The Medicine Hat U12AAA Major Mavs pose for a team photograph with players and coaches. The group rode top-notch play all the way to the Little League national finals before losing out to Team B.C.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb
The Medicine Hat U12AAA Major Mavs had a run to remember at the Little League nationals.
The Major Mavs were a perfect 7-0 heading into the finals Thursday, before the squad they beat first, Team B.C., poured on 10 runs to close the book on a legacy chapter in Kingston, Ont.
The Mavs lost 10-1 to B.C. in the finals game, falling short of the opportunity to represent Canada at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn. next week.
Head coach Steve Russell says the experience is one his team won’t forget.
“You look at what it took to get here, the amount of work, time, energy from everybody involved, being here, competing every day, that’s a grind,” Russell said. “These kids, we took BP every morning, had the break time in between, played, then they had all the other stuff going on for 10 days of that.
“That’s kind of the cool part, that’s the experience of being able to say you’ve done that, and as time goes on and these kids play later in life, that’ll be something they can almost tap into. That experience and them being able to know they’re more capable than they ever thought they were.”
The Major Mavs were atop the table throughout the week, allowing just three runs with six shutout wins en route to the finals. Team B.C. scored two runs early in the contest and never looked back. The Major Mavs’ lone run came in the fourth inning, with Madden Ellis scoring on a wild pitch.
Beckett Lybbert started the game for the Major Mavs, working 4.1 innings with seven strikeouts. Daxton Simpson and Archer Cunningham worked the last two innings of the game, with the latter recording two punch-outs.
Russell hopes his team leaves the tournament knowing they outplayed expectations and made life-long memories.
“They’ll forget about the loss, they’ll forget about everything, probably remember more hitting the coach in the head in BP the hours before that, they’ll remember that,” Russell said. “They’re going to remember the goofy guy Grayson from the Atlantic team, they’re gonna remember so many other things.
“They’ll forget about everything else, other than just the camaraderie they had, the friendships they gained and the respect for the game. That’s the one thing, these kids had a ton of respect for the game, they kept it between the lines.”
Russell tipped his cap to Team B.C. from Whalley Little League in Surrey and wished them luck at the World Series. Their win was the eighth national championship in the city. They’ll be the 16th B.C. Team to represent Canada at the tournament in the past 18 years. Only one Alberta team has represented Canada at the Little League World Series since 2000, the 2001 Calgary West team.
The Major Mavs earned their spot in Kingston with a double elimination win against Calgary West for the provincial title. Russell got emotional reflecting on his own club and what they meant to him and each other over an unforgettable summer.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Russell said. “Something I told them is, the bad part is not the loss, it’s not being able to coach and hang out with them again.
“The talent they had, the composure, the hard work and effort, that’s what these guys were able to bring to the table. We knew from the very first parent meeting and the tryouts to put this team together, that we had something that could be real special here. They lived up to that expectation, and then it was a real special team.”
Russell says he’s not a big social media user but he says he’s had more and more people from around Medicine Hat reach out and wish them good luck throughout the tournament. He’s forever grateful for the support they received and hopes his team remembers how much Medicine Hat was behind them.
“I got phone calls from so many numbers I have no reference to who they are, the Facebook stuff, everything, it’s just been unbelievable,” Russell said. “It’s super cool to see Medicine Hat rally around stuff like this. It puts it in a big picture.”
