“A lot of teams went out there, and didn’t go home with a medal, so we were proud of the boys for winning their two playoff games, and getting to the final,” said coach Chris Hodder, a day removed from returning to Gander. “We were actually winning at one point 5-2. They came back and went ahead 6-5, and then they went ahead 10-5. We fought back to tie it 10-10, but they went ahead 15-10, and that was it.”
According to the coach, the difference in the championship game was on the mound. The Pilots played one extra game than the Braves, thus had to use more pitchers. If not for that extra game, he believes the Pilots could have written a different ending.
“In the end, the difference was that we ran out of pitchers. Grand Falls-Windsor finished first in our division, which meant we had to play an extra game, so we used up all our pitchers,” said Hodder, meaning the Braves advanced straight to the semifinals because they finished first in their division, while the Pilots had to go through the quarterfinals. “If we hadn’t played that extra game, it could have been a different outcome. However, the boys played well all weekend, and got better as each game went along.”
“We definitely put up a lot of runs. As the tournament went on, the boys got better and better — especially with their batting.” - Chris Hodder
The opening-game loss came at the hands of the Braves, 6-5. After that, however, the Pilots exploded offensively. The Gander boys won their next game over Spaniard’s Bay 10-4, which put them second in their pool, and meant they had to play Paradise, who finished third in its pool, in the quarterfinals. The Pilots won that game 13-10, and went on to double-up St. John’s in the semis 14-7 to advance to the finals against the Braves.
In total, the Pilots put up an average of 10.4 runs over its five games played.
“We definitely put up a lot of runs. As the tournament went on, the boys got better and better — especially with their batting,” said Hodder. “In the end, I think Grand Falls-Windsor had a little more depth in pitching, and played one less game, and that made a difference. It was fun, though, and everybody got a chance to play and hit. It was a fun tournament for everybody.”
Besides a few house league tournaments, including the Poppa John’s Invitational in Gander on Aug. 7, the provincial event was the first time all of the Pilots were able to attend.
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