British Columbia's Kennedy-Surrey LL started slowly in the 1996 Canadian Region tournament, but following an opening round loss to Toronto High Park, Kennedy-Surrey outscored its opponents by a 37-1 margin to win its first ever Canadian championship.

Toronto High Park used a three-hitter by David Woroniak and capitalized on several Kennedy-Surrey defensive miscues to beat the B.C. champions 6-1 on the tournament's opening day. Kennedy-Surrey pitchers Adam Loewen and Anthony Miller then shut down opposing offenses to lead Kennedy-Surrey back to the title. Calgary Fish Creek scored the only other run that Kennedy-Surrey allowed in a 7-1 loss, then the B.C. pitchers hurled a no-hitter (Miller's 6-0 win over Glace Bay, Nova Scotia), a one-hitter (Loewen's 17-0 shutout of host Prince George Nechako), a two-hitter (Miller's win over Valleyfield, Quebec that clinched a spot in the title game), and a three-hitter (Loewen's shutout of Toronto High Park in the title game).

Toronto High Park, Kennedy-Surrey, and Valleyfield all entered the tournament's final day with 3-1 records. High Park had suffered a 5-4 extra inning loss to Valleyfield, and needed only to beat the host team to clinch a spot in the title game. Valleyfield and Kennedy-Surrey faced each other in another final day matchup, and the winner was guaranteed a spot in the championship round.

Kennedy-Surrey advanced when Miller outdueled Valleyfield ace Luc Langevin 2-0. Miller, a control pitcher who relied on location and a sharp breaking ball, struck out five and allowed only two hits, while power pitcher Langevin surrendered a pair of early runs. Kennedy-Surrey scored in the first when Miller and Geoff Friesen executed a double steal that resulted in Friesen stealing home. They added an insurance run in the second when Kurt Schaufele's single drove in Ryan Starchuk.

High Park rolled into the title game with a 13-0 four inning rout of Prince George Nechako. Eleven-year-old Brenden Gabel threw three one-hit innings and blasted a grand slam home run to pace the High Park attack. The pitching victory was Gabel's second of the tournament.

In the title game, Loewen quieted the High Park attack. The left-hander allowed only three hits and escaped a bases-loaded, one out jam in the fourth inning before cruising to the win. Loewen drove in the game's first run when his first inning double scored Friesen. Joey Stryjak's RBI single in the fourth padded the lead, and Stryjak's double in the sixth keyed a three run rally that provided the final margin of victory.

Linescores:

Championship Game	1	2	3	4	5	6		R	H	E
Kennedy-Surrey	1	0	0	1	0	3		5	10	0
Toronto High Park	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	3	1

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