Canada Day was golden for two Cloverdale baseball teams.
After the 13U AA Rangers won gold on July 1, the Cloverdale Spurs 10U team stepped up to the plate and captured a gold medal of their own.
The 10U Spurs went a perfect 6-0 on their way to winning the 2025 Boulanger Memorial Tournament.
The tourney was held at Cloverdale Ball Park June 28 to July 1 with several teams from the Lower Mainland and from around the province competing.
“The boys are off to a great start this summer ball season,” said Crystal Camire, whose son plays on the squad.
The 10U Spurs finished 4-0 after round-robin games and added two more W's in the playoff round.
The Spurs opened the tournament by putting up a whopping 18 runs on the North Langley Trappers, winning a barn-burner 18-11. In their second tilt, they outlasted White Rock 6-4. Cloverdale then beat Penticton 10-6. Then they downed Chilliwack 11-8 to close out pool play.
In the semifinal, the Spurs faced Penticton again, this time only beating them by two runs, 11-9.
In the championship final, the Cloverdale squad battled the Abbotsford Angels, winning the golden game, and the tournament, 11-8.
In a strong showing for Cloverdale teams, five of the six championship finals in the Boulanger featured hometown teams.
Boulanger Memorial Tournament
The annual Boulanger Memorial Tournament is held every Canada Day weekend at Cloverdale Ball Park for summer ball teams from U8 to U15. The tourney is named for long time Spurs coach and Cloverdale Minor Baseball Association (CMBA) volunteer John Boulanger. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 56.
In 2014, Todd Boulanger, John’s son, told the Abbotsford Minor Baseball Association his dad’s connection with, and affection for, minor baseball only began by chance.
“When another coach decided to quit, my Dad was the one that stepped up and coached,” Todd said in a post on abbotsfordbaseball.ca. “He coached me in my earlier years but stopped when it got a little more serious.”
After he quit coaching, Todd said he began volunteering.
“He was constantly at the field hours before the game cutting grass, edging the field, liming the field etc.,” Todd said. “He and another dad would be sitting at the park drinking coffee waiting for teams to arrive so they could see their reaction to the design in the infield they made with the mower. Years after I left Cloverdale he would still go down to the ballpark to watch games.”
Boulanger left a legacy of service to the CMBA and the Cloverdale community, which is reflected in the Boulanger Memorial Tournament.
