BASEBALL

ANDREA LAYZELL

Bowen Diamondbacks Coach

The11UBaseballteam“TheDiamondbacks” had a great season and this past Sunday they finished it off with an epic battle!

The Bowen Diamondbacks had never beaten the undefeated Reds when Avery Vincent-Layzell took to the mound determined to do just that! Avery pitched the first two innings with sharp focus and precision In his two innings on the mound, Avery held the usually hard-hitting Reds to only one run However, the Diamondbacks were highly motivated at bat and in moving around the bases and they cleaned up those two innings with a maximum allowed 6 runs scored

From there the game shifted - Andy Molinski pitched two stellar innings, every batter that got on was left stranded as he continued to deliver the heat Parker Montgomery came in to polish off the innings and he did just that! The Reds had little opportunity to make anything happen and Andy and Parker walked off with no runs scored against them

The Diamondbacks had to face two of the best pitchers in the league for the next 4 innings - it wasn’t easy to get on base They fought hard to get hits, but were unable to get enough together to move around the bases and score Next up on the mound was Owen Vincent-Layzell to close out the last two innings. A few Reds were able to get on base with him on the mound - but none could score! A highlight of the game was a barehanded scoop from Kellan Turnbull on third base with a zinger of a toss to Royston Khoele at first base, who nabbed it with the biggest stretch a kid could possibly make, landing in the splits!

The Diamondbacks walked away from this game with their heads held high, knocking out the top team 6 to 1. This secured their spot in the Sunday finals! Jack Scott and Dillon Price-Jones were unable to play in this match-up, but their enthusiasm and sportsmanship helped keep the dugout upbeat and energized.

Sunday’s game against the Blue Jays was no walk in the park. The team placed second overall in the season, having taken down the Diamondbacks just a few weeks prior The boys entered with a fierce determination to get their bats going and fight with all they had! Lead-off pitchers were Marcus Cacao in the first inning and Liam O’Brien in the second. This was Liam’s first appearance on the mound. Each team scored 2 runs in the opening innings, with a score of 4-4 going into the 3rd

Royston Koehle was next on the mound and was chucking bombs at the Blue Jays They struggled to get on and make much happen. They gave back the same heat to the Diamondbacks Some highlights on the bats were some huge hits by Owen VincentLayzell and Fraser Kenney - both sent express mail to the outfield almost clearing the home run fence Fraser’s wheels landed him third base with his hit! Unfortunately, he was left stranded at third base as the opposition pitcher continued to deliver some great strikes

In the end, the Blue Jays were able to cash in on two great hits for 3 runs over the last two innings Leaving the final score at 7-4. The Diamondbacks walked away with their heads held high and some well deserved silver hardware! It was a tight match-up and could have gone either direction- but that’s baseball and that is why they created next year!

Coaches and parents alike noted how well

Final Scores

Wednesday, June 21

Shakers (8) vs. Brewers (7)

Thursday, June 22

Firemen (3) vs. Diggers (8)

Friday, June 23

Brewers (12) vs. Twins (10)

Monday, June 26

Cruisers (12) / Shakers (13)

Wednesday, June 28

Brewers vs. Firemen

UPCOMING GAMES (All starttimes6:30pm)

Thursday, June 29

Twins vs. Diggers

Friday, June 30

Firemen vs. Shakers

Monday, July 3

Diggers vs. Cruisers

Wednesday, July 5

Twins vs. Firemen

*Thru 6/26 games RF - Runs For, RA - Runs Against

the team came together and how much they progressed throughout the season Our rookie of the year award was a tie, both Gage Dansie and Zach Carrathers Den Hoed both deserve a shout out for their determination and growth We hooked them into this great game!

A huge thank you to the coaches, Pete

Scott, Brent Molinski, Noah Pryce-Jones and Andrea Layzell, and to our managers, Linda Giusti and Maria Turnbull. And to all the parents who washed the filthy ball pants and helped in warmups or stepped in to run the bench We are so lucky to live in a community rich in baseball culture

Ellie Yaron

Congratulations Ellie for graduating from Rockridge Secondary! We’re so happy to see grade 12 behind you and so excited to see what lies ahead as you continue to explore and discover Congratulations also on your acceptance to the University of Victoria, where you plan to pursue English and a possible career as a teacher As one of your grade 12 teacher’s said, “Are you sure?” We’re so pleased to see your hard work, grit and perseverance pay off in spades You know we love you!!!! You’ve got this!

Chiara Zamalloa

I’m so very proud of you Chiara Graduating in a different country is such a big milestone and a great achievement Thank you IDLC, you guys were great to her I know that the next chapter in your life will be full of new challenges and accomplishments I can’t wait to see you pursue your dreams of becoming a Criminologist Always remember that you are capable of amazing things and to be kind, humble and free On behalf of our family here in Canada and Peru, we want to say FELICITACIONES It is such a great honor to be your mom

CONGRATS 2023 GRADS!

To nobody’s surprise Bowen has so many impressive grads that, like last year, it takes another week to recognize them all Congrats Ellie and Chiara! Maesyn and Justin meanwhile are being celebrated twice after the editor bungled the spelling of their last names last week, and wanted to make up for it with a proper entry to save for the memory book Thank you so much again to everybody who sent in entries to make our Grad Issues possible And a major con-grad-ulations to all of you!

- Alex Kurial, Editor

Maesyn & Justin Hartwick

Grade 12 Rockridge Cannot believe these 2 have finished high school Seems like only 2 years ago they were playing in the front yard! What’s going to work - team work! Well done you guys! We wish you all the best of luck finding your passions and taking in the world! Love you Maesy! So proud of you! Lots of Love mum, dad, nana and Teagan!

Justin Hartwick

So proud of you Justin keep being awesome! Love Sasha