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Following their fourth straight Dustball tournament win last month, the P&M Recycling Guns had high hopes heading into the Slo-Pitch National Championships in Kelowna, B.C.

Yesterday, they returned home disappointed after missing a golden opportunity to give the Yukon a national title.

"Our team is as strong and deep as it's ever been, and guys aren't getting any younger,鈥� Guns co-captain and first baseman Mike Tuton told the Star yesterday. "We just had a hard time coming out swinging. We got in a funk and I don't understand how we couldn't get out of it.鈥�

The Yukon squad's round robin consisted of a Jekyll and Hyde act.

The Guns opened their Men's C Division tournament on Friday with a 19-6 win over the Shuswap Mariners.

However, in their second game of the day they were mercied by the eventual champs 鈥� the Saskatoon Stunners.

"We really should have beat them,鈥� Tuton said. "We lost by 12 and it was a game where we came out flat and just couldn't seem to get it together.鈥�

On Saturday morning, the Guns found themselves back in the win column, squeaking by the host Kelowna Longhorns 18-17.

After staking themselves to a huge lead, the Guns found themselves hanging on in the late stages of the game.

"We had them on the ropes, and they came back to make it tight,鈥� said Tuton. "They got the tying run as far as third base.鈥�

But that night, the Guns were pounded by the B.C.-based SWAT.

"We stunk it up pretty good,鈥� said Tuton of their final round-robin match. "They were an 0-3 team, and we lost. Our bats disappeared. I think we scored one run.鈥�

After finishing in the top six after round-robin play, the Guns entered the double-elimination style playoffs. They would go on to lose two straight.

On Sunday morning, the club went up against the Langley-based Magic Men in their first playoff game, and only crossed home plate three times.

Their final game would come against a club out of Penticton. Despite unleashing their trademark offence for 19 runs, the Guns lost 26-19, marking the end of their tournament.

"We were super disappointed,鈥� Tuton admitted. "Out of all those teams we played, I didn't see any team that I didn't think we could beat. There was some good ball teams there, but we shouldn't have got mercied as many times as we did.鈥�

The Guns added 麻豆社区Yukoner James Semaschuk to their roster, which helped. The 23-year-old will play right field with Team B.C. next week at the Senior Men's Canadian Slo-Pitch Championship in Leduc, Alta.

"He was a good pick-up,鈥� Tuton said. "I think his first two at-bats with the Guns probably tallied over 800 feet.鈥�

Semaschuk hit two homers in their first game, and Jesse Ritchie added another, but the Guns would fizzle after their brilliant start.

The Guns have competed at nationals before, and are aiming for a return again next year in Calgary.

"We wanted to try and compete again, and we felt really confident, we just didn't make the adjustments that we needed to make down there,鈥� said Tuton. "Teams were playing different defences against us, playing extra fielders 鈥� They made adjustments through the games, and we never did that.鈥�

The Guns full roster at nationals included: Michael Tuton, Shayne King, Sheldon King, Mark King, Jeff Seaman, Brian White, Rob Larose, Craig Claggett, Aaron France, Jeff Frizzell, Matt Kremer, Chad Curlew, James Semaschuk, James Dooley, Jesse Ritchie and Joe Vigneau.