First baseman Josh Dow fielded a ground ball and touched his base, ending a 38-year drought Sunday in Vaughan, Ont.
The Charlottetown Royals defeated Manitoba 7-5 to win the bronze medal game at the Canadian under-15 baseball championships. They are the second baseball team in Island history to win a medal at the nationals and first since an Islanders senior squad finished second in 1977.
"The bench just exploded. The fans just exploded. It was just crazy," said head coach Mark Jones of the final play. "The TV crews up here were jumping up and down for us because they knew we (hadn't) run a medal in forever."
Manitoba opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first and was threatening for more with a runner at second and one out.
"Gabe Penalver dove for a line drive up the middle and we doubled them off and the boys got all pumped right after that play and came bouncing right back," Jones explained.
The teams traded single runs in the fourth before Connor McGregor had a two-out, two-run double to put the Island squad ahead 4-3 in the fifth inning.
Chandler Laporte added a two-out, two-run triple in the sixth inning for key insurance runs that turned out to be the difference.
"When it came down to clutch time they really hit," Jones said.
Connor Jones allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out six in six innings for the win. Laporte allowed a run on two hits and struck out one in an inning of relief for the save.
The coach said the team had great pitching performances all week and "hit lights out," but there was another key to their success.
"One through nine we have a track team. We can run like deer. We can steal bases everywhere," he said. "It is probably one of our biggest strengths."
And the players bought into needing to play as a team.
"We had guys come in for pinch running, guys come in to hit and guys go out for defensive purpose and they sort of accepted their role," Jones said. "Everybody was up at the fence backing each other and cheering for each other. It was unreal."
It didn't start well for the Royals, losing 16-0 to Manitoba on Thursday to open the tournament following a rain delay.
The team didn't have a warm up, was not used to playing on a grass infield and everything that could go wrong, did.
"We just bounced back and said 'Boys, we've never lost two games in a row all year, it's no time to start," Jones said.
Baseball P.E.I. president Don LeClair coached the 1977 Islanders and is pleased they have some company.
"I was thrilled with the performance by the bantams at the nationals," he said. "It means I think above all that we must be doing something right in our development."
He also pointed to strong performances by Charlottetown Gaudet's Auto Body Islanders players at the senior men's tournament with New Brunswick entries and the Youth Selects and midgets also having strong showings at nationals.
"It's a great day for baseball," he said.
"It's been a while, but it's great to see this team do as well as they did today. I am sure the young fellas will remember it forever."
Recap
A look back at the Charlottetown Royals results from the under-15 boys nationals baseball championship.
Thursday
Manitoba 16 P.E.I. 0
P.E.I. 4 Alberta 2
Friday
P.E.I. 8 Nova Scotia 5
P.E.I. 12 Newfoundland and Labrador 6
Saturday
P.E.I. 13 Saskatchewan 11
P.E.I. 7 British Columbia 6
Sunday
Quebec 13 P.E.I. 1
P.E.I. 7 Manitoba 5
Roster
A look at the Charlottetown Royals roster.
Pitchers
Ethan Francis
Chandler Laporte
Connor McGregor
Josh Myers
Catchers
Tyson McInnis
Patrick Young
Infielders
Eric Anderson
Josh Dow
Caden Kielly
Carter Melnick
Gabriel Penalver
Outfielders
Noah Duckworth
Tessa Hood
Matthew Jabbour
Connor Jones
Matthew MacAulay
Coaching staff
Head coach Mark Jones
Assistant coach Bill Dow
Assistant coach Corey Duckworth
Assistant coach Chris McGregor
Manager Jeff Young
First baseman Josh Dow fielded a ground ball and touched his base, ending a 38-year drought Sunday in Vaughan, Ont.
The Charlottetown Royals defeated Manitoba 7-5 to win the bronze medal game at the Canadian under-15 baseball championships. They are the second baseball team in Island history to win a medal at the nationals and first since an Islanders senior squad finished second in 1977.
"The bench just exploded. The fans just exploded. It was just crazy," said head coach Mark Jones of the final play. "The TV crews up here were jumping up and down for us because they knew we (hadn't) run a medal in forever."
Manitoba opened the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first and was threatening for more with a runner at second and one out.
"Gabe Penalver dove for a line drive up the middle and we doubled them off and the boys got all pumped right after that play and came bouncing right back," Jones explained.
The teams traded single runs in the fourth before Connor McGregor had a two-out, two-run double to put the Island squad ahead 4-3 in the fifth inning.
Chandler Laporte added a two-out, two-run triple in the sixth inning for key insurance runs that turned out to be the difference.
"When it came down to clutch time they really hit," Jones said.
Connor Jones allowed four runs on eight hits while striking out six in six innings for the win. Laporte allowed a run on two hits and struck out one in an inning of relief for the save.
The coach said the team had great pitching performances all week and "hit lights out," but there was another key to their success.
"One through nine we have a track team. We can run like deer. We can steal bases everywhere," he said. "It is probably one of our biggest strengths."
And the players bought into needing to play as a team.
"We had guys come in for pinch running, guys come in to hit and guys go out for defensive purpose and they sort of accepted their role," Jones said. "Everybody was up at the fence backing each other and cheering for each other. It was unreal."
It didn't start well for the Royals, losing 16-0 to Manitoba on Thursday to open the tournament following a rain delay.
The team didn't have a warm up, was not used to playing on a grass infield and everything that could go wrong, did.
"We just bounced back and said 'Boys, we've never lost two games in a row all year, it's no time to start," Jones said.
Baseball P.E.I. president Don LeClair coached the 1977 Islanders and is pleased they have some company.
"I was thrilled with the performance by the bantams at the nationals," he said. "It means I think above all that we must be doing something right in our development."
He also pointed to strong performances by Charlottetown Gaudet's Auto Body Islanders players at the senior men's tournament with New Brunswick entries and the Youth Selects and midgets also having strong showings at nationals.
"It's a great day for baseball," he said.
"It's been a while, but it's great to see this team do as well as they did today. I am sure the young fellas will remember it forever."
Recap
A look back at the Charlottetown Royals results from the under-15 boys nationals baseball championship.
Thursday
Manitoba 16 P.E.I. 0
P.E.I. 4 Alberta 2
Friday
P.E.I. 8 Nova Scotia 5
P.E.I. 12 Newfoundland and Labrador 6
Saturday
P.E.I. 13 Saskatchewan 11
P.E.I. 7 British Columbia 6
Sunday
Quebec 13 P.E.I. 1
P.E.I. 7 Manitoba 5
Roster
A look at the Charlottetown Royals roster.
Pitchers
Ethan Francis
Chandler Laporte
Connor McGregor
Josh Myers
Catchers
Tyson McInnis
Patrick Young
Infielders
Eric Anderson
Josh Dow
Caden Kielly
Carter Melnick
Gabriel Penalver
Outfielders
Noah Duckworth
Tessa Hood
Matthew Jabbour
Connor Jones
Matthew MacAulay
Coaching staff
Head coach Mark Jones
Assistant coach Bill Dow
Assistant coach Corey Duckworth
Assistant coach Chris McGregor
Manager Jeff Young
