* This story has been updated.
Whalley Chiefs hosted the 18U AAA Tier 1 baseball provincial championship tournament over the weekend (July 11-14), and rivals North Delta Blue Jays earned a trip to nationals with a 6-3 win over Ridge Meadows Royals in Sunday afternoon’s final game.
The Blue Jays will now represent British Columbia at the national championship, to be played from Aug. 15 to 18 in London, Ontario.
At Whalley Athletic Park, the Baseball BC-sanctioned tournament involved host Whalley Chiefs, Chilliwack Cougars, Cloverdale Nationals, Kelowna Sun Devils, North Delta Blue Jays, Ridge Meadows Royals and Tri-City Thunder.
Congratulations to the @NDBlueJays on winning the 18u tier 1 provincial. They will be representing us at the @baseballcanada 18u National in London, ON. Well deserved and good luck! pic.twitter.com/EaOqY8boYd
— Baseball BC (@Baseball_BC) July 15, 2019
Sr Jays won the 2019 Baseball BC Provincials. Off to London, Ontario. pic.twitter.com/dTp8YyKd39
— North Delta BlueJays (@NDBlueJays) July 15, 2019
In a charitable initiative, admission to games was by donation to Surrey Food Bank.
“This year the Chiefs have decided to waive their usual $5 per-person, per-day gate fee for a food bank donation,” tournament director Jaelee Treit told the Now-Leader on Friday, on the second day of the four-day tourney.
“This is a significant revenue loss for the Chiefs, but a worthy cause. The Chiefs believe in giving back and supporting the community. Most people only think of the food bank at Christmas.”
Also, the seven teams in the tourney were asked to provide a “Baby Box” of goods for donation to the food bank’s Basics for Babies program – for “our future ball players,” Treit said.
“The team with the best Baby Box will win a prize. The response from these teams has been amazing. It’s going to be a tough decision.”
In the end, Kelowna Sun Devils won the Baby Box contest.
CLICK HERE for scores, standings and schedules.
Meantime, North Delta Jr. Blue Jays will represent B.C. at the 18U AAA Tier 2 Western Canada championships after winning Baseball B.C.’s first provincial of the 2019 season. At Unwin Park on July 7, the Blue Jays defeated South Okanagan 6-1 in the final, after a semi-final win against North Fraser.