Jul 11, 2023 | Trevor Russwurm | 229 views
Murray Throws No-Hitter; 18U OBA Astros Champs in Welland
Backed by the no-hitter pitching performance of Kale Murray in the semi-final, the Mitchell Quadro Communications 18U OBA Astros went undefeated in Welland July 7-9th to capture the championship in the annual Junior Jackfish Grand Slam.
The locals began round robin play on Friday afternoon with a lopsided 21-1 victory over the Collingwood Blue Jays 18U Select team. Luke Murray hurled a complete-game victory for the Astros with six strikeouts, and every batter in the lineup would score at least once. Extra-base hits were recorded by Kellen Russwurm & Murray.
15U call-up Charlie Wolfe would draw the Saturday morning start, leading Mitchell to a 16-0 win over the Orangeville Bengals. Will Korver would combine with Wolfe in relief on the shutout. Leadoff hitter Jarrett Van Bakel was 2 for 2 with two walks, a double, triple, and four runs scored to pace the attack. Three runs were scored by Wolfe, and Jordan Visneskie would add a pair.
Mitchell would draw Kingsville in the final round-robin matchup on Saturday afternoon. After giving up a single to the leadoff batter to begin the game, starter Keegan Priestap settled in the rest of the way, allowing only one more hit and zero runs before giving way to Caleb Templeman to finish up the 12-2 victory. Van Bakel continued his torrid hitting, reaching base in all four at-bats.
Finishing up the round robin as the top seed, the Astros drew the #4 seed Grimsby Coyotes 15U entry in the Sunday morning semi-final, setting the stage for Kale Murray's complete game no-hitter 5-0 victory with twelve strikeouts. Van Bakel could not be stopped again, going 3-for-3 with a run scored and four stolen bases.
The Astros would face familiar foe Kingsville again in the Sunday afternoon final, with Priestap drawing the start giving up two hits in four innings before maxing out his pitch count. Scoreless after two innings, the locals erupted for five runs in the bottom of the third on four base hits and two walks, never looking back. Jack Small would finish up in relief on the mound for the 7-1 championship win.