The Kelowna Sun Devils rebounded from a sluggish start to finish as the runner-up at the Kamloops River City Classic.
The defending B.C. 18U AAA baseball champs opened the six-team tournament on the wrong foot, losing 9-4 to the host Riverdogs and 11-2 to the Cowichan Valley Mustangs.
On Sunday, the Sun Devils bounced back with convincing wins over Prince George (9-1) and Vernon Canadians (9-0) to earn a berth in the playoff round.
In the semifinal, Kelowna avenged the previous defeat to Cowichan with an 8-0 win.
In the championship final, the host Riverdogs got the better of the Sun Devils 6-3.
“The boys played solid,” said Sun Devils head coach Rob Law. “A couple of small mental lapses could have changed the outcome, but we are very proud of them.”
Some of the highlights for the Sun Devils included:
• Nathan Ringness-Law throws a no-hitter through five innings against the Prince George Knights striking out eight, walking two and allowing no earned runs. Adam Renneberg led the team with two hits and two stolen bases. Brady Renneberg had a bases clearing triple and three RBIs in the win.
• Jordan Laidlaw goes five innings, allowing three hits and striking out three in the shutout of Vernon. Adam Renneberg collected three hits and three stolen bases, while Jaimes Guidon, Matt Fuchs collected two hits apiece
• Dreyton Nelmes beat Cowichan Valley in the semifinals, allowing three hits, striking out six and allowing no earned runs over six innings. Matt Fuchs, Nathan Ringness-Law and Brady Renneberg had two hits a piece while Fuchs had a single and a double, Ringness-Law had three stolen bases.
• In the final against Kamloops, Adam Renneberg took the loss on the hill going 3 1/3 innings, allowing three earned runs and striking five.
The Sun Devils return to league action this weekend on the road, with doubleheaders Saturday in South Fraser and Sunday in Chilliwack.
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