Aug 27, 2018 | Lukas Richardson 3.0 (2024) | 1246 views
Tincaps 13u Have Strong Showing in City Playoffs
The Tincaps 13u team represented themselves well in a rain-delayed and extended "A" side playoff weekend in Komoka.
The boys opened up with a game Thursday night vs the Sarnia Braves. As expected, the Braves had their ace on the hill on opening night. After keeping it close for the first five innings, while still holding a 2-1 lead, the Tincaps forced Sarnia into their bullpen, and promptly blew the doors open. They scored 6 runs in the 5th, and coasted to a 9-3 victory.
This setup a game 2 matchup with the perennial favorite Wyoming Wranglers. The Wranglers came out of the gate quickly, and took advantage of some sloppy defensive play on the part of the Tincaps. It wasn't one of the best efforts on the field by the Tincaps, and the Wranglers coasted to an 11-2 victory. Time to regroup.
The loss set-up a rematch with the Sarnia Braves for Saturday morning. The weird format of the tourney (starting on Thursday) meant the Braves were eligible to use their ace again in their rematch of the Tincaps. Lacking pitching depth, it may have been their only option. But after putting up a 4 spot in the bottom of the first, the Tincaps knocked the Braves pitcher from the game with a sore arm. The game ended up being a back and forth affair from that point, with the Braves taking a one run lead in the final inning. In the bottom of the inning, and the leadoff batter getting out, the Tincaps pinch hitter came through with a bloop single. He promptly stole second and third on the Braves pitcher/catcher combo. The next batter walked, and he too, stole second base - putting the winning run in scoring position with one out. On an 0-1 count, Owen Brown hit a deep fly ball to centre for a double, and after a close play at the plate, the Tincaps walked-off the Braves to knock them from the tourney!
After a rain cancellation of the remaining games on Saturday, this setup a do-or-die game with the Tillsonburg Otters to go to the finals. The Otters had defeated the Tincaps in two regular season meetings that were intense showdowns. And after having an undefeated season, the Otters may have underestimated their opponent on this day - looking past them to the finals. The Otters promptly took a 4-1 lead after one inning, and may have thought they could coast to another victory - but not on this day. The Tincaps stayed scrappy, and managed to score runs in every inning by taking advantage of their opponents weak defensive play. The game got chippy as the Otters showed they were unaccustomed to playing without the lead - but the Tincaps remained strong and didn't allow the Otters to score another run in the 10-4 shellacking of the Otters.
This put the Tincaps into the finals vs the undefeated Wyoming Wranglers. And after such an emotional win vs the Otters, the boys kept things going and jumped out to a 7-0 lead after 5 innings on the stunned Wranglers. The Tincaps pitcher, Roman 'Hammer' Sawchuk kept the Wyoming hitters off-balance all day. But on this day it wasn't enough, and the bullpen couldn't hold down the tenacious Wrangler batters. After tying the game in the bottom of the 7th, Wyoming forced the game into extra innings. The Wranglers promptly loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the eighth, and were able to walk-off the Tincaps to secure the City 'A' side Championship.
It was a fantastic effort on the part of the Tincaps this weekend. The coaches were very impressed with the fight and heart the players displayed - and the lessons learned in playing some intense and tightly contested games against strong opponents. Let's bring the same effort into AA OBA's on Labour Day weekend and represent the Tincaps association with the same grit and determination!
#GoTincapsGo