Morning Star Staff
The Vernon Canadians went 2-1 and finished third in the Okanagan Valley Midget AA Baseball Championships last weekend in Kamloops.
The Canadians ambushed the Kelowna Sun Devils 15-3 in their last game, led by Nick Cherkowski with four hits and five RBI. Caden Bracken and Hayden Vardon each went 3-for-4 with one ribbie.
“This win was a great way to end the season,” said Vernon manager Carl Vardon. “We placed third in the Valley and played some of our best baseball. It was a great send-off for retiring head coach Ryan Novakowski.”
Graham Moss and Jaxson Cummings each went 2-for-3 with one RBI, while Riley Preston was 2-for-3.
Vernon lost 12-3 to eventual champion Kamloops Riverdogs in their opener.
Tyler Droder went 1-for-2 with a triple, while Vardon was 1-for-2 with two RBI. Catcher Jake Crandlemire drove in one run with a sacrifice fly before leaving the game in the sixth after being hit by a pitch.
Droder and Caleb Verstege each strruck out four batters, while Vardon mowed down two.
Droder went 3-for-3 with a double and triple as the Canadians stopped the Kamloops Sun Dogs 12-6
“This game had all our batters round the bases at least once,” said Vardon.
Dakota Becker fanned seven batters, while Kalvin Blaeser struck out four.
Cherkowski returned for his first full game behind the plate.