The Trail Reds are the junior champions of the Trail Youth Baseball League, defeating the Trail Mariners in the title game Tuesday night at Butler Park.
Colton Miracle knocked in what proved to be the tying and winning runs with a bases-loaded single in the first inning as the Reds jumped out to a 5-0 lead and never looked back cruising to a 15-5 victory.
“We started off well, made some good defensive plays, Tyler Atkinson pitched well, and we got some good hits that we scored some runs on,” said Reds coach Dave Colquhoun.
“Our guys did a good job of being patient, some close pitches we took that helped us out.”
Tyler Atkinson got the win on the mound for the Reds, giving up five runs on six hits,and six walks while striking out nine batters. Atkinson also helped himself out at the plate, scoring two runs and going 1-for-3 with a double.
“I just throw whatever the coach tells me,” said Atkinson, who also plays for the West Kootenay AA Diamondbacks.
“My fastball was pretty good, but our team played well.”
Brenden Makay also had a decent night at the dish going 1-for-2 with two walks and a double, while Miracle was 2-for-4.
A couple of errors and free passes killed the Mariners, who managed to generate some offence, but could not capitalize leaving eight runners stranded including the bases loaded in the third inning. Bonn Johnson led the M’s in batting with a 2-for-3 night.
The Phillies won a close 6-5 game against Nelson in the semifinal, after going 17-3 in the regular season to finish first in the standings.
“It was a good season,” said Colquhoun. “We had eveyone show up to all our games so we have a team of dedicated young players and we have a lot of fun too.”
The Trail XBL senior men’s baseball final was postponed until Wednesday.