The Bay d’Espoir Academy predators were the top team at a high school 3A slo-pitch qualifying tournament that was hosted by King Academy on Saturday, September 22.
A team from Point Leamington also participated in the round robin event that came down to a gold medal match between the King Academy Warriors and the Predators.
The Predators had gone undefeated in the first round of play and were determined to keep the Warriors at bay in the gold medal match.
The Predators were hitting the ball well in the first two innings and went ahead by a score of 5 to 0.
The Warriors stepped up their defensive play and kept their opponents off the scoreboard for the rest of the contest. However, they could not muster any rallies to tie the contest or to take a lead.
The Warriors had two on with nobody out in one inning but a key double play by the defensively strong Predators snuffed out the rally and the inning ended with a goose egg for the Warriors.
The Predators, based on the strong pitching of Luke Fowlow and the timely defensive plays of his teammates, went on to win the gold medal game by a 5 to 0 score.
The Predators will host the 3A High School Slo-Pitch Tournament on October 14 and 15.
Shawn Fowlow, the coach of the Predators said, “Our players won the game on the strength of timely hitting and their strong defense. We practiced hard for this event and we’ll be working hard in anticipation of the provincial 3A that we will host in October.”
Warriors’ coach Philip Young said, “We kept the Predators off the scoreboard after the first two innings but we just couldn’t get that key hit when we needed it. I think it may have been a case of nerves for the players in the final game. We’re hoping to play in the provincial tournament as a wildcard team and maybe we’ll see the Predators again during that event.
Luke Fowlow wins Sportsmanship Award
The most significant individual medal awarded at any Newfoundland Labrador High School sporting event is the Sportsmanship Award. Luke Fowlow, from Bay d’Espoir Academy, won this prestigious award at the 3A slo-pitch tournament. The award is presented on input from all the coaches at a tournament, and is based on a player’s sense of fair play, attitude and overall sportsmanship towards all teams and players.
.jpg)
