“Only one way to heat up at this time of year, you’ve got to be colder than the cold!” -Coach Jack, pumping up his teams before the 2022 Las Vegas travel tournament…

Fresh off a very successful trip to Las Vegas, as well as Winter Training in full swing, we are beginning to wind down 2022 on a high note! 3 Select Teams traveled to the Thanksgiving Cranberry Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they all experienced great success. In fact, this was the MOST successful trip in 5 Tool History! Details, pictures and videos to follow below! What an unforgettable trip it was, let’s dive in… Vegas Baby!!!

We’ll start by introducing the 3 teams that traveled down to the tournament in Vegas, where the visiting Vancouver kids sported the best look of the tournament; the Roman 5, the red, gold and black, the FLYING V!!!

5 Tool’s special Vegas/Vancouver-Themed jersey caught many compliments from players, coaches and parents all weekend long at the tournament. But as the saying goes, “It’s the wizard, not the wand, that makes the magic!” Front V: 11U Select Team coached by Coaches Sam, Nick and Matt D. Middle V: 12U Select Team coached by Coaches Jack and Shawn. Back V: 13U Select Team coached by Coaches Matt C, Doug and Sean.

Vegas crew getting their team celebrations and pregame cheer down after a great joint practice on Thursday afternoon, 5’s UP!

The fun didn’t stop with the joint practice on Thursday, as one of the highlights of the trip was the bowling night at the Orleans Casino! The lanes were invaded by the 5’s and their families for a fantastic team event, each team/group had a champion, pictured below, who bowled better than the rest! All the teams had very close finishes but ultimately only 5 winners were crowned, the highlight of the night being Coach Nic erupting for 7 STRAIGHT STRIKES(!!!) to finish with a score of 207. The comradery and laughs shared at the bowling night undoubtedly helped the teams prepare for the big games in the best way possible, what a great start the weekend, congrats to all of our bowling champs!

Bowling Night Champions! (From left to right) Parent Champ - Bryan Hudie, 13U Champ - Luke Narvaez, 11U Champ - Shea Taggart, 12U Champ - Nicho Martin, Coach Champ - Nic Lindsay (207 pts!!!)

Team Results and Highlights

11U Team - Introducing the Cranberry Classic 5 Tool 11U Squad!

Bowen Barta - Trout Lake
Chase Donnelly - Vancouver
Cole Abbott - South Van
Edgar MacMillan - Little Mountain
Elliot Kim - Dunbar
Lochlan Richdale - South Vancouver
Luca Tomei - Richmond
Shea Taggart - South Vancouver
Titan McRee - Edmonton
Willem Hanson - South Vancouver
Wyatt Spence - Ladner

Coach Sammy and Coach Nick getting the team ready to roll! Nice 5 Wyatt!

On Friday the 11’s had their first two games, where they were off to an early start, playing at 8 and 10am. The early morning rust wasn’t evident however, as the team battled tough against a AAA team from Nevada in their first game. A tough back and forth match left the 11U with a 6-5 loss in game one, but the team wasn’t discouraged going into game 2! The whole team contributed offensively, scoring early and often to give the pitchers a comfortable lead to work with. Scoring runs in every inning, game 2 was over before it started as the 11’s won 14-2. Great resiliency team!

Saturday was a similar story, as the bats had another early wake up call for game 1 and got right to work. Game 1 on Saturday had 23 total runs, 6 lead changes and most importantly: 1 Victory for 5 Tool! A total team effort was needed in the early game Saturday, 4 different pitchers and all 11 bats shared the wealth to pull out the much needed 13-10 win. Game 2 was a tough contest for the kids, as they saw their 7-1 lead dwindle in the final two innings. With the go ahead run on 3rd base, the team could not convert in the top of the 6th and ultimately lost the game on a ball to the backstop, 8-7 the final score. A stinging loss but our crew refused to hang their heads, and they certainly weren’t ready to go home yet! The 2-2 record placed the 11U team 3rd in their pool, which meant they were lined up for the Silver Bracket Semifinal Sunday morning!

Championship Sunday. The stage was set, an 8am game for the 3rd day in a row and the kids were fired up to earn some hardware! The 11U semifinal matchup was against the same California team that we had defeated the day before, and even though the offenses weren’t putting up the same numbers as their previous meeting, the semifinal was just as close and even more nerve-wracking! Cooler heads prevailed as the 11’s stuck together through early hiccups and grinded their way to a 1-run lead in the final innings. Coach Sam stated how impressed he was with the team defense in the semi, as the squad put on their best steel-trap impression to lock down the semifinal victory and book their ticket to the Silver Bracket Championship! The Championship final was against another AAA team, our 11’s plated a run in the top of the 1st but simply ran out of steam after that. Despite their best efforts and many gutsy performances, the AAA offense was too much to handle, as 5-Tool fell in the final and placed 2nd. Winning the championship is always the top goal at travel tournaments but the grit, determination and collective effort of the 11U squad was amazing to watch throughout the weekend, especially considering they only trained together for 2 months prior to the tournament! What a fantastic accomplishment for our 11U team, an incredibly memorable weekend that saw a massive amount of improvement and maturity on the baseball field over the course of 6 very strong games. Congratulations to all the players on our 11U team, keep those rings shiny!

13U Team - Crank the Jackpot! The 2022 Cranberry Classic 13U Team!

Alex Tamayo - Ladner
Caleb Miller - Ladner
Cole Hudie - Ladner
Drew Sochting - Ladner
Hayden Mangat - Ladner
Jaxxon Lawrence - Ladner
Luke Narvaez - Whalley
Marco Morais - Whalley
Matthew Marchant - Coquitlam
Miles Eaton-Parfitt - South Vancouver
Noah Wegner - Ladner
Sam Dowle - Jericho

**Mean Muggin! The 13U squad had a very good showing in Las Vegas**

*Back Row: Coach Sean, Coach Matt, Hayden, Jaxxon, Caleb, Noah, Luke, Coach Doug*
*Front Row: Marco, Drew, Miles, Alex, Cole, Matt, Sam*

The 13U select team also had a very good first day of competition in Nevada! Their first game was against a very good Majors team from Orange County, California (who would go on to win the 13U tournament). After going down 2-0 early in the game, the team battled back and forth with the OC team tying the game on 3 separate occasions after the opposition responded to every blow that the 5’s threw. Our guys weren’t able to break the ice unfortunately, getting as far as the go ahead run up to bat in the bottom of the 6th before falling 10-7. Our team gave the other side all that they could handle, as the opposing coaches told our coaching staff that we played them tougher than any team they’ve played all season. Even coming off a loss, the 13’s showed a very short memory and were fired up for game 2 later that evening. 4 runs in the first, 5 runs in the fourth and some insurance runs along the way propelled the 13U team to a convincing 13-4 victory in game 2, as all 12 players reached base and contributed to the big win on Friday night.

Alex Tamayo strikes out the side in Game 2!

Saturday, much like the 11U team, was almost a carbon copy of the games on Friday for the 13U team. Game 1 was played against a strong opponent from Las Vegas, as the team jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead. Largely in part to the stellar defense of the 5 Tool team, the game was a stalemate until the 5th inning, where the opponent broke through with aggressive baserunning and strong defense, combined with some baserunning errors on our side, the 13’s would lose a great game, 4-2. Having to rebound quickly and win game 2 to make the semifinals, 5 Tool was matched up with Southern Nevada baseball who had their ace on the mound. Down 4-1 early, the 13’s exploded for 11 unanswered runs thanks to 6 extra base hits in 2 innings! Finally shaking off the loss in game 1, the team woke up and pounced on the opportunity to clinch a spot in the Silver Bracket semis, locking down Southern Nevada defensively for the rest of the game. Another game where production and success came from the entire lineup, the squad did exactly what they needed to do to book their ticket to elimination Sunday!

Nerves? Never heard of em. Or at least that’s sure what it looked like when the team rolled up to the Silver Bracket semifinal early Sunday morning. We’re still not sure what the team had for breakfast Sunday morning, or maybe they weren’t fed at all, because our squad came out on fire!! 3 triples, 2 doubles and a whole lot of baserunners, the guys surely got their cardio in running the bases in this one! Scoring runs in every inning, 5 Tool 13U won the semi-final by a score of 8-0, mercy-ruling their opponents in 5 innings to book their ticket to the Silver Championship! The Championship game was a tight one, as the 13’s were in for their toughest match yet. A shaky first inning on defense left the team in a 4-0 hole after the top of the 1st, but the never-say-die attitude of the team bloomed as they settled in for an uphill battle the rest of the way. 1 run in the bottom half, 2 runs in the second, another in the third and we had a brand new 4-4 ballgame. Pitchers were dueling, defenses were airtight, the bats were stimied on both sides. It seemed as if nothing would give after the 3rd inning, as we went into the 7th and final inning still tied at 4. In the top half, the visitors had bases loaded with 1 out, and a ball hit off the plate and bounced 20 feet in the air proved to be the difference and would score the go ahead run… baseball. The 13’s left everything they had on the field all weekend and although we were so close to taking home the championship, the baseball gods would not favor us this time. 5-4 was the final score as the 13U team finished 2nd in the Silver Bracket.

Never ones to hang their heads, the 13’s showed an incredible amount of resilience and toughness through the tournament. Sickness, soreness, tiredness and everything in between tried to deter the team all weekend but once they stepped on the field, no one could tell. The team played excellent and should be very proud of the great work they displayed in Las Vegas this year. It was Coach Matt’s first time as head coach of a travel team, and he was incredibly thankful and proud to have this as his first tournament team, you best believe we’re coming for that belt in Phoenix next spring!. The guys pushed each other and played for each other all weekend!

12U Team - The Champs are Here!!! Your Cranberry Classic 12U Champions!

Dane Preece - White Rock
Dawson Schmidt - Ladner
Dylan Larter - Little Mountain
Ethan Carpenter - White Rock
Hudson Wortley - Ladner
Jack Riley - Ladner
Kane Laporte - Tsawassen
Matteo Mirabelli - White Rock
Naden Anderson - South Vancouver
Nathan DePiciotto - Ladner
Nicho Martin - Kerrisdale
Nico Yau - Trout Lake/Ladner

The 12U squad hanging out in between games!

What a tournament for the 12U squad, high expectations coming into the weekend didn’t waver the team in their pursuit for the tournament title, as they showed up and showed out in Sin City! Day 1 was a walk in the pa-, I mean a walk down the strip, for the founding fathers Jack and Shawn and their stud-filled roster. Gas was thrown, bombs were hit, gloves were golden. A near perfect first day for the 12U squad saw them take down their first two opponents 16-7 and 11-1.

Day 2 was (almost) a different day of games for the team. The bats got molten-hot in game 1 as they dismissed their game 1 opponent via mercy-rule, 25-1. Game 2 was a much tougher game as the undefeated hangover seemed to set in for Coach Jack’s squad. Down 3-0 early in the game, the team continued to push through the sluggishness and took a 4-3 lead in the 4th. The visitors returned fire though, bouncing back to a 6-4 lead over 5 Tool heading into the final inning thanks to a brutal batters interference call that negated a run off the board for our 12’s. Needing a rally, the call was made to “FLY THE V” and the team hit the ground running in the 6th, mustering together baserunners, aggressive baserunning and some timely hits to lead them to a massive 7-6 comeback victory. Some minor hiccups along the way but the team accomplished exactly what they set out to do: 4-0 in pool play and the #1 seed locked up going into Championship Sunday!

The top seeded 12’s found themselves playing a familiar opponent in the semifinal. The other Canadian team held onto their receipt from the San Diego semifinal loss, but the redemption effort was denied by the Fives! Down 1-0 after the top of the 1st, the boys got some inspiration from the 11’s and 13’s who came to cheer on the boys between their games. Our squad had the stadium packed with V’s and used the energy to their advantage! A majestic homerun and 10 batters in the inning helped take the lead right back from the opposition, from there the team never looked back, taking the semifinal 8-4.

Hoping to avenge the tough 11U and 13U losses, the 12U were locked, loaded and ready to roll in the Championship final. It would turn out to be no easy test though, as the team once again found themselves in an even deeper 1st inning hole against their opponents, 5-0. Clawing, stratching and battling their way back while never losing faith, the team made their comeback stand on the defensive end, only allowing 1 run for the rest of the game. This set the stage for the best lineup in the tournament, as the BC boys flexed their muscles in the final and outscored the other side 14-1 in the final 4 innings. The theme of the tournament for all 3 select teams was winning with a team effort. Collective Pitching, Hitting and Defense were on full display all tournament long, and this cohesive attack resulted in some amazing wins for the 12U team! Winning 14-6 in the Final, the 12’s were crowned the Champions of Las Vegas, an outstanding victory for 5 Tool and for all of our athletes!

The final out! 12U are the Champions!!!

The Champs show off their Rings! (L to R) Coach Shawn, Dylan, Naden, Hudson, Dawson, Nico, Kane, Jack, Ethan, Matteo, Dane, Nicho, Nate, Coach Jack

What an amazing tournament in Vegas this year. Without a doubt this was the most successful trip in 5 Tool history, all the coaches were honored to coach such fun, hardworking and committed athletes! Thank you to all the parents who took the time out of their lives to get their players and families down to Nevada for an amazing weekend!
2, 3, 4, FIVES!!!

5 Tool Newsletter December 9th 2022

5 Tool Baseball Inc.