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Junior Whitecaps drop first three games at World Series, but enjoying experience continued from p.36 World Series, where the Oakville players' teal Whitecaps jerseys have been replaced by red, white and blue shirts with `Canada region' written across the chest. In Oakville's first game of the tournament Sunday, Puerto Rico hit two monstrous home runs on its way to a 10-run first inning and an eventual 11-3 victory. Monday, the Whitecaps saw the Czech Republic's South Moravia post five-run frames in the fifth and sixth innings to wipe out a 6-1 Oakville lead and defeat the Whitecaps 11-6. "(Teams) have pretty much done to us what we did all Canadian (championships) to the other teams," said Rigato. Oakville's hopes of advancing to the semifinals officially ended with yesterday's (Wednesday's) 13-3 loss to Panama's Aguadulce Cabezera. But, knowing they were huge underdogs going into the tournament, especially with such a short turnaround following the national championships, the Whitecaps' goal at the World Series was simply to be competitive and enjoy the experience. "We've kind of hit our wall. I think (the players) are tired. I think we're all tired, even the coaches. We've been home just two days in the last month, we've been on the road since the 24th of July," said Rigato, whose team won the provincial title in Nepean before heading to Alberta. "I can't begin to tell you how proud the kids are to be here. It's just an amazing experience to wear Team Canada on your chest, it really is... And we're all proud to be the first Oakville team. This particular group, the core of eight or nine kids, has been together since they were nine years old. They've had a lot of pressure on them. Everyone's always annointed them as the chosen team that would one day make it." Whitecaps teams had come close in the past. Both the intermediate and junior teams qualified for the national championships last year, with the juniors reaching the final. Players from both of those teams are on this year's junior squad. "They've got momentum now. Nick's doing a great job leading the team. He's a great coach, a great leader with the kids, and he's great with the parents," said OLL president John Sweeney, who left for Michigan Tuesday and will watch two games in Taylor before making his annual pilgrimage to the Little League Baseball World Series (the 12-under tournament) this weekend in Williamsport, Pa. "This has been an outstanding few days for us. This is just a huge thing for the league. We're going to see repercussions from this in a positive way. More interest will be coming our way." NOTES: Dylan Whittaker scored twice for Oakville in Sunday's loss to Puerto Rico, and Nathan Shute also crossed the plate. Just four of Puerto Rico's 10 runs in the first inning were earned... Steven Hospital went 2-for-3, scored two runs and drove in one Monday versus Czech Republic. Jack Swanson, Owen Coleman, Emily Baxter and Jibran Qureshi also scored runs, and James St. Louis had three runs batted in. Starting pitcher Brian Bowman held the Czechs scoreless until the fourth inning... Bernn Tabuyog had two hits and an RBI yesterday, when Shute, Hospital and Whittaker scored runs... Qureshi (.643 average), Whittaker (.577), Swanson (.556) and Bowman (.536) were Oakville's top hitters at the national championships. Bowman and Swanson led the Whitecaps in RBI with 11 apiece, followed by Tabuyog (10) and Nicholas Jaeggin (eight). Whittaker and Hospital were the top pitchers, each collecting a pair of wins... Other members of the Oakville squad are Michael Cummings and Graham Hamel. Anthony Rigato, Jonathan Del Pozo, Stephen McPhaden and Mike Lunder are the team's assistant coaches. 37 | Thursday, August 20, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com Dylan Kent swims to victory in the 500-metre event at the recent LOST Race along the Oakville shoreline. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog Oakville native wins abbreviated LOST Race The water wasn't comfortable, but Dylan Kent's victory was. Kent, a 24-year-old Oakville native, won the 500-metre title by more than a minute at the eighth annual LOST Race, held recently in Lake Ontario along the Oakville shoreline. The LOST Race, organized and hosted by the Oakville-based Lake Ontario Swim Team, traditionally features a point-to-point 3.8-kilometre course. However, after a rollover (when cold water from the bottom of the lake is brought up to the surface) dropped Lake Ontario temperatures from 70 degrees Fahrenheit to 43F a week before the event, organizers chose to alter this year's race and offer 500m and 1,000m competitions. Kent completed the course in a time of eight minutes, 14 seconds, followed by top female Kristen Sanhueza of Mississauga (9:27). Cambridge's Greg Streppel won the 1,000m race, posting a time of 11:40 to finish well ahead of second-place-finisher Soma Yaghmour of Toronto (12:15). Four-time LOST Race champion Lynn Rodgers of Burlington was the top female in the 1,000m (16:24). Thirty swimmers competed in the 500m race, and 44 participated in the 1,000m event. The water temperature on race day was 52F . Oakville Aquatic Club product Zack Chetrat, a silver medalist at the recent Pan Am Games and an Olympic hopeful for Rio 2016, was the celebrity starter for the race. Oakville mayor Rob Burton also attended. Hawks win gold, two silver at provincial box lacrosse finals For the second straight year, an Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association team is a provincial box lacrosse champion. The bantam A Hawks won the Ontario title Sunday with a 5-1 victory over the Whitby Warriors at Oakville's Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. The local peewees and midgets nearly matched the bantams' accomplishment, each reaching the provincial championship game before settling for silver. Coverage of Sunday's provincial finals will appear in tomorrow's (Friday's) edition of the Beaver. It can also be found on our website at bit. ly/1My0Cpc. High Efficiency FURNACE & CENTRAL AIR ONLY AIRE ONE MADNESS SALE! 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