18U OBA Finalists at OBA 'B' Provincial Championships, News (Mitchell Minor Baseball)

The Michelle Chessell Remax Realty 18U OBA Astros captured the silver medal on August 25th at the 18U OBA 'B' Provincial Championships in Chatham, falling 5-0 to the champion Simcoe Giants.  The final game had been rain-delayed from the previous weekend.

Out-hitting their opponent in the final game was not enough as Mitchell collected eight hits to Simcoe's seven.  Ryan Klumper led Mitchell with three hits, but timely errors and coming up short moving runners in scoring position proved to be the Astros' downfall.  Ryan Hubbard took the loss for Mitchell with a superb start, going six innings, giving up five runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking three.
Mitchell opened tournament play last Friday morning in Blenheim, facing their eventual finalist foe Simcoe to start things off.  Managing only two hits, the Astros couldn't keep up with the Simcoe offense, as starter Joel Meinen was tagged for five runs in the first inning.  Charlie Wolfe & Klumper finished up in relief of Meinen.
Now facing elimination after the opening loss, the Astros would get things back on track later that afternoon with a 12-4 victory over the Northumberland Jacks.  Caleb Templeman collected three hits in four at bats, driving in the opening run in the top half of the first inning.  Dominic Marshall reached base on a two-out single, and back-to-back singles by Kellen Russwurm and Templeman opened the scoring.  Keegan Priestap's RBI single added to the lead in the next inning, who then scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-0.  Northumberland battled back to tie it until Mitchell would regain the lead in the fourth on an RBI base hit by Marshall, followed by a two-run triple by Russwurm into the right field corner.  Meinen would also triple in the fifth and score on a passed ball.  Priestap, Klumper, and Hayden Nicholson would split the pitching duties for the Astros.
The Astros would double up the Orillia Royals 8-4 on Saturday morning, as starter Templeman went 5 1/3 innings giving up all four runs with five strikeouts.  Meinen would finish in relief.  Meinen and Templeman were also a one-two punch at the plate, as each drove in two runs in the victory.  Jarrett Van Bakel and Payton Wood each collected two hits for the Astros, and Russwurm led with three walks.  Charlie Wolfe, Wood, and Russwurm each stole multiple bases.
Next up was the Halton Hills Eagles, and the Astro bats once again went to work in the top half of the opening inning as Van Bakel drove in Ethan Jarmuth who had doubled to start the game and Meinen had an RBI groundout to score Templeman.  Halton Hills tied it in the bottom of the second inning and had the go-ahead runner at third, but was picked off by pitcher Jack Small on a rundown with catcher Russwurm.  The Astros would regain the lead in the third with Jarmuth aboard on a hit-by-pitch, scoring on a two-out RBI double by Russwurm.  Insurance runs were added in the final inning as Wood singled, Jarmuth walked, and Van Bakel belted a triple to left field scoring Wood but Jarmuth was thrown out at the plate attempting to score.  Van Bakel would also come in on a passed ball to make the final score 6-2 for the Astros.  Winning pitcher Jack Small went the distance on the mound, scattering nine hits with five strikeouts, giving up two runs.  The Astros now had earned a berth in the semi-finals.
Sunday morning brought a matchup against long-time rival Wyoming Wranglers, with Hubbard taking the mound for Mitchell.  This was a seesaw battle all game, with Mitchell finally coming out on top at the end exploding for six runs after being down 6-4 to start the last inning.  Van Bakel had a huge game at the plate, driving in four runs on two hits, with the big blow being a bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning to erase a 3-1 deficit.  Starter Hubbard surrendered 10 hits and five runs over 5 1/3 with six strikeouts, and Wolfe would earn the win in relief.  Hitting back-to-back, Van Bakel and Russwurm each collected two hits and stole multiple bases.
Congrats to this fine group of young men on another very successful season, finishing with a record of 28-5-2!