Monday brought the end of an amazing season for the Peninsula Minor Baseball Association’s mosquito Red Sox. They won the Greater Victoria Baseball Association City Championships in their division after taking the park championship against Esquimalt Green Hornets and then beating Triangle team in the city semifinals.
Peninsula lost the toss and were playing on home turf, so were the visiting team for the game. Some thought this a bad omen for the team, but destiny would prove this not to be the case.
Peninsula faced the Gordon Head Grenades in the final game at Rotary Park. The Red Sox got off to a shaky start with just one run in the top of the first. Then the enormity of the task of pitching was on the shoulders of opening pitcher Brennan Williams. Gordon Head proceeded to load the bases and run in the limit of four runs. Williams was visibly upset leaving the mound at the bottom of the first with the score at 4-1 for Gordon Head.
The Red Sox then answered back with three runs of their own in the top of the second and Williams settled back into his normal groove and struck out Gordon Head to tie the game 4-4.
It was a tight game until the end. Up for the final bat of the game, Gordon Head started well with their opening batter stealing his way around for one run.
Peninsula’s head coach Dave Harris conferred with his assistants and decided to change Gurvir Baidwan for closing pitcher and the current catcher Rhys Hill. He threw just seven balls at two batters – six of them strikes.
“It was fun from the start [of the season] and after winning the park championship it got better,” Harris said. “All the kids contributed night after night with big hits and great plays in the field, along with the great attitudes of them all we were able to bring the City Championship trophy to the Peninsula for the first time ever at this level.”
This Red Sox team is the first Peninsula team to make it to the City Championships and win it.