Road to Williamsport runs through Victoria
Beacon Hill hosts Little League provincials
If historical form holds, the winner of the B.C. Little League Championship tournament this week at Hollywood Park in Fairfield will have taken a big step toward playing in front of 40,000 fans next month at the ABC/ESPN televised 2017 Little League World Series in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
Teams from B.C. have represented Canada 25 times in Williamsport, including Hastings last year. B.C. teams have won the Canadian championship every year since 2005, except for 2013, when East Nepean from Ottawa was the national champion.
“We have all-year-round decent weather in our province,” said Beacon Hill head coach Tak Niketas, in trying to explain B.C.’s uncanny success in Canadian Little League.
“About the only months you can’t throw a ball around are December and January, when it gets really wet. We can be on the fields sooner in spring. That explains the coast-to-coast success of B.C. teams.”
The B.C. tournament, which begins today in Fairfield, features Island-champion Layritz of Saanich, Vancouver West-champion Little Mountain, Vancouver East-champion New Westminster, Fraser Valley representative White Rock, North Shore-champion Highlands, Kootenays-champion Trail and host Beacon Hill.
A lot of people are looking at White Rock, Highlands and Beacon Hill as the favourites.
“We have deep hitting and deep pitching and a team that can win it all,” said Niketas.
Niketas almost got there in 2014 when he coached Beacon Hill at the 2014 B.C. championship and led South Vancouver 3-0 in the fourth inning of the semifinals that year. But South Vancouver won the 2014 B.C. and Canadian championships to advance to Williamsport for the first time since the park’s founding in 1956. The boys from Beacon Hill, under Niketas, also reached the provincial semifinals in 2012 before bowing out to White Rock.
“This Beacon Hill team is stronger than those Beacon Hill teams,” said Niketas.
This year’s editon is led by Sam Shaw and Walker Selley, the aces on the Beacon Hill mound. And at the plate, Niketas added: “Both [Shaw] and [Selley] can smash the ball.”
If they smash it far enough, Beacon Hill could become the first Island team to play in the Little League World Series since Gordon Head in 1999 with a team that included future MLB outfielder Michael Saunders. The first Island team to make it to Williamsport was Esquimalt-Vic West in 1974.
The B.C. champion will advance to the Canadian championships, from Aug. 2 to 12, in Medicine Hat, Alta. The national champion will represent Canada at the 2017 Little League World Series from Aug. 17 to 27 in Williamsport.
There will be no shortage of storylines in the B.C. tournament en route to picking the provincial representative that will advance to Medicine Hat, and hopefully, Willamsport.
Trail is coached by Jim Maniago, who coaches his son Jake Maniago. They are part of the legendary Trail sporting clan that includes former NHL goaltender Cesare Maniago.
Beacon Hill features lefthanded pitcher Tess Sawkins.
“She throws a mean curve ball and just loves [Victoria HarbourCats WCL pitcher] Claire Eccles,” added Niketas.
The B.C. tournament opens this morning at 11 a.m. with Layritz, which will host the 2020 Canadian Little League championship, playing Little Mountain. Following the opening ceremony at 1 p.m., Beacon Hill opens against New Westminster at 3 p.m. and Trail against White Rock at 6 p.m. Sunday action has the all-Island derby between Beacon Hill and Layritz at 10 a.m. followed by White Rock against New Wesminster at 1 p.m. and Little Mountain versus Highlands at 4 p.m. before the skills competition at 6 p.m.
The round robin continues through Friday. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals at noon and 3 p.m. next Saturday. The championship game is next Sunday at noon, with the winner advancing to the Canadian tournament in Medicine Hat, and the national champion moving on to Williamsport.
No Canadian team has won the Little League World Series. But that’s what dreams are for, and they will run rampant the next week in Fairfield.