SPORTSHOUND: We are the Champions! U15 AA Braves Win Provincial Gold

It was the final Championship weekend for the U15 AA Bonnyville Braves and they were in Sherwood Park to face the Calgary Bucks bright and early at 8:30 on Friday morning. The Bucks were moved up from Tier 3 after the final weekend of regular play so the Braves were facing a new team and not really sure what to expect.

It was a close game with the score tied at 3 til the 6th inning when the Braves pulled away and ended up winning 8-3. Another early show at 8:30 on Saturday against the host team Sherwood Park. Carter “Gronk” Goreniuk pitching an impressive entire game for a win of 11-6.

This second win secured the Braves a spot in the semi-finals but they had to face the Red Deer Braves at 5:30. Luckily it wasn’t a must win cause the Braves would lose this one 13-11.

For the Sunday morning semi-final game the Braves faced Innisfail, who were moved down from Tier 1, so another team the Braves hadn’t seen before. The Braves taking this one to an extra inning after being tied at 6 after 7 innings.

The Braves scored 1 run in the top and held Innisfail at bay for a hard fought win to move on to the finals. The finals would be against the Red Deer Braves who Bonnyville has both lost and won against in the past in close games. The game started out to be a close matchup but Red Deer ran out of gas and Bonnyville found a couple more gears thanks to some lights out pitching by Ryker Neumier and the boys swinging those bats! Bonnyville is crowned the 2021 15U Tier 2 champions with a 14-6 win over Red Deer.

Ryker Neumier Tier II Most Valuable Player

The players, coaches and parents can all be proud of these boys and how much they have improved and grown over the season. Memories were made, skills were honed, lessons were learned and friendships formed and the hardest part is waiting another 8 months until we can hit the field again!

-with files from Joanne Warawa