The Superior Propane Royals buried the Jat’s Landscaping Diggers big-time in the Men’s Division final on the weekend.
The teams were playing in the season-opening softball tournament Sunday at the Pepsi Centre.
Powered by five homers, including two by slugger Ryan Lane, the Royals pounded the Diggers 16-1 in six innings.
New recruit Chayce Tuton, son of Royals coach Mike Tuton, put an exclamation point on the victory with a towering game-clinching homer to right field.
The Royals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first with two homers.
They broke the game open with three more homers in the bottom of the second, making the score 8-0.
They added a couple more runs in the second to take a commanding 10-0 lead after two innings.
The Diggers finally broke through with a run in the top of the fourth inning to break the goose egg.
However, the Royals continued to show no mercy, as they put up four more on the scoreboard in the bottom of the inning to take an insurmountable 14-1 lead into the fifth.
Speaking of mercy, the mercy rule reads that 15 runs after five innings result in the end of the game, meaning the Diggers were surviving by the skin of their teeth. Or claws.
Tuton finished off the Diggers with his blast to right field in the bottom of the sixth.
Lane said he thought it was a “terrific” game.
“It was pretty much on par with the rest of the games in the tournament. We just came out swinging and we are really tough to beat when we are on. I don’t think it mattered who we were playing against. When you hit like that, you’re gonna win ball games.”
Lane mentioned that the league changed the home run rule from a maximum seven to five this year.
“We were the only ones hitting at the maximum.”
Lane was impressed with young Tuton’s shot over the wall in right.
“That was an amazing hit.”
Of Tuton, Lane said, “He had some big running plays for us. We subbed him in as a pinch runner. He played the outfield for us. And sure enough, you give him the opportunity and he seizes it.”
Lane wasn’t too surprised by the score, as they mercied the other team in all three of their previous games.
“We were going into it very confident and that just carried on. We came out with two home runs. When you come out swinging like that, the rest of the team kind of follows with you.”
Lane said a Dustball victory is the big goal for the Royals.
“All this leads into Dustball. The whole reason the men’s league started is so we could get some games before the big tournaments. We’re looking at Dustball and honestly, we’re looking really strong for it.”
Mike Tuton said it was a fun opening weekend.
“It was a fun little team, too. A couple of the original members have their kids on the team here. My boy (Chayce) and Shane King’s boy (Cooper) joined the squad this year for the first time and it was pretty fun to watch.
“They came into the lineup and had a few things to learn but contributed right off the hop. It’s a good group of guys. Everyone knows what it takes to win something like this.”
Tuton said he was a little surprised by the score.
‘They came out a little bit flat but we knew we were ready to do what we were gonna do.”
Tuton said the weekend felt like “a mini-Dustball (tournament).
“A lot of fun. This was a big tournament for an opening weekend. It was put on really well. Softball Yukon did a great job, and I think everybody had a really good time this weekend.”
Tuton said his veterans were the key to the victory.
“There’s a lot of veterans on this team that have been through this numerous amounts of time. There’s no worries on this team. Everybody’s got a lot of belief in each other and we just stick together. We know what we’ve gotta do.”
“A lot of these guys have been playing together for years and years. It’s just old-hat. You know what you need to bring. Just do your job and have faith in everybody else to do their job. That’s really the key to success in anything you do.”
Tuton added that they’re just prepping for the Dustball tournament.
“We came up short last year in Dustball and that left a bad taste in our mouth, so everything we’re doing now is to get ready for that.”
The Men’s Division All-Tournament Team was as follows:
Superior Propane Royals:
Ryan Lane
Robin Smith
Gibson Pearson
Jamie Milligen
Jat’s Landscaping:
Mike Snow
Gregg Shaffer
Nate Thomson
Pirates (Third Place):
Beyin Wiemi
Cameron Ryles
Northland Beverages (4th Place):
Cory Lamble
Brett Skookum of the Royals was the Men’s Tournament MVP.
In the Co-ed A Division, Total North topped the Tailgaters in the final. Borealis Heat were third.
In the B Division, Twin Peaks Sharknados beat Triple J’s in the final. Computer Sons of Stitches finished third.
Dave’s Cleaning Crew fell to the Griffith Grizzlies in a back-and-forth battle in the C Division final. The Decora Dodgers came in third.
The Emco Eliminators and the Big Bear Kodiaks battled in the D Division final, with Emco coming out on top. The Titanium Storage Misfits claimed third place.
The Dustball tournament is up next, on July 11-14. Registration is still open for the annual summer classic. Co-ed, women’s and men’s divisions are featured.
