The South Central Cubs are provincial champions after an undefeated weekend at the U13 AA Baseball Provincials in Portage la Prairie. The Cubs went a perfect 6-0, finishing their tournament with a dramatic 5-4 victory over the host Portage team in Sunday's championship game. "It couldn't be more exciting," said Cubs head coach Kris Friesen after the win. "For our boys, the message was just to never back down. We believed in ourselves. We believed in our hitting, our pitching. Everything just came through. It was amazing to see." Strong start leads to championship run South Central opened the tournament by defeating Red River 2-0 before adding a 5-3 win over Parkland in round robin play. The Cubs kept rolling on Saturday with a 17-11 victory over Carillon Grey, followed by a 17-9 win against Bonivital to finish first in their pool. That first-place finish earned the team a bye directly into Sunday's semifinal. Waiting there was Carillon Black, and South Central punched its ticket to the championship game with a 7-4 victory. The final against the hometown Portage squad came down to the wire, with the Cubs holding on for a thrilling 5-4 win to claim the provincial title. Related stories: Winkler baseball player part of historic first at Cooperstown tournament Orioles season comes to end, but future very, very bright Composure in the biggest moment While the championship game was the most intense contest of the weekend, Friesen said it was also the calmest his players had been all tournament. "This is the calmest game we played the whole weekend and it was by far the most intense game," he said. "It just goes to show how the parents have brought their kids up and what an amazing job they did." Friesen also credited the tournament hosts for navigating weather delays and organizing a successful provincial championship, while praising the Portage team for a hard-fought final. The championship caps off an impressive weekend for the South Central Cubs, who relied on timely hitting, strong pitching and poise under pressure to bring the U13 AA provincial title home.