The magic finally ran out for Saanich’s Layritz Little League on Thursday afternoon, as their run through the Canadian Little League Championship came to a crushing end.
After going a perfect 7-0 through round robin and semifinal play, the hometown favourites fell 8-0 to Vancouver’s Little Mountain in the national final at Layritz Park — a loss that dashed their hopes of representing Canada at the Little League World Series.
It was a bittersweet finish for a team that had captured the hearts of their community. The stands were packed to near capacity, with thousands of fans filling the ballpark and cheering with every pitch.
In fact, the turnout was so overwhelming that even photographers had to get creative, snapping shots from unconventional angles just to capture the energy of the day.
Layritz entered the final as the only undefeated team in the tournament, having edged Quebec 6-5 in a tense semifinal on Wednesday.
But in the championship game, Little Mountain came out steady and relentless — scoring one run in each of the first three innings before exploding for five in the fifth to put the game out of reach.
The Vancouver squad’s road to the title was almost as dominant as Layritz’s. They went 5-1 in the round robin, with their only loss coming against the hosts, and posted an eye-popping +61 run differential. They shut out Alberta 10-0 in the semifinals, then avenged their earlier defeat to Layritz in emphatic fashion to clinch the crown.
Over the course of the tournament, Little Mountain conceded just seven runs while scoring 86. Their victory earns them the honour of wearing the maple leaf at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
For Layritz, the run will be remembered as one of the most memorable in local baseball history. The last time the Canadian Little League Championships were held on Vancouver Island was in 1991, and it’s been more than two decades since a Victoria team last earned the chance to play on the sport’s biggest youth stage — Gordon Head in 1999, following Vic West’s historic 1974 appearance.
This summer, even without the trip to worlds, Layritz gave their community something priceless, a reminder of the magic that can happen when hometown pride, talent, and a little bit of baseball fairy dust come together.
