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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

SEVEN DIFFERENT KINDS OF SMOKE 鈥 Guns pitcher Brian White pitches to Reds batter Robin Smith during the Men鈥檚 A final in Dustball Sunday afternoon. The Guns went unbeaten through the tournament, outscoring their rivals 96-33.

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Photo by Marcel Vander Wier

MAKES THEM PAY 鈥 Guns slugger Matt Kremer, right, highfives teammate Rob LaRose, left, after winning the men鈥檚 A final at Dustball with a walk-off grand slam.

Walk-off grand slam powers Guns to Dustball title

The dynasty lives on.

By Marcel Vander Wier on July 13, 2015

The dynasty lives on.

A year after losing the Men鈥檚 A final 24-20 to Skagway-based Chico鈥檚 Bail Bonds, the P&M鈥圧ecycling Guns took back their title with an emphatic 21-8 win over the Urban Realty Reds Sunday at the Pepsi Softball Centre.

Yesterday鈥檚 title win was the Guns鈥 seventh in the past 10 years, alongside three runner-up finishes.

This time, Guns left-fielder Matt Kremer provided the heroics, crushing a no-doubt grand slam over the centre-field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning to push his team to victory via the mercy rule.

The walk-off homer came on the first pitch by Reds starter Kane Dawe after he had intentionally walked well-known Guns slugger Rob LaRose to load the bases.

After recording two quick outs in the sixth, the high-octane Guns lineup turned over, with both Sheldon King and Troy Cairns reaching base.

After a brief meeting on the mound, the Reds walked LaRose, setting up Kremer鈥檚 heroics.

鈥淚 wanted to hit it out for sure,鈥 Kremer said post-game. 鈥淟ast year, we lost with the winning run on third, so this year, when I鈥坓ot up there, I鈥坵asn鈥檛 missing it. You only get one chance to get it back.鈥

The Guns were on a mission to reclaim the Men鈥檚 A title in Dustball, captain Mike Tuton told the Star following the championship win.

Last year鈥檚 loss in the finals, coupled with a loss in the championship qualifier for nationals this year, had the naysayers wondering if the Guns dynasty had run its course.

鈥淭he sharks were in the water and everybody wanted a piece of the Guns,鈥 Tuton said. 鈥淓verybody wanted to beat us.鈥

With that in mind, Tuton said the 2015 title means more than the previous six.

鈥淚t does,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our title. That鈥檚 the way I look at it. These kids are going to be good. They鈥檙e knocking at the door but we鈥檙e not going to answer it.

鈥淭his was as deep and as talented a Guns squad as we鈥檝e had in a very long time. We talked Thursday about everyone wanting a piece of us and said: 鈥榃e don鈥檛 care who we come across, we鈥檙e on a mission to get to Sunday and every win is a statement win.鈥

The Guns got off to a scorching start Thursday night, thumping Bustin鈥檚 Bombers 20-2.

They continued to roll the rest of the weekend, rapping off wins against the Carmacks Ball Knockers 20-4, the Reds 18-14 and the Creephawks 17-5.

Overall, the Guns outscored their opponents 96-33 over the weekend.

In Sunday afternoon鈥檚 final, all 12 runners in the Guns starting lineup crossed the plate at least once, led by first baseman Cairns, who had three runs 鈥 the first coming via a solo homer in the first inning.

The Guns struck for five 鈥 the maximum per inning 鈥 in the bottom of the second, capped by a three-run jack by Derek Hamsley, giving the Guns an 8-4 lead they wouldn鈥檛 relinquish.

After four innings, the Guns had extended their lead to 14-6.

The teams and fans in attendance were greeted by heavy rain to start the fifth, but the game was not delayed.

Guns shortstop Shayne King hit a three-run homer off Reds relief pitcher Andrew Schmidt in the bottom of the fifth to put P&M鈥圧ecycling up 17-6.

Later in the inning, with two out and runners on the corners, third baseman Joe Vigneau had a chance to end the game on the 12-run fifth-inning mercy rule, but his home run hit was over the maximum and was recorded as the third out.

However, in the bottom of the inning, Reds second baseman Brad Gustafson hit a two-run homer, setting the stage for Kremer鈥檚 heroics against Dawe, who was back on the mound in the bottom of the sixth.

Dustball rules prohibit teams from recording more than two home runs than their opponents.

Aaron France added a first-inning homer for the heavy-hitting Guns, while Kaleb Dawe and Brett Roulston also homered for the Reds.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e a great team and they played well,鈥濃圧eds infielder J.J.鈥圙ainsforth said of the Guns. 鈥淔or us to shine, we need to get on the sticks and play small ball. We didn鈥檛 do that today, but it was still good for us to play in different situations as we prepare for nationals.鈥

In May, the Reds (then known as the Marlins) beat the Guns 19-8 in the final of the territorial qualifying tournament for the 2015 Senior Men鈥檚 Canadian Slo-Pitch Championship in Dorchester, Ont., Aug. 9 to 15.

Kremer said the Guns are pleased with the rapid rise of the Reds.

鈥淲e like all those kids,鈥 he said. 鈥淎nd we like that there鈥檚 another team coming up like that. It鈥檚 a challenge and it brings both teams up.鈥

This year鈥檚 Dustball Invitational Slo-Pitch Tournament featured 71 teams, up from 58 last season.

Originally, the maximum 72 teams were slated to play, but according to Softball Yukon officials, a men鈥檚 team from Haines, Alaska, pulled out late.

The majority of the registered teams were Whitehorse-based, alongside seven from Alaska, five from the Yukon communities and two from Inuvik, N.W.T.

The tournament has been a constant on the Softball Yukon calendar for three decades, with winning and runner-up teams taking home plaques and slo-pitch national gear.

The Women鈥檚 A final saw Louie鈥檚 鈥 a heavy-hitting team from Juneau 鈥 mercy the P&M鈥圧ecycled Sistas 14-4, while the Complete Concrete Athletics won the Co-ed A final 16-4 over the Whitehorse Dental Donkeys 鈥 also a mercy score.

See Tuesday鈥檚 newspaper for more coverage of the Women鈥檚 A and Co-ed A division finals.

Final Dustball results

Men鈥檚 A

1. P&M Recycling Guns
2. Urban Realty Reds
3. Creephawks

Men鈥檚 B

1. Brewers
2. Fountain Tire Mudders
3. Carmacks Ball Knockers

Men鈥檚 C

1. Dawson City Dingbats
2. Bustin鈥檚 Bombers
3. The Next Shots

Women鈥檚 A

1. Louie鈥檚 (Juneau)
2. P&M Recycled Sistas
3. Fountain Tire Titans

Women鈥檚 B

1. Inuvik Angels
2. Dave鈥檚 Cleaning Crew
3. Dawson City Snatchers

Women鈥檚 C

1. Nuway Ball Crushers
2. Booster Juice
3. Minions (Juneau)

Co-ed A

1. Complete Concrete Athletics
2. Whitehorse Dental Donkeys
3. Dave鈥檚 Cleaning Crew

Co-ed B

1. Wounded Deere
2. Yukon Tire Mechanical Happy Hobo鈥檚
3. Valley Liquor Fireballs

Co-ed C

1. Where My Pitches Be (Juneau)
2. Cindersphere
3. Floor by Floor Rugburns

Co-ed D

1. JayTech Jays
2. Carmacks Recreation
3. Bailey鈥檚 Barbarians

Comments (2)

Up 5 Down 7

R.I.D on Jul 14, 2015 at 2:50 pm

The real story should actually be about how many drunk Dust Ball participants drive out of the Pepsi Softball Stadium over the 4 days of excessive drinking. Despite being across from the jail, there has never been any police presence (other then from assaults in the grounds caused by drunk players). All you would need to do is set up a road block at each end of Range Rd. It's always surprised me how no anti-drunk driving organizations have caught on to that. Why has this never been a story?

Up 12 Down 7

Local Fan on Jul 13, 2015 at 8:45 pm

Why is it every year there is a article about the guns or sistas? There are other teams that play as well!!! No one talks about the sistas losing the last two years but if they won it would be all about them!!! Again I would like to hear about other team
Highlights than just guns, guns, guns, it gets old.

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