Baseball Ontario declares champs: Stratford and Port Lambton win three titles each
The Stratford Nationals won the 15U A Baseball Ontario title.
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Labor Day weekend means Baseball Ontario championships.
There were no less than 55 championships scheduled from 8U to senior ... from triple-A to class-D.
The Stratford Nationals won the 9U B, 12U B and 15U A, while the Port Lambton Pirates took the 15U C, 18 C and senior C crowns.
The Sarnia Brigade won 10UA and 14U AA, while the Woodstock Wranglers won 10U B and 12U AA.
We have a few winners ... and are looking for more ...
Front row from left, Luke Callander, Easton Palmer, Mason Harper, Coulter MacGregor, Cormac Hodgins, Ryland Van Gaver, Will Garton, back row, Jason Hodgins, Connor Pavey, Chris Garton, Hunter McKinlay, Noah Blain, Easton McKinlay, Brady Forbes and Brock Van Gaver. (Supplied)
9U B At Chatham _ Stratford Nationals.
Stratford began with an 11-7 win over Woodstock, then lost 9-2 to Welland, bounced back with a 12-5 win over Kawartha. A return meeting with Welland saw the Nationals take a 10-3 win in the quarter-final. The Nationals fell behind 7-0 early in the semifinal against Simcoe but rallied for an 11-7 comeback win. Stratford won the final 5-3.
10U A At Orilla _ Sarnia Bridge.
The Brigade beat the Uxbridge Grizzlies 14-0 in the final in Orillia. Sarnia knocked off the Brantford Red Sox 6-1 in a semifinal. They went 6-0 at the tournament while allowing only nine runs.
10U B At Stratford _ Woodstock Wranglers.
Woodstock won the 10U OBA ‘B’ title in Stratford.
The Wranglers edged their hosts Stratford WK Financial Nationals by a 9-8 margin. Woodstock opened with wins over Stratford 11-5 and LaSalle 12-2. After a 15-14 loss to Simcoe they registered victories over Grimsby 9-4 and 10-0 against Simcoe. The Wranglers trailed by four in the final but rallied for the win.
Stratford opened with an 11-5 loss to Woodstock, then knocked off Northumberland 16-5, Kingsville 9-4, Dorchester 9-8 -- thanks to a diving catch by Carson Schenck ending the game -- and Simcoe 15-2 to reach the finale.
Players include: Maddox Bowes, Parker Eaton, Clarke Gignac, Owen Gower, Grant Hamulecki, Ryder Hawkins, Everett Jukema, Sullivan MacDougall, Duncan Murphy, Trent Parsons, Finn Paton and Lynden Wilkins, along with head coach Jeff Shapton and assistant coaches Brady Shapton, Mark Hamulecki, Adam Gignac and Ty Shapton. (Submitted photo)
12U AA, at Bradford _ Woodstock Wranglers.
The Wranglers opened with a 6-5 extra-inning loss to St. Thomas in the opener. Rather than hanging heads, the Wranglers rallied to win gold. Woodstock beat Leaside 13-3, Waterdown 13-3, Ancaster 19-6 and Aurora 20-5 in the semifinal. Then in the final the Wrangles beat Guelph 6-4.
Players: Cole Morris, Dexter Powell, Jack Graul, Jackson Goebel, Jake Price, James Antonio, Marek Brander, Max Hughes, Max Barter, Quintin Parr, Reid Musselman and Will Molenhuis. Team staff include Jamie Antonio, Chris Musselman, Mark Price and Jamie Parr. (Submitted photo)
12U B, At Leamington _ Stratford Nationals
After consecutive losses in the OBA final, it looked like more of the same allowing four runs in the first, Stratford pulled ahead with four in the sixth inning in an 8-5 win. The Nationals opened with a 6-5 win over Tecumseh as Jackson Goebel singled home the game winner in the bottom of the eighth. Stratford rolled to a 15-0 win over Orangeville and Delaware-Komoka-Mt. Brydges 17-7. The Nats eliminated Leamington 15-7 in the semi-final and didn’t let a slow start stop them against Tecumseh in the championship.
12U Chatham _
The Diamonds were eliminated with their second loss.
13U B At Simcoe _ Chatham Diamonds.
Noah VanNeck walked leading off the top of the seventh, then proceeded to steal, second, third and home. The run stood as the game winner as Chatham edged the St. Thomas Cardinals 9-8.
The Diamonds, who scored 78 runs, put up a zero to run the table with a 5-0 record to win the title.
14U AAA At Etobicoke _ Stouffville.
Stouffville beat host Etobicoke 9-1 in the final.
14U AA, At Brantford _ Sarnia Brigade.
Sarnia beating the Markham Mariners 11-9. It was the Brigade’s fifth consecutive win after losing the opener.
14U B at Dorchester _ Chatham won its first two outing then saw a pair of defeats.
15U AAA At Leaside _ Mississauga Majors.
The Mississauga Majors defeated the Peterborough Tigers twice to win it all. First, 12-8 and then 12-0 to win the championship. The average runs per game on the weekend was 18 as Eglinton Ave. was bombarded as players used metal bats with -5 drop. The Senior league playoff the previous weekend and had bout four home runs, while the 15U players hit roughly 15 in and out of Talbot Park.
Back row from left: Kyle Priestap, Cooper Yantzi, Colten Brenzil, Owen Hunt, Rowan Bartlett, Tye Strickland, Logan MacMillan, Caden Diehl, Cam Knechtel, Joel Everett, Jason Knechtel, Ben Ehgoetz. Front row: Ethan Priestap, Alex Everett, Nolan Miller, Reed Bowles, Tucker Otto. (Submitted photo)
15U A Windsor _ Stratford Nationals.
Stratford went 5-0 to capture the ‘A’ championship, beating Ancaster in the final. The playdowns opened with a win over Royal York. A five-run lead evaporated in the top of the seventh, the Nats scored twice in the home half. Stratford beat Ancaster 11-0 win. In the quarter-finals the Nationals handled Halton Hills 11-9, thanks to Reed Bowles’ bases-loaded triple in the seventh. Stratford knocked off Mansfield 13-3 in the semi-final.
15U B at Tillsonburg
Diamonds started 2-0 but dropped the next two.
15U C at Port Lambton _ Port Lambton Pirates.
16U AAA at Hamilson _ Mississauga Tigers.
Coach Ryan Asis’ team knocked off West Toronto twice in a row by scores of 9-2 and 11-2.
18U B Chatham _ Chatham Diamonds.
18U C at Kingsville _ Port Lambton Pirates.
Senior C in Port Hope _ Port Lambton Pirates.
The Pirates capped a seven-game weekend with a 14-5 win over Essex in the gold-medal game, the third meeting between the teams at the tournament. Port Lambton The Pirates beat Essex 11-3 in the opener to start 5-0. Essex beat Port Lambton 5-2 to set up the winner-take-all rematch for OBA bragging rights. The winners scored 87 runs in the playdowns.