After a roller-coaster start on Friday night, where the boys found themselves trailing 7-1 after 4.5 innings of the opening game vs Niagara Falls - they had their backs against the wall early. But the Tincaps put up 8 runs in the bottom of the 5th to grab a 9-7 lead heading into the final inning. On this day there was no quit in Niagara Falls, who put up a 4-spot of their own to retake the lead at 11-9 heading into the Tincaps final at-bat. With only 3 outs left, the Tincaps made the most of it and scored on two straight passed balls to take advantage of some sloppy play on the part of their opponent - and scuttle away with a 12-11 victory - looking to regroup for Saturdays games.
The Saturday round robin games proved to be a better story. The Tincaps handled the Vaughan Vikings 14-1 in the morning contest, and defeated their 2017 Canadian Cooperstown counterparts, the Guelph Royals, in the afternoon game by a score of 8-3. This setup a semi-final match with the Clarington Orioles on Sunday morning.
Sunday mornings contest was a pitching dual from the outset. With both teams starting their aces, it was a tight affair for 5.5 innings, with the Tincaps clinging to a tumultuous 4-2 lead. Both teams were playing some outstanding defense, and some timely strikeouts and pick-offs kept the doors from being blown off early. Clarington was the first to crack, as the Tincaps exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning and run out the clock for a well played 11-2 victory and a birth in the Finals vs their local-league foes, the North London Nationals.
With both the Tincaps and Nationals a bit battle worn from a long weekend of baseball, it was the Tincaps who were able to set the tone in the final early, leading 7-1 after three innings and coasting to a 9-1 Championship win! It was good to see the boys come together and play selflessly - doing whatever it took to drive in runs with little consideration for individual accolades. Sac flies, bunting to advance runners, and making sure they executed on hit-and-runs as requested by their coaches - the entire team rallied together for this victory.
Congrats boys!