The Ridge Meadows Royals defeated the Vancouver Mounties 5-2 Sunday in Victoria to win the B.C. midget AAA baseball championship.

Ridge Meadows went 3-0 at the tourney, improving their season total to 58-17-1, with a record of 32-8 in league play.

“This is a big win for our program,” said Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball Association general manager Greg Bodnarchuk.

“Our young coaches have put in a lot of time all season to make this happen.

“We’re all pretty excited about this.”

The championship final came down to the wire as the Mounties made sure the outcome was in doubt right until the final inning.

With the score tied 2-2 going into the fifth, the Royals scored a pair and added another in the sixth to open a three-run lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Vancouver loaded the bases with two outs. With the winning run at the plate, Royals pitcher Chris Lourenco struck out Mounties left-fielder Dimitri Roussanidis on a full count, allowing the Royals to escape unscathed.

Team members Patrick Bigelow, Aaron Coppin, Cody Hart, Jamie Head, Derek Herod, Nathan Kitamura, Chris Lourenco, Dylan MacDermid, Dan Rennie, Cole Ross, Brett Snowball, Brandon Sound, Devon Stewart, and Lucas Tillotson all contributed to the win.

The Royals are headed to the Western Canadians Championships next month in Winnipeg, entering the tourney on an 11-game win streak.

The Royals have won the midget AAA Western title four times in the past 11 years.

Ridge hosts bantam provincials

The Ridge Meadows Minor Baseball Association is hosting the bantam A boys’ provincial tournament this weekend.

Opening ceremonies take place today [Friday] at 6 p.m. at Pitt Meadows Athletics Park. Games will be held through Aug. 2, with the championship final Sunday afternoon.