It’s been a few years, but the Williams Lake Rowdies finally got the monkey off their back on Sunday, capturing the Williams Lake Slo-Pitch League Year End Tournament championship.
The Rowdies rallied to beat the Rookies 16-7 in the ‘A’ division final at the Esler Sports Complex ball fields.
“It was a pretty steady [game],” said Linda Barbondy, Williams Lake Slo-Pitch League president and captain of the Rowdies. Tied 0-0 in the third inning, the Rowdies exploded for a four-run inning, followed by another five-run inning. Down 11-0 in the sixth inning the Rookies, however, proved they weren’t about to lay down.
“They had a couple good hits and one over the fence,” Barbondy said, adding the Rookies scored seven runs in the sixth inning.
The Rowdies beat the Rookies earlier in the tournament, sending them to the bottom half of the draw, where the Rookies upset the Lakers to advance to the final.
In the ‘B’ division it was the Bears knocking off the Fireballs to claim the title, while the ‘C’ division saw the Beer-O-Crats down the NDNZ, 14-8, to win. The ‘D’ division title went to Those Guys, who defeated the Maintainers.
“Those Guys came from the ‘B’ side,” Barbondy said. “They lost one [seeding] game and were down at the bottom and came up to win in the finals. They played four games on Sunday to the final in the double knockout.”
Overall, the WLSPL season, which housed 30 teams this year — the largest the league has ever been — went well, Barbondy said. “The season was excellent considering all the new teams and the extra division,” she said. “The weather was fantastic [last weekend] so it was really good.”
The WLSPL is hosting its year-end banquet on Sept. 20 at the Longhouse. Tickets are $15 each and are available through Barbondy at crazyrowdie22@yahoo.com or from team captains.