The London West Tincaps 12u team used polished defense, big bats, and stellar pitching to earn this team's first LDBA Championship this past weekend.
After a strong regular season, the second seed Tincaps faced off Friday night against the fifth seed Strathroy Royals. Tincaps got steady pitching from Andrew G., Brady B., Rylen R. and Aussie M., holding the Royals to 8 runs. But that wa
s enough, as the Tincaps bats were on fire. Brady B. led the way going 3 for three at the plate with 3 RBI's, and James M. put the icing on the cake with his first dinger of the year! The Tincaps won the high scoring affair 12-8.
In a strange turn of events, the first seed Sarnia Braves didn't show for their Friday night game, resulting in a forfeit - meaning t
hat the Tincaps now faced off against their toughest regular-season rivals in their first game on Saturday. Despite some excellent Braves pitching, the Tincaps bats stayed hot and they got to the Braves starter early. Jude R. and Nolan E. drove in batters in the first to get things going. Carter D. started the game for the Tincaps in what would be the start of a dominant weekend from the Tincaps pitcher. The Tincaps defense was also airtight, with no errors on the game. The Tincaps bats kept coming, and Sarnia's defense started to show holes - leading to an 11-5 elimination of the Brave's on Saturday morning. Nobody saw this coming!
Saturday afternoon's game was against the out-classed St. Thomas Cardinals. Again, the Tincaps bats were too much for their competition and the 'Caps cruised to an easy 13-5 Victory. Tincaps pitchers Michael J., Owen P. and Jude R. held firm, stopping a brief 3rd inning push by the Cardinals. Another error-free game from the defense gave the Tincaps a lot of confidence heading into Sunday.
After watching a thrilling walk-off victory by the North London Nationals to eliminate St. Thomas from the tournament in the Sunday morning game, the stage was set for an exciting LDBA Championship Game.
With dominant victories and good pitching management leading into the last day, the Tincaps were firmly in the driver's seat entering into Sunday, having to be beat twice in the double knockout format tournament and had all pitchers available for the day. The Tincaps would only need one arm however, with Carter D. getting the nod for the start. The Nationals were not going to make this easy though, and a pitchers duel through the first 3 innings had Tincaps fans on the edge of their seats. Jude R. opened the scoring with a 2 RBI single in the third inning, then Jake I., Rylen R., Owen P. and Nick V. all had clutch hits in the 6th inning to seal the 7-0 victory for the Tincaps! Carter D. was again outstanding going the distance for a complete game 7 inning shutout!
Congrats boys - you earned this Championship with a full TEAM effort, hard work and contributions from all 12 players!
Bring on the OBA's - GO TINCAPS!