Jets look for tournament win in B.C.

By Cole Parkinson
Taber Times

In one of the bigger tournaments of the spring, the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball Jets were back on the road to British Columbia to compete in the Best of the West. Opening up the tournament with a game against the Whalley Chiefs on April 30, VAB was business-like with a 4-1 win.

The Jets were able to open up with two runs in the first inning and never let go from there. Callum Thomson, Ben Simmons, and Jacob Austin all had a hit and an RBI in the game, Aaro Fuzesy had a pair of hits, and Alex Laurence, Noah McIntosh, and Langdyn Cummins all had a hit in the win, Sheamus Ryan was back on the bump and was dominant as the left-hander struck out 10 over seven innings of work while only allowing three hits, three walks, and an earned run.

Starting the tournament with a bang, the Jets looked to start the round-robin 2-0 the following day when they matched up against the Langley Blaze. While the Jets battled all game, the Blaze were able to outmuscle them with a 9-4 victory. The Jets committed three errors in the game and sent three pitchers to the mound. Calum Andersen got the start and pitched 3.2 innings with two strikeouts, two walks, five runs (three earned), and three hits. Cedric LeBlanc was the first man out of the bullpen and gave Vauxhall two innings with three strikeouts, three runs (one earned), four hits, and a pair of free passes. Kaleb Bozek finished things off with an inning and a third. Bozek allowed one hit and an unearned run and struck out two Blaze batters. Offensively, the Jets only mustered four hits, and Rogan Rivard had two, Easton Kitura had a double, and McIntosh had a single.

Finishing up the round-robin on Friday, the Jets looked to get back in the win column as they faced off against the Badlands Badgers. The Jets would race out to an early lead and hold on for all seven innings as they doubled up the Badgers 6-3. Fuzesy led the way with the bat as the right-fielder had three hits and an RBI. Rivard, Laurence, and Thomson each had a hit and an RBI, while Easton Kitura and McIntosh each had an RBI. Graham Thiessen was the starter for the Jets and pitched four innings with nine punch-outs, three hits allowed, two earned runs, and five walks. Kaden Coldwell pitched the final three innings, and he had two strikeouts, two hits allowed, and an earned run.

After a solid 2-1 round-robin, the Jets were off to the quarter-final on Saturday. In a rematch, the Jets faced off against the Langley Blaze as they looked to turn the tables. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t the Jets’ day as they fell behind early and were unable to bounce back. In the end, the Blaze advanced with an 11-2 win over VAB. The Jets had three hits in the game with Rivard providing two of them, while Laurence had the other. Aiden Sloan was the starting pitcher and gave VAB two innings where he allowed six hits, two earned runs, and two walks. Hudson Kozicki came in and pitched an inning where two unearned runs crossed the plate. He also struck out three batters while allowing one walk. Carter Bevans pitched an inning and a third next and allowed three earned runs on one hit and a walk. Bevans also punched out one batter. Charlie McMillan collected the final two outs and allowed two hits and an earned run.

Next up for the Jets is a tentative weekend at home against the Great Falls Chargers. Doubleheaders are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, with both beginning at noon.