Wawanesa hosts and wins senior baseball crown
- Details
- Published on Thursday, August 11, 2016
By Gladwyn Scott
Submitted
Under warm, sunny skies, Wawanesa hosted and won the senior AA baseball championship Aug. 5-7. Wawanesa Brewers (10-3), South West League pennant winners, edged Minnedosa Mavericks, 11 time Santa Clara pennant winners, 5-3 in the finals and Pilot Mound Pilots (Border League winners) 3-2 in the eight team semi finals.
Curtis Plett was the unofficial MVP, as he was the winning pitcher in their 4-1 opener over Thompson Reds and the final match with Minnedosa. He also swung a hot bat, going three for three with two RBIs and two runs scored in the final.
The Mavericks trailed 5-0 after five innings, but rallied to have the tying runs on third and first when Mitch Olsen relieved to strike out the final batter.
Derek McGregor pitched a complete game semi final to out dual Pilot Mound’s southpaw ace, Anthony Friesen in the semi final.
The Brewers received yeoman performances from their four league pickups, Duncan Paddock (Oak River), Jeff Edwards, Mitch and Cole Olsen (Deloraine).
Minnedosa also got great efforts from their four league additions, Daylon Creasy (Carberry), Garrett Remple (Neepawa) and Dustin Donald (Portage), who each recorded a pitching win plus catcher Daylon Laramee (Portage). Remple was the winning pitcher in the semi-finals over Boissevain. He also played right field and hit well.
Tournament convenors, Ron Seafoot and Wayne Gullett, both Hall of Famers, along with the Brewers players and some 60 local volunteers ran a great tournament. Lindsay Gullett, who works for the Manitoba Moose PR department, produced an excellent program, along with many community sponsors.
Other tournament participants were Springfield Braves, who won one game 5-3 over Brandon Marlins, who were winless in three round robin contests.
Virden Oilers also won one game 12-4 over Thompson Reds, who also did not win a game.
Top sluggers in the home run derby were Matt Gunning (Virden), Skylar Canada (Boissevain) and Derek McGregor (Wawanesa).
Wawanesa Brewers had previously won the Manitoba Senior AA baseball championship in 2011 and 2007.
