fielder Carrie Harilstad to keep the game alive and force the decider.
The teams had started quietly, taking two runs apiece into the third when Combos’ batters had a breakout inning. Five single RBIs with one out gave the team a healthy lead to take out to the field.
No Glove looked to be in further trouble after a pair of catches saw them two out and 7-2 down. Tara Nelson stepped up to bat with the bases loaded and her crucial centre field drive brought home three runs to keep No Glove in sight, Combo B getting their third out next pitch.
Combo rallied next inning, scoring two and holding No Glove. Both teams notched up a pair of runs between the fifth and sixth before the game erupted in the 12- run seventh to set up the dramatic extra inning.
Nelson was awarded the MVP for No Glove while Roselyn Jennison was given the nod as Combo’s MVP.
Next up, the men took to the field in the fast pitch finale with the Woss Lake Brewers taking on Where My Pitches At.
A solid all-round performance from the seasoned Brewers, including a pair of five run innings at bat and three shutouts, earned them a 14-6 win over the Pitches.
Home runs from Glen Moore in the second and fifth capped the Brewers’ five run innings in a series of strong at-bats, the Woss outfit’s base runners quick to steal at any opportunity.
They didn’t get it all their own way, however, as the Pitches’ outfield picked off virtually all that came their way, holding the Brewers scoreless in the third and fourth.
At bat, the Pitches’ Jake Colbourne smashed a homer to left field to open the second and threatened to add another on a number of occasions, clearing the fence the wrong side of the foul line.
In the end, the two runaway innings at bat and the consistent pitching of Bill Rushton gave the Brewers a deserved win.
Rushton earned the Brewers’ MVP for his efforts while the Pitches’ centre fielder Shelby Cockell took the MVP for his side.