The BC Little League representative, White Rock All-Stars, are headed to Williamsport, PA to compete in the Little League World Series starting Thursday and going to Aug. 30.
White Rock gained a measure of revenge, defeating the host East Nepean Eagles 16-0 in the championship game on Sunday. Matthew Wilkinson pitched all five innings, putting on a clinic and giving up just one hit and walking three, while throwing 13 strikeouts. Darius Opdam Bak had a home run and three RBIs, and Trent Lenihan belted two home runs and four RBIs for the B.C. champion.
White Rock went 7-1 in the round robin, their only loss coming in their second match of the tournament, a close 6-5 setback to East Nepean. They then rolled over the competition, their most decisive win a 31-0 drubbing of the Prairies representative from Moose Jaw. White Rock also beat Glace Bay, N.S. 22-1, Alberta’s Lethbridge Red Giants 5-1, before nipping High Park Braves, the Ontario representative, 9-8 in the final game of the round robin.
The B.C. Team then 10-runned the Atlantic rep in the semifinal 11-1, while East Nepean eked out a 2-1 victory over High Park in the other semi, before losing in five innings to White Rock.
The national crown – and Little League World Series berth – is the third-ever for a White Rock team, having also qualified in back-to-back years, from 2007 to 2008. Ironically, it was a team from East Nepean that stymied a White Rock squad’s drive for Williamsport two years ago, defeating the 2013 Semiahmoo squad in the national finals.
Prior to the start of the Canadian championships, White Rock coach Bob Cumiskey joked that his team would look to avenge that loss and “get a little revenge.”
On Sunday, they certainly did, racking up 16 runs and 17 hits in just five innings before the game was called on account of the mercy rule.
White Rock will trade their black and teal uniforms for red ones – adorned with the Maple Leaf. In Williamsport, they’ll hit the field for the first time Friday, when they square off against Mexico at 11 a.m. PT. The Canadian champs play in the International division against the national champions from Japan, Mexico and Australia, as well as regional champions from the Caribbean, Europe/Africa and Asia-Pacific.