The Parksville Royals missed the BC Premier Baseball League playoffs by a single game.
The Royals, made up primarily of Grade 11 players, closed out the regular season with 17 wins and 23 losses. They have players who will advance to the collegiate level.
Leading the way is Walker Maximick, who will head to Kansas to play for the Garden City Community College Broncbusters in the National Junior College Athletic Association (Division 1).
Standing six-foot-five, Maximick has made great strides as a pitcher despite switching to this role just a year ago. He led the Royals in all pitching categories and was among the league leaders in some as well.
The right-handed pitcher from Comox ended the season with a record of six wins and four losses to rank fourth in the league. He was ranked seventh in strikeouts, fanning a total 47 hitters, and was sixth in innings pitched.
"Proud of what Walker has done over the last year," coach Bruce Biro said of Maximick's recruitment. "Committed himself, made big gains in velocity and pitchability and has paid off."
At the Royals awards ceremony to honour players who excelled on and off the field, Maximick was also presented with the GM Development Award for the biggest improvement during his tenure in the Royals program.
Also moving on to the next level of baseball are Chase Little and Flinn Vlahovic.
Little will be heading to the University of British Columbia. He was presented the Coaches Award for dedication to the Royals' philosophy. He played for the Royals' bantam, junior and senior programs. His commitment to bettering himself and the program, the Royals stated, is "unmatched."
Vlalhovic has committed to play for the Victoria Golden Tide in the coming school year.
Other Royals recognized by the club included Hunter Auramenko, who was the team's top rookie and was given the Tyler Phillips Award. He led the Royals in hitting with a .318 batting average. He was second on the team in hits with 32.
In the Royals junior ranks, the Tyler Phillips Oustanding first year player award went to Serb Verklan, who was a team leader in inning pitched, was second in strikeouts and played a versatile role with the team.
The GM Award for the biggest improvements among the juniors went to Duncan Kimoto. He led the Royals in walks, was third in runs scores, and was a spark plug on offence, playing a lockdown centre field.
Evan Rose and Seth Sandberg each received the Coaches Award, for commitment to Royals philosophy. Rose was a leader in stolen bases, second in innings pitched, first in strikeouts, first in runs scored and hits, and was a team leader on and off the field. Sandberg was described by coaches as the epitome of a grinder as he worked hard to make the lineup. He found ways to contribute on both sides of the ball by outworking everyone.
For the bantam Royals, the top rookie was Beckett Harvie who earned the Tyler Phillips Award. He played for the U14 Team BC and was called up to the junior Royals ocasionally, making solid contributions on offence.
The Coaches Award for commitment to Royals philosophy went to Owen McQueen, a grinder on the field, who attended a joint practice with the senior Royals with a broken wrist and found ways to get better.
For the GM Award for Most improved, Vincent Bellmore won the accolade as he continued to get better and better as the year went on.
