Boasting a 35-2-1 regular season record and armed with nine returning players from their championship team of a year ago, the Kelowna Sun Devils can be excused for being confident of a repeat at the B.C. 18U AAA provincial baseball tournament this week in Burnaby.

But with the success and experience comes the knowledge nothing can be taken for granted.

Photo Credit: ContributedThe Kelowna Sun Devils begin their quest for a second straight provincial 18U championship on Thursday. Members of the team are, from left, front: Jack Janzen, David Osborn, Blake Badger, Spencer Klassen, Rob Law (head coach), Jaimes Guidon, Tyson Lamb, Dreyton Nelmes and Nathan Ringness-Law. Back: Derek Renneberg (pitching coach), Jordan Laidlaw, Matt Fuchs, Connor Lamb, Logan Bligh, Adam Renneberg, Brady Renneberg, Jackson Sowerby, Ethan Soroka and Jeff Bligh (assistant coach).“In any provincial tournament you have to go in confident and be able to execute the things that made you successful during the regular season,” said Sun Devils’ head coach Rob Law, whose team begins play in the eight-team event on Thursday in pool play. “It takes five wins, 35 innings and 105 outs to win a provincial title and our guys need to be prepared for every pitch, every out in every inning.”

That said, Law adds there are no guarantees for a team that dominated all but the second-place Cowichan Valley Mustangs in the regular season.

Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowHead coach Rob Law not taking anything for granted heading into eight-team provincial tournament.“We expect every team to throw their best pitchers against us and we need to be ready. There are some very good teams which are very well coached, so we need to be at our best to make a run at the gold medal.”

The Sun Devils will ease into the tournament on Thursday against eighth-place Richmond City at 3 p.m. and will meet fifth-place Cloverdale at 9 a.m. on Friday. A third round-robin pool game sees the defending champions taking on fourth-place North Shore beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday.

Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowEthan Soroka, a key performer on the mound going into Provincials, finished the regular season on a high note.The first- and second-place teams cross over for semifinal play on Sunday morning while the winners meet for the provincial championship on Sunday afternoon.

The Sun Devils will go into Burnaby riding a six-game winning streak, four of those games being played on the past weekend at Edith Gay Park in Kelowna.

Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowRookie Adam Renneberg drove in three runs in the Sun Devils' final regular-season game.In a rematch with second-place Cowichan Valley on Sunday, the Sun Devils avenged their two losses to the Mustangs earlier this month by defeating the visitors 4-1 and 13-1.

Ethan Soroka (4-1) anchored the first win, pitching 6  1/3 innings and striking out five. Nathan Ringness-Law came on in the seventh for his third save of the season.

Photo Credit: Lorne White/KelownaNowThe Sun Devils' Jackson Sowerby takes a .407 batting average into the provincial tournament.Offensively, Matt Fuchs (.354), Brady Renneberg (.362) and David Osborn (.255) all contributed two hits while James Guidon (.309) and Ringness-Law (.348) chipped in with a single.

The final game of the regular season saw the Sun Devils’ Blake Badger and Adam Renneberg (.315) both punch out a single and a double while Renneberg drove in three runs. Jackson Sowerby (.407) finished with two runs-batted-in.

A day earlier, the Sun Devils breezed to 10-4 and 12-2 wins over the Victoria Eagles.