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Bow Valley Blues late rally falls short in championship game

"There just wasn't enough innings for them to comeback."

CALGARY – It could have been the most in-your-face championship comeback in ages, but the Bow Valley Blues' dreams of a league title wasn't meant to be.

The local U22 baseball team lost, 8-6, to rival Calgary North 2 (CN2) in the Calgary North Baseball League finals at New Brighton diamond in Calgary on Sunday (June 26).

"We made a couple costly errors that got everybody down and then once they were in the dumps they couldn't pull themselves out of it," said head coach Luke Gauvreau.

Down 8-0 heading into the fifth inning, a lot was going wrong for the Blues.

The team came out flat, and even with the lowest earned run average all season, defensive errors stung the Blues badly at the worst possible time; the bats were missing in action, and their spirit was deflating quickly.

CN2, which had the league's top record, jumped on the Blues through four innings and chased ace pitcher Matt Arsenault out of the game.

With three innings remaining and almost belly-up, the Blues shook themselves awake and turned up.

The Blues' bats were suddenly on fire with Wyatt Rogi batting in two runners, and Teagan Young, Arsenault and Jackson Ostman each driving in one RBI.

Rogi, who took over pitching duties in the fifth, held the rivals offence down as the Blues made a run at the trophy.

With the score 8-6, the Blues spirit was burning brightly.

Pulling off the unthinkable comeback suddenly wasn't so far-fetched and it was a slugfest to the very end between the top two teams.

"They held their heads high and they started to pull back, but it was too little too late," said Gauvreau.

"There just wasn't enough innings for them to come back."

Despite some trash-talk earlier in the season when the Blues handed CN2 its first loss, the clubs were cordial in the big game.

The Blues expect a large core group to return to the diamond next season when they'll look to win its first championship since 2019.


Jordan Small

About the Author: Jordan Small

An award-winning reporter, Jordan Small has covered sports, the arts, and news in the Bow Valley since 2014. Originally from Barrie, Ont., Jordan has lived in Alberta since 2013.
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