By: Matt Betts
The Terriers 16U team is 2-for-2.
After winning the Perfect Game Canadian National Championship, the team set its sights on the Perfect Game Ohio Valley Select tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.
And it was mission accomplished, again.
The Terriers took down the Ohio Heat twice, Cincinnati Raiders, Midland Bramlage, North Dayton Diamondbacks and Cincinnati Aces en route to its second tournament championship this season.
“The players had a lot of confidence after winning in Dorchester and they arrived at the field expecting to win,” head coach Scott Ballantyne said.
“There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness and our team plays confident. Winning the weekend before gave our guys the confidence to know we can come back from a deficit, we’re never out of any game and if they work together and battle for each other, anything can happen.”
Easton Zinger was among the Terriers standouts all tournament and was recognized for it by being named Most Valuable Player.
He, too, credited the team’s mentality.
Trusting his approach and knowing he had hitters behind him capable of coming through when needed made his job easier, he said.
“I think the key to our team’s success was we competed every inning and knew we were never out of a game no matter the score,” Zinger said.
“I felt honoured to receive it (the MVP award), but there were several of my teammates who could have won it, as it was a team effort and everyone played great.”
Ballantyne doesn’t want complacency to set in after winning back-to-back tournaments, but believes the success can be valuable to draw on later in the season.
“We’ll continue to instill the same messaging to the players of hard work, effort and controlling the things they can control,” he said.
“We’ll keep working to get better each day.”