Dunbar’s Buntain Wins over Hastings’ Red Sox

In a well played final game, Dunbar’s Buntain continued to roll with the bats and superalitive defense that brought them undefeated to the final. It was a tight 3-1 final with the Hastings’ Sox continuing to play very well but, as always, it was a play here or a hit there that made the difference for Buntain’s roller coaster season. The game ended on a double play for Buntain that involved a catch that was anything but a “can of corn” and a double off first. This marked the first time a Dunbar team lifted the Ralph Stong Cup.

And the Champions are?

The Drew Henderson team represented Dunbar at the tournament in Whalley and finished with a 1-3 record. Congratulations to the players, coaches and parents for representing Dunbar in fine fashion.

The Fred Ritchieteam represented Dunbar at the tournament in Hastings and finished with a 1-3 record. Congratulations to the players, coaches and parents for their participation and enthusiasm.

Congratulations to the DUNBAR 11-12 TOURNAMENT TEAM, DISTRICT ONE CHAMPIONS!!! The team defeated Little Mountain 4-3 to win the district playoffs in a thrilling game which saw Dunbar come from behind in the sixth inning scoring 3 runs to win. “Well done” to the players and coaches who represent Dunbar in fine fashion and the parents for all their support. Now the team prepares to compete in the BC Provincial Championships which take place at Coquitlam from July 25th – Aug 2nd.
The 11-12 Provincial tournament is at Coquitlam and the tournament schedule is available here. Dunbar is the D1 Team. Dunbar finished the round-robin play with a tough 16-13 loss to Coquitlam and just missed the playoffs with at 2-4 record. Congratulations to everyone involved for a fine post season run and being worthy representatives of Dunbar Little League and District One.

Our board would like to congratulate the members of our 9 & 10 and 11 & 12 year old all-star teams, and the Henderson and Ritchie tournament teams for representing DLL so well, and trusts that the positive experiences and memories from being on these teams shall last a life-time. Of the four DLL tournament teams, the one that enjoyed the most success on the diamond was our 9 & 10 year old team, which is made up of players from our Majors and Minor A divisions. The 2009 edition of this team was particularly young, as only 6 of the players were from our Majors’ division, while historically about 10 players have been selected from Majors. Led by Manager Dave Hemer and Coach Joe McDermott, and assisted by Ken Lim, the young DLL squad embarked on many practices and exhibition games to gain as much experience as possible ahead of the District 1 Championships, which started on Canada Day at nearby Carnarvon Park.

As Little Mountain would be hosting the Provincial Championship, and as such had a bye into the BC’s, the key was to defeat Jericho and Kerrisdale, which is exactly what our team did, culminating with an exciting 8-2 win over Jericho in the fi nal, attended by many current and alumni DLL families. The young DLL team’s play improved with each game at the districts, and the players had wonderful chemistry and skill which were instrumental in their success.
At the BC’s, the free-wheeling DLL team shocked many be opening the tournament with a 12-10 win over Hastings. By the conclusion of the round robin the team was 3-2 and had earned a berth into the semi-finals, albeit against a talented and powerful White Rock team. In what may go down as one of the most exciting tournament games ever played by a DLL team, our young team shocked many (except themselves), and defeated White Rock 16-10 in front of a huge DLL crowd. This thrilling victory meant our team would be
in the provincial finals against Hastings, who had defeated a talented Little Mountain team to also advance to the championship game.

In that final game, our DLL team gave it all they had, but our hits kept finding the Hastings’ fielders’ gloves. At game’s end it was 11-3 for Hastings who earned their 1st provincial title (and later in the summer their 2nd BC title with the success of their 11 & 12 year old team). While disappointed with the championship game score, our players and coaches should be very proud of what they accomplished in the magical summer of 2009, as are all of us here at Dunbar Little League.