The Midget AA Tier II Olds Spitfires are provincial champions.They beat the Edmonton Angels 7-4 in the final on Sunday, Aug. 3 in Okotoks.This is the first Olds Midget AA provincial baseball championship, as far as Head Coach Keith Klinck knows.There were six teams in the tournament: Olds, Edmonton, Okotoks, Leduc, Stony Plain, and North Peace River.The Olds Spitfires were in a pool with Okotoks and Leduc. They had a lot to prove – they were the top seed in the tournament.The Spitfires opened the tourney with a 7-4 loss to Okotoks.“We were a little concerned about the opening game. We just weren't sharp,” Klinck says.The Spitfires rebounded Saturday night, downing Leduc 7-5.Okotoks also beat Leduc, so the Spitfires and Okotoks went to the semifinals.In their semifinal, the Spitfires took on Stony Plain and hammered them 12-2.“The bats finally showed up in that game,” Klinck says.Meanwhile, Edmonton downed Okotoks.As a result, the Spitfires and Edmonton Angels met in the final.“It was a very close game,” Klinck says. “It was a 3-3 tie into the sixth inning.“In the bottom of the sixth, we scored four runs. We didn't get a homerun but we got some base hits – a triple and a double.”Edmonton made it a little closer by scoring one run.To seal the win, in the seventh and final inning, the Spitfires sent their closer, Ben Schierman, to the mound.“He got the last three outs in the top of the seventh,” Klinck says.The first two outs were ground balls. The final out was a pop-up.The starting pitcher in the final was Dustin Caplett.Pitchers at this level are only allowed to throw a total of 105 pitches.Caplett lasted all the way through the sixth inning before hitting that total.Klinck was impressed with Caplett's control and staying power, noting he got the final out in the sixth before he had to be pulled, due to the pitching limit rule.It's the third year in a row that six boys on this year's edition of the Midget AA Tier II Olds Spitfires have won a provincial championship. During the past two years, they won provincials at the bantam level. Now they've done it again at the midget level.
