Jets complete PBA tournament win

Photo by Trevor Busch

By Cole Parkinson

For Taber Times

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Staying in southern Alberta for the second straight weekend, the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Jets made the short trip to Lethbridge this past weekend for the Prairie Baseball Academy tournament. 

The tournament kicked off on April 27 when the Jets took to the field to take on PBA JV. The Jets turned in a complete effort as they took the game 11-1. Brett Getz took the ball and gave the Jets a complete game on the mound. Colin Fisher was hot at the dish as he went 3-4 with a double and two RBI, Luke Wheatley went 2-3 with an RBI, Seth Christie was 2-2 with an RBI, Kyle Yip hit a triple with two RBI, while Alex Laurence and Stevyn Andrachick both went 1-2 with an RBI. 

Day two of the tournament continued to go well for the Jets as all facets of the game continued to be strong for VAb. Game one saw a 12-2 win over the University of Calgary JV squad while game three was a 13-0 win over the Lethbridge Longhorns. Pitching was strong once again for the Jets as Patrick MacInnis and Drew Lenehan pitched 10 combined innings of shutout ball while only allowing a pair of hits and striking out 12 opposing batters. Yip was 5-6 on the day while Andrachick went 3-6, Karsen Haney was 3-4, Brennan McTavish went 2-5, Ty Clemett was 4-7, and Eric Reiling had a pair of hits in six at-bats.

The semi-final saw the Jets go head-to-head against Red Deer. In the closest game of the tournament, VAB was able to secure a 5-4 win in order to clinch a birth in the final. Jimmy Boulanger had a great day on the mound, giving Vauxhall five innings while Keegan McNeil collected the save. Andrachick led the way offensively as the infielder was a perfect 3-3 with a double and a triple, Yip went 1-2 with a pair of RBI, Fisher had a triple with two RBI, Christie also had a triple while Clemett went 1-2. 

The final saw the Jets take on the Okotoks Dawgs and the Jets were once again able to turn in a great performance in terms of hitting, pitching, and defence. Jack Baxter got the start on the mound and got the win while Jacob Burgess and Rory MacDonald each pitched a single inning to guide things home. Andrachick continued to swing the bat extremely well as he collected another two hits, including a double and two RBI, Fisher had a hit and two RBI, while Raphael Ranger and Wheatley went 1-3 and Christie and Laurence each went 1-2. 

Next up for the Jets is a return to B.C. as they take to the road for the Best of the West tournament in Kamloops.