Whitehorse Daily Star

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

OH SO CLOSE – Jamie Taylor of the Whtiehorse AFD Titans just misses a hot shot to short as Teri Cairns of the Klondike Rib & Salmon RBIs takes off from second in the women’s A Division final. The RBIs defended their title.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

EYE ON THE BALL – Short stop Savannah Ames of the Skagway Ladies Rock takes a stab at the ball in the women’s B Division final during Dustball on Sunday.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

AIRBORNE – Nate Jennings of the Chico’s Bail Bonds of Skagway makes a leaping catch in the men’s A Divi- sion final against the P & M Recycling Guns. The Guns successfully defended their Dustball title by defeating Chico’s 32-31.

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Image title

Photo by Vince Fedoroff

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Photo by Vince Fedoroff

Whitehorse teams defend A Division Dustball titles

It was a barn burner on Sunday as the P & M Recycling Guns of Whitehorse defended their Dustball title as champions of the men’s A Division.

By Chuck Tobin on July 18, 2018

It was a barn burner on Sunday as the P & M Recycling Guns of Whitehorse defended their Dustball title as champions of the men’s A Division.

The Guns defeated Skagway’s Chico’s Bail Bonds 32-31 with a walk-off single by Craig Claggett.

“It was probably the best A game final that park has seen for a long time,” Guns first baseman Mike Tuton said in an interview.

The Brewers of Whitehorse finished third in the men’s A.

Whitehorse’s Klondike Rib and Salmon RBIs defended their women’s A Division title by downing the AFD Titans of Whitehorse 24-12 while the RRR from Fort McPherson finished in third.

The Great West Grizzlies of Whitehorse won the co-ed A Division by defeating the local Jays 21-19 while BLC Knights of Whitehorse finished in third.

Sixty-five teams in 10 divisions battled it out on Whitehorse ball diamonds over the weekend in the annual Dustball Invitational Slo-Pitch Tournament.

Teams came from Beaver Creek, Dawson City, Carmacks, Mayo, Fort McPherson, Haines, Juneau and Skagway.

Tuton said the new rule change this year was instrumental in making the men’s A final a nail biter. In previous years, teams could only score five runs in an inning. This year, teams who were behind could score as many as they needed to tie the game and go up by five. So when the Guns went up by 12 in the early innings, Chico’s was allowed to get them all back in one inning – and they did.

The Guns earned home field advantage and last bats by going through the round robin undefeated.

Tuton said heading in the top of the seventh in the final, the Guns pulled a defensive shift by going with three outfielders instead of the traditional four, in favour of another infielder, and it paid off.

Heading into the bottom of the final inning tied at 31-31, Guns Scott Horsey led off with a single followed by a single from Tuton to put Horsey on second and in scoring position.

Claggett drilled a rope between short stop and second base and Horsey took advantage to score the winning run.

“It was a battle,” Tuton said. “We were close to mercying them in the early innings and they came back and put up 12 on us.

“Hat off to Chico’s, they can hit the ball, and we knew that.”

It was a game of singles and doubles, as the Guns only hit three home runs in the championship match.

“Ultimately, having the last bats was huge for us,” said Tuton.

He said even fans in the stands were saying the Guns were getting long in the tooth, and that this would be the year they’d be knocked off the throne.

But they don’t know what winning one of the largest sporting events in the Yukon means to the Guns, he said.

“Dustball is our tournament.”

Finals for all 10 divisions took place on Sunday. The full list of other results are as follows:

Co-ed B

1st – HUB International (Whitehorse)
2nd – Jim Shockey Predators (Whitehorse)
3rd – Whitehorse Massage Therapy Tenderizers (Whitehorse)

Co-ed C

1st – Nagota (Whitehorse)
2nd – Floor by Floor Rugburns (Whitehorse)
3rd – Westcoast Warriors (Whitehorse)

Co-ed D

1st – Yukon Tire Mechanical Happy’s Hobos (Whitehorse)
2nd – Cardinal Contracting Cardinals (Whitehorse)
3rd – FHP Ballwhackers (Whitehorse)

Men’s B

1st – Fountain Tire Mudders (Whitehorse)
2nd – Rounders (Juneau)
3rd – River Rats (Whitehorse)

Men’s C

1st – Kaska Bears (Whitehorse)
2nd – Mayo Volunteer Fire Department (Mayo)
3rd – Wolverines (Whitehorse)

Women’s B

1st – Booster Juice (Whitehorse)
2nd – Skagway Ladies Rock (Skagway)
3rd – G & R Diamond Diva’s (Whitehorse)

Women’s C

1st – Frontier Gifts (Juneau)
2nd – Triple J’s Cougars (Whitehorse)
3rd – Dave’s Cleaning Crew (Whitehorse)

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