Aug 29, 2019 | Trevor Russwurm | 596 views
Peewee OBA Astros Fall to Cambridge in ICBA Final
The Mitchell Stratford RV Peewee OBA Astros held off playoff elimination three times this past week, with a lopsided win over #1 seed Listowel Legionnaires plus walk-off wins over Waterloo and Cambridge. The locals finally succumbed to Cambridge in the final game, as they were previously undefeated and had to be beaten twice.
The Astros began the week on Tues Aug 20th with a rain-delayed elimination game vs #1 seed Listowel, starting the game on the bats. The locals went right to work as leadoff batter Carson Harmer reached base, scoring on Caleb Templeman's RBI single. Jordan Visneskie would follow with a two-run home run out of the park for a quick 3-0 lead. Visneskie would also homer again and double later, leading the Astros to a 12-1 win. Extra base hits were also recorded by Cody Bach and Josh French, and Visneskie and Templeman each scored three times. Visneskie recorded the win on the mound, eliminating Listowel from the tournament.
After rain once again delayed the next round of games another night, play would resume on Thurs Aug 21st against the Waterloo Tigers, with Mitchell drawing the home team as the higher seed. The Waterloo bats quickly went to work, touching starter French for five runs in the opening inning. But the Astros would chip away, finding themselves down 8-7 going into the bottom of the seventh. French would reach base with one out, scampering home in a frenzy on Templeman's walkoff two-run home run out of the park!
The locals then headed across town for their second game of the night, facing the undefeated Cambridge Cubs in the championship final. Once again down 2-0 after the opening inning, the locals would battle back and forth all game in an exciting matchup for the fans, and found themselves in a similar situation in the bottom of the seventh, down to their last three outs trailing 6-5. Kellen Russwurm reached base to start the inning, driven in by French to tie the game. With French on third, Visneskie hit a deep fly ball just out of reach of the Cambridge outfielder, scoring French for the second consecutive walk-off victory of the night!
The two teams would square off again one last time at Stratford's S.E.R.C. diamond on Monday August 29th, with the winner going home as ICBA Peewee Tier 2 Champions for 2019. The Mitchell defense looked a little sleepy, as an error, two sacrifice bunts, and a base hit off of starter Ryan Hubbard quickly had two runs in for the Cubs. Cambridge would add two more runs in the top of the third to build a 4-0 lead, before the Astros would storm back with three runs of their own in the bottom half to cut the deficit to one. Jack Miller reached base to start the inning, scoring on Jarrett Van Bakel's RBI double. Van Bakel and French would also score. But that would be all the offense the Astros could manage, as Cambridge would add two more insurance runs and strike out a season high nine Mitchell batters for an eventual 6-3 championship win.
The Peewee Astros will now turn their attention to the OBA Peewee 'C' Championship being hosted in Waterdown, facing Clinton on Friday Aug 29th at 5:00pm.