U.S. 6 CANADA 2
It was a silver lining that dotted the clouds in Seoul, South Korea on Saturday as sa国际传媒 settled for being second best at the World U18 Baseball Championship.
A 6-2 loss to the United States in the final left sa国际传媒 with the silver medal, the nation's first topthree placing since claiming bronze in 2006.
But sa国际传媒's lone representative on the team, Jesse Hodges of Victoria, still wore a golden smile.
One of the tournament's top hitters, who was named an all-star, also managed to sign a deal with the Chicago Cubs organization two days before the championship game. A golden moment for the Lambrick Park and Victoria Mariners graduate, who was overlooked at the Major League Baseball draft this summer.
"I signed with the Chicago Cubs," Hodges said proudly over the phone shortly after the loss. "It was a great week overall. I had a great time with all the boys. I played well. Coming second in the world wasn't a goal of ours, but we'll take it and I'm proud to be a Canadian right now."
And just as proud to have achieved a goal he has had for quite some time now, earning a shot at the Big Leagues, starting from the bottom rung on the minor league ladder. "One hundred per cent," he said in acknowledgment. "That's what I was looking for."
Hodges will return home this week and then head out to Arizona Instructional League.
The Mariners shortstop, who played third base for sa国际传媒, caught the scouts' eyes immediately in Seoul.
"I came into this tournament hoping to do some things and I started off on the right foot with that home run against Japan," said Hodges, who ended up leading the entire tournament in hits with 15, including the one homer and four doubles.
He finished with a .484 batting average (15 of 31), second overall behind Marciano Phillippi of the Netherlands, although Hodges played almost twice as many games. His slugging percentage was .710 and on-base percentage was .583, both just behind Phillippi.
"I was swinging the bat well, trying to hit the ball hard at the time and do something to help us win a ball game. That's all I cared about," said Hodges. "I sprayed it all over the ball park and had a lot of hits to show for it."
Hodges' single in the second inning on Saturday was the first hit of the game for both teams and he scored the opening run. The Americans came back with a run in the bottom of the second and added three more in the third and sa国际传媒 never really recovered.
"It was bittersweet, we battled hard and wanted to win, but we have to be proud about a silver," said Hodges, who was 1-for-3 with a a run scored and an intentional walk in the final. "They got some lucky breaks. There were deflections that ended up in the outfield.
"We battled, it wasn't like we gave up. They just beat us today. But silver in this tournament - we'll take that. We have to keep our heads up."
His former coach certainly was.
"I am so proud of him, that's awesome," said Mariners manager Mike Chewpoy. "It was like, when he didn't get drafted, he decided to show everyone. He hit like .500 the rest of the way in the (sa国际传媒 Junior Premier League), then he went off at Worlds.
"I'm so happy for him and any time sa国际传媒 can medal in baseball, we'll take it," added Chewpoy. "He, alone, was one of the biggest reasons they got to that final game."
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