Jets head to B.C. for Best of the West 

Posted on May 7, 2026 by Vauxhall Advance

By Cole Parkinson
Vauxhall Advance

With southern Alberta wreaking havoc on their spring season, the Vauxhall Jets were happy to head out west this past weekend. Participating in the annual Best of the West tournament, Vauxhall finally saw some game action. Due to bad weather, the team has been forced inside and out of game action.

The Jets kicked off the tournament on April 29 when they took on the North Shore Twins. The Jets’ starter, Calum Andersen, was rock solid despite the layoff as the Jets shut out the Twins 3-0. Pitching seven innings, Andersen struck out 10 while only allowing four hits and a walk over seven innings. The Jets collected seven hits in the win, with Jaxon George leading the way with a single, a double, and an RBI. Noah McIntosh, Hudson Nikkel, and Gerrit Vanderwal all had a hit in the win.

“It was a good trip. We came out of the gates and played really well against North Shore. Cal Andersen was exceptional on the mound and kind of got us off on the right foot,” explained Les McTavish, head coach of the Jets.

After a great opening win, the Jets were back on the diamond the following day as they took on the White Rock Tritons. The Jets were solid in all facets of the game once again as they rolled over White Rock 10-3. Vauxhall would notch 10 hits in the win, and McIntosh had a pair. George and Rogan Rivard had doubles, and Easton Kitura, Will Zielinski, Kaleb Bozek, Matt Getz, Kaden Carson, and Kaz Harris all contributed with a single. 

Graham Thiessen took the ball to start and went three strong innings. The starter had a single strikeout while allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and three walks over three innings. Zielinski would also pitch the final three innings in the game and collected three strikeouts. He allowed a single base runner in his appearance with one walk.

“Against white rock, I thought we played well again. We didn’t start maybe the way we wanted to, but the offence kind of woke up as the game wore on, and we ended up getting a 10-3 victory. That put us kind of in the driver’s seat to get to the semi to get a bye to the semi because the top two teams overall get a bye,” stated McTavish.

Looking to finish the round-robin 3-0, the Jets regroup for a Friday game against the Abbotsford Cardinals. The Jets would take a lead into the top of the seventh, but the Cardinals would end up tying the game 5-5. Vauxhall was unable to find a game-winning run in the bottom of the inning, and the game ended tied. Bozek would get on base with three singles, Kitura had a single and a double, and George had a big three-run home run. McIntosh, Getz, and Tanner Morris all contributed with one hit. Noah Simpson took the bump to start for Vauxhall and pitched four innings with four strikeouts. The starter saw two runs scored (one earned) on seven hits and four walks. Charlie McMillan was called from the bullpen first and gave VAB 2.2 innings, where three earned runs scored on five hits and a walk. The right-hander also had four strikeouts in his appearance. Bozek was the final pitcher for Vauxhall, and he collected one out on a strikeout.

“Played a good ball game against Abbotsford, who’s a good team and one of the best teams in B.C., and all of (the teams we faced) were top teams. They unfortunately hit a two-run shot with two outs and a full count in the seventh inning to tie it up, and we couldn’t score in the bottom half. Because it was a tournament, it ended in a tie, but we ended up getting a bye through the quarterfinal,” added McTavish.

After the round-robin, Vauxhall was first in their pool and had a bye to the semi-final. After the quarter-finals, the Jets were up against the Okotoks Dawgs. In a high-scoring affair, both teams would plate plenty of runs. It was a five-run sixth inning that sunk the Jets as they fell 10-7. Kitura hit the ball well and had a pair of doubles, Rivard and George each had a single and a double, and Bozek notched two hits. Getz and Carson each had a hit in the loss. Aiden Sloan was the starting pitcher for VAB and went 3.2 innings with four earned runs allowed on three hits and three walks. The starter also collected six strikeouts. Carter Bevans pitched out of the bullpen and gave Vauxhall 1.2 innings with four runs scoring (two earned) on three hits and two walks, while striking out a pair of Dawgs’ hitters. Ben Connolly was the next pitcher up and collected two outs, one being a strikeout. Two earned runs would score on two hits against Connolly. Cedric Leblanc was last up and provided an inning where he allowed two baserunners, but neither would score.

“We played against the Okotoks Dawgs, who eventually won the tournament. It was a good ball game, and we were up 2-1, and our starting pitcher, Aiden Sloan, hurt his knee, so we had to pull him due to injury. We just had a tough time stopping them after that, and it was kind of a combination of we made some mistakes defensively, and we didn’t execute a few pitches the way we would have liked,” said McTavish. “I’m proud of the guys because you know we went down 10-4 and we battled back to 10-7. We had a couple of guys on in the seventh, and the game was much closer than a 10-7 game as far as the outcome. Overall, it was a good weekend, and we played four very good teams. It was probably our best top-to-bottom weekend since the opening weekend in Vegas.”

After a long layoff of games due to weather, coaches were unsure how the team would come out of the break. They were pleasantly surprised at how well everyone was able to get into game action.

“I was really curious to see how we would respond to some time off, and I was really happy with how they did it. That’s a testament to the leadership group of the team, and ultimately, the kids are the ones who play. I thought they did a really good job of preparing and being ready — we were a little nervous early because it’s a big event. But as the old saying goes, you’re only as good as your starting pitcher. Our starting pitcher, Cal Andersen, was exceptional that opening night, and that got us off on the right foot,” added McTavish.

Looking at the four captains of the team — Kitura, George, Getz, and Thiessen — the coaching staff was happy with their leadership. Whether that be on the field or off, the layoff was challenging, but they were instrumental in getting the team game-ready.

“It’s different in our program; it’s not just leadership in the field or on the ice if you’re a hockey player, it’s 24 hours a day. Between the ballpark, school and everything else, we have four captains, and each of them has their own skill set and things that they bring to the table. Some of them are better off the field, some of them are better on the field, but I was really happy with the way they responded as a group, and they got the guys ready to go. We were going to have some adversity, and we faced some adversity, and for the most part throughout this spring, we haven’t really responded well to adversity. We really responded well when we had some adversity throughout the weekend,” explained McTavish.

The Jets are now scheduled to come home this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders against Badlands Academy.

“It’s grad weekend, so grad Friday and then we have a celebration with our baseball academy parents, family members, and players on Friday night. We have our awards dinner on Saturday night, where it’s just kind of a close family-only type thing,” said McTavish. We do lose four players again on Sunday. Will Zielinski,  Noah McIntosh, Cal Andersen, and Rogan Rivard all head down to the Dominican with Team Canada. We’re going to miss them for a couple of weeks, which is challenging, especially with our home tournament coming up, but happy and excited for them.”

First pitch on each day is scheduled for noon at Jets Stadium.