Peewee Bearcats strike silver at provincials

The Truro Stuart Kia Bearcats U13 peewee AAA baseball team captured silver at the recent provincial championship in Dartmouth.

The Bearcats went undefeated in preliminary action and defeated Hantsport 6-2 in a semifinal game before a 4-2 loss to Halifax in the final.

Truro’s pitching staff gave up 21 runs in five tournament games, no small feat in peewee baseball. The staff was led by Aiden McBurnie and Camden Weatherbee, who were outstanding all weekend.

Defensively, the Bearcats had highlight reel plays from Spencer Dowe, in the outfield, and Simon Mullen, while leadership was provides by Carter Sharp and Seth Macpherson behind the plate.

Offensively, Truro had a very balanced attack with various players contributing throughout the tournament.

In the gold-medal game, the Bearcats ran in to a hot pitcher – Rory Macdonald of Halifax – in the final. Trailing 4-0, Truro battled back to within two runs and finished the game with the tying run at the plate and Macdonald having maxed out his pitch count. The Bearcats had five hits in the game, including an RBI single by Weatherbee.

The Bearcats opened the tournament with an 8-1 victory over Hantsport. Truro scored seven runs in the third inning to put the contest out of reach early. Alex Field singled, doubled and drove in a run, while Sharp had two singles and two RBI and Mullen went 1-for-2 with a walk, double and two RBI.

In a 16-9 win over Hammonds Plains, Carter Higgins knocked out three singles and drove in three runs, while Mullen went 3-for-4 with two RBI. Sharp was the winning pitcher, picking up three strikeouts over four innings.

The Bearcats then defeated Dartmouth 7- 5, scoring four times in the sixth inning on their way to victory.

Kaelan Bakker had a pair of singles and knocked in a run and Eli James went 2-for-3. James was the winning pitcher and Dowe earned the save.

In a semifinal, the Bearcats rallied with three runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings in a 6-2 triumph over Hantsport. James belted a solo homer and Mcburnie earned the win on the mound, striking out eight over five innings. Weatherbee got the save.

Bearcat players of the game for the weekend were Field, Mullen, James, Weatherbee and Bakker.

Truro and Halifax will compete at the Atlantic championship Sept. 13 to 16 in Summerside. The tournament will feature he top two teams from each of the four Atlantic provinces.