BY ELLIOTT PAP, VANCOUVER SUNAUGUST 11, 2009
Ryan Matsuda bats for Hastings of Vancouver, which defeated North Regina 12-6 Tuesday to run its record to 4-0 in the preliminary round of the Canadian Little League Championship in Val-d’Or, Que.
Photograph by: Handout, Hastings Little League
Four years ago, the Hastings Community Little League gathered together a promising group of eight-year-old players — and their parents — and told them they had the makings of a champion.
It was easier said than done, of course. Families move. Injuries happen. Kids discover other sports and other interests. But this group stuck together and is now reaping the rewards at the Canadian Little League championships in Val-d’Or, Que.
Hastings, which shocked two-time defending champion White Rock 13-2 to win the B.C. title, is running roughshod over the competition from across Canada. The Vancouver east-side squad won its fourth straight Tuesday, thumping Prairie representative North Regina 12-6. It was their closest game so far.
In their first three outings, they trounced Nova Scotia 11-3, Ontario 19-2 and Valleyfield, Que., 23-2.
With one game remaining in the round-robin, today against host Val-d’Or, they have already clinched first place and a berth in Friday’s semi-finals. They have out-scored their opponents 55-13.
The final goes Saturday with the victors getting an all-expenses paid trip to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
“This was a long time coming,” Hastings head coach Jeff Matsuda explained Tuesday from Val-d’Or. “As eight-year-olds, the kids won our district handily and were, like, mercy-ing everybody. I mean, they were just mopping up teams. So our president at the time called all the parents together after that season and said: ‘Look, I see something special here and if you guys take this seriously, this team can go far.’
“We’ve been knocking on the door ever since. We finished third in the provincials with this group for the last three years. So it’s been a four-year wait.”
B.C. has produced the last four Canadian Little League champions with Whalley capturing the title in 2005 and ’06, followed by White Rock in ’07 and ’08. Whalley and White Rock are both from District 3. Hastings is the first B.C. champ from District 6 in 30 years.
“I think the kids are pretty confident but this is still new territory for us,” said Matsuda, whose son Ryan is one of his ace pitchers. “We’d heard rumours that once you win the B.C. provincials, it gets easier but we can’t feel over-confident. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, right? You still have to play the games.”
Hastings is in excellent position, however.
Today’s round-robin finale means nothing to their seeding so Matsuda can save his top arms for the playoff round. Thursday is a day off.
“We are set up well for the playoffs,” conceded the Hastings coach. “We have a really good schedule.”
In Tuesday’s game against North Regina, Hastings fell behind 4-0 in the first before breaking the game open in the final two innings. Matteo Vincelli stroked a two-run homer for Hastings while Taz Burman added two RBIs.
• An all-star team comprised mainly of players from the B.C. Premier League defeated Quebec 7-6 Sunday in Kindersley, Sask., to win the Canada Cup, emblematic of baseball supremacy for players 17 and under. B.C. finished the tournament with an overall record of 7-1 and edged Alberta 2-1 in the semi-final game.
epap@vancouversun.com
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