It was a golden long weekend for Richmond City Baseball’s U9 Blue Demons — taking home top prize at the Tsawwassen Grand Slam Tournament.
The kids bats started off hot and did not cool off until the dust had settled in a thrilling extra inning championship game win over the Tsawwassen Cardinals.
The Blue Demons started off the tournament with convincing 17-0 and 14- 6 victories over a pair of host teams — Maroon 9s and the Cubs.
With their confidence booming, the Blue Demons were brought back to earth in their third game — a 20-13 loss to the Cardinals.
The boys re-grouped and won their semi-final game against the Cubs 13-5 — setting up the dramatic rematch against the Cardinals on Victoria Day Monday.
In a game that will go down in Winskill Park lore, the Blue Demons started off slow falling behind 8-3 after two innings before the bats came to life. The Demons with two outs in the top of the sixth Richmond exploded for five runs as they batted all 11 players through the inning to take a 16-12 lead.
The Blue Demons recorded the first two outs in the bottom of the inning, only see the Cardinals rip off seven consecutive hits to send the game to extra innings.
The hot bats continued as the Blue Demons scored four times in the top of the seventh and retired the side in order to secure a 20-16 victory and the tournament tile.
The coaches and parents could not be any prouder of the boys. They stuck together as a team when they were seemingly down and out. They represented RCBA with class and showed respect for their opponents. All that was left at the end was the round of freezies, which was the real prize.
Coached by David Knott, Navi Sekhon, Brent Lexier and Andy Ohara, the Blue Demons include: Yianni Camara, Brandon Sekhon, Peter Tsakumis, Matai David, Ryan Huang, Murphy Ohara, Ben Lee, Cooper Swanson, Matthew Knott, Bryson Lexier, Luke Mayan and Leeland Kotze.
