Wyatt Murray doubled and tripled in an extra-base hit parade Sunday as Campbell River’s Mosquito AAA Tyees stormed to a 12-7 win over host Victoria in the bronze-medal final of the provincial baseball championships.
Breydan Riecker tripled, Wyatt Dumont, Carter Hall and Owen Lagos each had a pair of doubles, and Ty Ludwikowski, Ethan Vaton and Ian Mills also pounded two-base hits as the Tyees wrapped up a 5-1 effort while outscoring their opponents 67-36.
Tyson Olsen started and picked up the win on the mound and Wyatt Dumont came in for the save as the Mosquitos bounced back from a wwsemifinal loss to Tsawassen earlier Sunday.
Dumont was named the team’s game MVP for his combined hitting and pitching performance.
The Tyees breezed through round-robin play with a 4-0 record, including an 8-5 win over the Vancouver Island champion Duncan Rivercats, who had topped the Tyees in the Island title game a week earlier.
After opening ceremonies and a skills competition Thursday, the Mosquitos kicked off the tournament Friday afternoon with a 12-1 romp over Abbotsford that was ended early by the mercy rule. Ryder Plecas earned game MVP for both pitching and hitting, including a big RBI hit. Ty Ludwikowski and Gareth MacDonald shared pitching duties, and Owen Lagos and Ludwikowski also drove in runs with hits.
Ryan Deagle makes contact during the Mosquito Tyees' win over Victoria in last weekend's provincial baseball championships in Victoria. — Photo submitted
The Mosquitos kept the roll going later in the day with another mercy win, 15-5 over Cloverdale. Breydan Riecker singled, doubled and tripled in the win, and Lagos and Wyatt Murray added RBI triples. Pitching was shared by Tyson Olsen, Wyatt Dumont, Riecker and Ryan Deagle, and catchers Carter Hall and Deagle each threw out runners attempting to steal. Murray earned the game MVP nod.
Against Duncan, Ludwikowski pitched five strong innings to pick up the win and earn game MVP honours, and Riecker earned the save with a pair of strikeouts in the final inning. Lagos drove in a pair of runs and Hall smashed a double to pace the offence, while Dumont was the defensive start with a long throw from the outfield for an assist on a rundown putout.
The Tyees wrapped up round-robin play and clinched the top seed in their pool in a 14-10 slugfest win over the North Delta Rays, the dominant team on the Lower Mainland. Vaton, Murray, Riecker, Lagos and Hall all took turns on the mound and kept the Mosquitos in the game as their bats eventually took over. Vaton singled, doubled and tripled while driving in multiple runs. Lagos added a triple, Riecker doubled and Deagle rapped a two-RBI single.
Deagle also made several nifty defensive plays, including one on the final out, and was named game MVP.
That sent the Tyees into the semifinals against Tsawassen, where they battled an inconsistent strike zone and a questionable call to end a late rally in an eventual 8-6 loss to the Athletics.
Murray tripled, Vaton, Lagos and Hall each smacked doubles and Ludwikowski drove in a pair with a single to pace the offense. Murray, Vaton, MacDonald and Hall each took a stint on the mound. Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the final inning, the Mosquitos mounted a late rally that fell short. Hall was selected MVP as the team moved on to the bronze medal.
The third-place showing in provincials capped a season in which the Tyees, sponsored by Hub Barton Insurance, claimed gold in a Tier 1 tournament in Cloverdale, a silver at the Island Championships and the Bronze medals at Provincials.