Taber bantam Blue Sox had their stockings turn silver in bantam Tier II competitive baseball provincials at Ken McDonald Memorial Sports Park this past weekend.
The Blue Sox fell behind early with some mental errors against the Grande Prairie Reds in a game the team needed to build a lead on, as tournament MVP Cole Penson shut the door with seven strikeouts over three relief innings, as Taber fell 9-5.
“All he threw was nothing but fastballs. He threw hard and we couldn’t catch up to it,” said Todd Knouse, head coach of the Taber bantam Blue Sox, who were able to take a 3-1 lead after the first inning.
“It was a mental game. I was hoping for smarter base running with a few guys getting picked off trying to steal. It was one of those games where it was our game to lose and we did. We had played them before (in round-offs) and had a good game, beating them 6-3.”
Brody Knouse pitched a complete game for the Blue Sox in the loss. Joel Meier was 2-for-4 in the game with a double, RBI and stolen base. Nolan Gilbertson had a double, triple, stolen base and RBI.
Knouse, Tyson Shushkewich and Adam Kress also registered RBI.
Blue Sox made it to gold-medal final with an 11-3 victory over the Innisfail Indians. Blue Sox jumped out to a 2-0 lead going into the fourth inning before the Indians eventually came back to take the lead 3-2 in the top of the fifth.
The Blue Sox reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a big six-run inning and never looked back.
“We started hitting their pitcher and got the rhythm down and they started making errors in the field,” said Knouse. “Everyone was starting to hit the ball.”
Nolan Gilbertson threw 103 pitches over five innings, while Logan Enns tossed two innings of shutdown relief.
Blue Sox went through round-robin play undefeated, and started off with an 6-3 victory over Okotoks Outlaws on Friday.
“They had their left hander throwing and our running game struggled,” said Knouse of the game that was tied 2-2 until the Blue Sox broke the game open with a two-run fifth inning.
Gibson Kuryvial started on the mound for the Blue Sox, and Jordan Olsen came on in relief to earn the victory.  
Blue Sox made its opposition black and blue in its second-game of round-robin play with an 18-4 pasting of the St. Albert Cardinals, as Taber’s veteran presence shone through.
“They were mostly all first-year kids. It was one of those games where those kids just gave up after falling behind a bit,” said Knouse.
Gilbertson had an inside-the-park home run in the game.
The lopsided game allowed the Blue Sox to conserve its pitch counts, as Jason Wong, Knouse, Brett Easthope and Logan Enns took the mound.
All in all, it was a medal finish for a squad that has played many innings together as a veteran-laden second-year team as the summer season drew to a close.
“The season was a good one. This was probably the last time a lot of these kids play together. They started gelling as a team and it was a fun two years with these kids. They all played well and I hope they learned a lot,” said Knouse.
“There were a lot of compliments about the park and the town (on the weekend). A lot of people came out and supported both the peewees and the bantams. We showcased Taber and a lot of people