Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»5 - 4 Spokane
The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Canadians will play for their fourth consecutive Northwest League championship Saturday night after sweeping Spokane in the best-of-three North Division pennant series.
For tickets, call the C's box office at 604-872-5232.
On the road south of the border, the C's eliminated Spokane 5-4 but the home team dug in before Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»left with the win. In the bottom of the ninth inning, trailing by one run, Spokane loaded the bases as clean-up batter Luke Tendler, who led his team with 11 home runs and 57 runs, stepped to the plate. But in the way Spokane has come oh so close through the short series, they again fell short. Tendler hit a grounder and the easy put-out ended Spokane's season while the C's look to extend their championship streak.
"That's exactly what you want to see: if you're behind, give yourself a chance and have the guy who's been swinging the best bat for you at the plate," Spokane manager Tim Hulett told Spokane reporters with the Spokesman-Review.
The Canadians want to get even with Spokane in another way, said outfielder Jonathan Davis.Â
"We're trying to four-peat, and I've heard Spokane is the only team that won four straight," he . Spokane won the Northwest League title each year between 1987 and 1990, when the C's club played AAA in the Pacific Caast League.
"To beat a team of that caliber says a lot," continued Davis. "We're still not done yet. Hopefully it will be a good series [for the Northwest League championship] and we'll come out on top."
The Canadians, the single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, play the Hillsboro Hops, who are affiliated with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who swept the Boise Hawks to win the South Division pennant. The C's host Game 1 at 7:05 p.m. Sept. 6 at Nat Bailey Stadium. Games 2 and 3, if needed, will be played at Ron Tonkin Field in Hillsboro outside Portland, Ore.