Jul 16, 2017 | Trevor Russwurm | 757 views
Mosquito OBA Reach Semi-Finals in Rain-Shortened Tournament
The Stickhandler Mosquito OBA Astros competed in the 2017 Rob Davidson Mosquito Tournament in Kincardine this weekend, going 2-1 and reaching the semi-finals only to have the tournament cancelled on Sunday due to wet diamond conditions from morning rain.
The Astros opened the tournament on Friday night vs an unknown opponent, the Flesherton Rangers. The visiting Rangers scored three runs on starter Dominic Marshall in the opening inning, but it would be all they would get as the Astros took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the third inning and eventually cruised to a 19-3 mercy victory after four innings. Marshall went the distance on the mound, facing only ten batters in the final three innings. Reaching base safely in each at-bat were Josh French, Jarrett Van Bakel, Jack Small, Lucas Roobroeck, and Ryan Hubbard, with French and Small each scoring all three times. Extra base hits were recorded by Marshall, French, Roobroeck, Jordan Visneskie, and Caleb Templeman, and Van Bakel belted a two-run homer in the final inning.
On Saturday afternoon, the locals faced longtime rival Listowel Legionnaires for the first time this season. The bats were apparently still hung over from Friday night, as just six base runners were managed all game in a 10-2 loss. Down 3-0 going into the bottom of the fourth, Marshall stroked a one-out single and worked his way around the bases, eventually scoring on Carson Harmer's RBI groundout. Listowel would answer back with five runs in the top of the fifth to take an 8-1 lead. Van Bakel would score the only other Mitchell run in the fifth after leading off with a single. French started on the mound and was relieved by Templeman, with Hubbard coming on in the last inning to finish up.
Game three of the round robin would determine the number three and four seed for the playoff round, as Mitchell squared off with league rival Saugeen Shores in a rubber match of a 2-2 season series. Hubbard drew the start on the mound, and Saugeen opened the scoring in the first inning with one run. Mitchell would answer back in the bottom half as Marshall drew a walk to open the inning, eventually scoring on French's RBI groundout. A tight pitching and defensive dual had the score tied 3-3 after 5 1/2 innings. Jack Miller hit a one-out triple in the third, followed by Harmer's RBI base hit. Harmer would then score on a double by French. This set the stage for an exciting finish in the bottom of the sixth as French reached base with one out. Visneskie then hit a screaming line drive to centre that bounced past the fielder, scoring French with the eventually winning run as the game was called for time limit with Mitchell up 4-3, locking up the #3 seed in the playoff round and a rematch with Listowel.
Unfortunately they also had to battle Mother Nature, and the Sunday playoff round was rained out.