So the games have all been played and this is how it all turned out.
VAN@CGY, 4 games, April 6-9
[tab=30]The Mounties take the series 3 games to 1. (4-2, 6-5, 4-2, 1-3)
EDM@CGY, 4 games, April 24-27
[tab=30]Edmonton and Calgary battle to a split. (5-1, 2-5, 6-8, 11-6)
VAN@EDM, 4 games, May 16-19
[tab=30]The Mounties crush the Jackrabbits in a 4 game sweep. (6-0, 9-2, 2-1, 2-0)
CGY@VAN, 4 games, June 2-5
[tab=30]The Pioneers take the series 3 games to 1. (7-2, 5-1, 0-3, 2-1)
CGY@EDM, 4 games, June 20-23
[tab=30]The Pioneers take the series 3 games to 1. (5-1, 7-5, 8-1, 2-3)
EDM@VAN, 4 games, July 14-17
[tab=30]The Jackrabbits take the series 3 games to 1. (5-4, 5-2, 1-2, 6-5)
So to all those following at home, at the end of qualifying Calgary won 9 games, Edmonton won 6, and Vancouver won 9. This means that the title would be fought between Calgary and Vancouver at the Stockyard in Calgary from July 31 - Aug 3rd. The rest as they say, is history.
July 31 -
Juan Hernandez takes the hill versus
Jake Dickson in a game that must have given ulcers to both managers. Knowing that cup is on the line neither side would probably have opted for the all guns blazing affair that transpired. In the end, the Mounties would prevail 13-7!
Aloysius Gonzaga was named player of the game for going 3-5 with a homerun, 2 doubles, 3 steals, and scoring 5 runs! What a day for the rookie!
Aug 1 -
Antonio Correa takes the hill versus
Cristobal Hernandez. After all the fireworks the day before, what would happen? Would Calgary feel the pressure of already being down 1 game or would they battle back feeding off being the home team for this cup showdown? Well who would have guessed it would be a dramatic turnaround from the game 1 and a pitchers duel would break out?! Calgary would win the day 1-0 on the strength of Hernandez going 7 shutout innings with 6 K's to only 1 walk. Correa threw a great game himself also going 7 strong but
Hector Cano would crack a run scoring single in the bottom of the 7th and that would end up being the games only run. Hernandez was named player of the game.
Aug 2 -
Pablo Figueroa takes the hill versus
Atsumori Maeda. Game 1 was a fireworks show and game 2 was a pitchers duel. The series stood split and the tension ran high. How would this game shake out? Pablo Figueroa was flat out dominant as the Mounties took game 3 by a score of 4-1. Figueroa threw 8 strong innings only allowing 4 hits with a modest 5 K's to go against 1 walk with his only blemish being a
Tony Franco solo homerun in the bottom of the 7th.
Jesus Gonzales did the heavy lifting on offense by going 2-4 with a 2 run HR. Figueroa was named player of the game.
Aug 3 -
Alfredo Granados takes the hill versus
Lambert Snabel. With Vancouver up 2 games to 1 now, how would Calgary handle the pressure? Would they really lose out on a chance to win a cup in front of their home crowd? The answer would be... complicated? Vancouver quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead with
Pierre Cordona doing it almost single handedly without hitting a HR (single, steal, steal, sac fly). Calgary would answer just as quickly with a 3 spot in the bottom of the 1st highlighted by a
Manny Perez double. A few scoreless innings would pass with the fans beginning to wonder what exactly would happen if Calgary should win? That would tie the series 2 games apiece with no remaining games to be played. So who wins? The confusion gave way to disappointment as Vancouver would strike for 2 runs in the top of the 4th to tie the game.
Elroy Hinson lead off the inning with a bomb and
Dani Lopez followed with another to go back to back. The crowd sat in silence. Worrying about series tie scenarios wouldn't matter if Calgary couldn't pull out a victory in the first place. It wouldn't take too long however for the excited confusion to return to the stands as in the bottom of the 6th Calgary would strike for 2 runs (courtesy of a 2 run bomb from
Carlos Garcia) themselves reestablishing their lead for good. In the bottom of 8th they would tack on 1 more run to win by a final of 6-3 with Lambert Snabel being awarded player of the game.
So wait who actually won the cup then? Is there even a cup? This was branded as a second annual tournament but mysteriously nobody knows who won it last year. Is this even a thing? What actually happened?
3rd post has the answer!
The Second Annual Maxwell Weiss Jr. Rocky Mountain Classic – an extracurricular Cup Challenge style competition between the three Western Canadian clubs in the BBA: the Vancouver Mounties, Calgary Pioneers, and Edmonton Jackrabbits. Named after Maxwell Weiss Jr., a well-loved catcher who is without question the greatest ballplayer to come out of Western Canada to date, the competition will focus on the success of these 3 Canadian teams against each other. 
