AMHERST, N.S. – The Amherst Regional High School Vikings did it again. This time on home soil.
“It feels great to win it at home,” Vikings slo-pitch coach Darren Collins said. “We won silver at home four years ago but this is the first time since I’ve been coaching we’ve won the provincials at home.”
This is the second year in a row the ARHS Vikings won the Nova Scotia School Athletic Federation Division 1 boys slo-pitch provincial champions.
The Vikings won the 2018-2019 title with a 19-8 win over Parkview on June 1 at Robb’s complex in Amherst.
“We sometimes give up when we’re down but the boys persevered today. Anytime we were down they came back with some big hits and some big plays,” pitcher Mike Farrell said. “We had more double plays than we’ve had in a game in four years.”
Vikings coach Charlie Chambers agrees.
“We had timely hits but we had a lot of double plays that turned the tide. Double plays in slo-pitch are back-breakers,” Chambers said.
Farrell said good defence played a big role in his success on the mound in the championship game.
“It’s pretty easy to pitch when you know you have the best defence in the province.”
Six players are graduating this year, including Farrell.
“It’s sad to be finishing high school slo-pitch but we’ve won two gold medals, two silver medals, and a baseball gold medal, so you couldn’t ask for a better group of guys and two of the best coaches to win with. I thank Charlie and Darren for all they’ve done for the team,” Farrell said.
The Vikings made it to the championship game with an 11-4 win over Glace Bay in the semi-finals, and a 10-0 win over Auburn Drive and a 20-10 win over Memorial High School.
In the championship game Cal Hoeg hit a home run and two singles, Jeremiah Martin hit a home run and two singles, Graden Chitty hit a home run and a single, Jackson Comeau hit a triple, a double and a single, Mike Farrell hit one double and three singles, Jayden Matheson hit a double and two singles, Cole Stevens and Brady Crowe hit one double each, Matt Hunter hit two singles, and Brady Crowe hit one double.
Chambers thanked everyone who helped make the provincial tournament a success.
“Thank you to the fans who came out, and the parents, volunteers, the ARHS administration, and Town of Amherst for allowing us to host another successful provincial event,’ said Chambers.
