Down 10-9 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, the BLC Group Knights needed a hero.

And with the game in his hands, Andrew Schmidt made no mistake.

The Knights slugger sent a no-doubt two-run rocket over the left-field wall to give his team a walkoff victory over Coke in the Whitehorse Co-Ed Slo-Pitch League Div. 2 opening tournament final Sunday afternoon.

Sheldon Cebuliak led off the inning with a double off the Pepsi Softball Centre wall, before advancing to third on a groundout by Devon Golubic to set the stage for Schmidt.

“We were down off the first at bat, but like all weekend, we came back with our hits and runs to equal each inning,” said Knights player Scott Horsey. “As resilient as we are, we kept it close, gave ourselves a chance to win and pulled it out today.”

Coke had seized the lead in the top of the seventh on a home run by shortstop Ryan Lane.

But the back-and-forth game ended with Schmidt’s towering drive to left off Coke pitcher Mike Arnold.

“It’s amazing,” Horsey said of the tournament victory. “Our guys and girls couldn’t be prouder. Everyone stuck to the gameplan. We stuck to having fun and sometimes fun pulls it out for you.”

Coke captain Meghan Stonehouse said the hour-and-a-half break between games Sunday affected her side.

“Our sticks were dead,” she said. “We’re a better team when we’re playing back-to-back games. We just weren’t hitting well.”

The young squad played some stingy defence throughout the weekend to earn their way to the championship game.

“We’re doing really well this year,” Stonehouse added. “We’re undefeated in league, and we went undefeated until this game here.”

The game featured a 20-minute delay after Coke outfielder Derrik Anderson suffered an injury following a collision with teammate Graeme Carruthers.

With a light rain falling from the sky, the two players crashed heavily while attempting to track down a long fly off the bat of Luke Lindquist.

“They both dove and Derrik’s shoulder ended up colliding with Graeme’s hip,” said Stonehouse.

Carruthers made the catch for the first out in the bottom of the sixth, but his teammate was left motionless on the field.

Members of both teams gatherered around Anderson in centre, shielding him from the rain with blankets. He was later carted off the field by paramedics, before being treated at the hospital then released.

Stonehouse said he suffered a separated shoulder and pulled groin and will be out for six to eight weeks.

With Anderson due up in the top of the seventh and no male subs on the bench, Coke had to request reinforcements from the Div. 3 final, which was happening simultaneously.

Home plate umpire Bud Arnold, who is also a member of Coke, left that game to fill in for Anderson, but lined out to left for the third out of the inning.

Other Knights players were Crystelle Cebuliak, Ashly Risby, Tamara Horsey, Heather Elliott, Dave Outerbridge, Blake Dorion and Heidi Harry.

Coke beat the Yukon Inn Wild, then Wounded Deere twice en route to the final, while the Knights downed the CRE Bears, Rockhard Rebels, Fountain Tire Mudders and Bounty Hunters before the championship game.

Other competing clubs were the Solstice Slammin’ Salmons, YTM Hobos, NGC Hawks, TNT (Total North), Jay Tech Jays and Unity Clothing.