The Ladner Red Sox Tadpole Allstars dominated their summer league schedule by going undefeated with a record of 10-0-1. It was the largest involvement of teams ever in B.C. Minor Baseball's U8 level with 10 entries representing Cloverdale, North Delta, Richmond, White Rock, Ridge Meadows, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam, New West, Ladner and Hastings.
"This was a truly magical season," said Ladner head coach Sean MacDonald. "We had an amazing group of players with consistent offensive and defensive skills.
"Throughout the whole year, I've seen some plays I never expected to see at the seven-and-eight-year-old level. I've seen a player turn a single handed triple play, I've seen a diving catch in the outfield, and I've seen a runner thrown out from left field. You're just not supposed to see those types of plays at this age group, amazing."
The Red Sox finished third in the final tournament in North Delta. They defeated PoCo Thursday night, but were overmatched by the older Hastings team on Saturday.
With that they faced a marathon of baseball Sunday, defeating Cloverdale in the morning, then going straight into a two hour skills competition. It was then right back to baseball with a win over Ridge Meadows.
In the heat of the day, facing over exhaustion and fatigue, Ladner finally succumbed to White Rock in a close battle, losing by a run.
Game MVP awards went out to Kieran Nicholson, Nathan Kirkbride, Macin MacDonald, Miguel Franco, and Taylor Pearce.
The team also features: Cameron Arnold, Ryley Ferguson, Quincy Chong, Oliver Melnychuck, Nash Johnson and Matthew Cushing.
Rounding out the coaching staff are Andrew Ferguson and Ron Pearce.
