The Mitchell 22U Astros resided in Simcoe last weekend while
they competed for the title of OBA Champion.
Game 1 was Friday, August 11 at noon vs the host's hometown team the
Simcoe Giants.
Nate REAY, Ben SMALL and midget callup, Luke MURRAY all pitched
and did a bang-up job. Mitchell
was up most of the game, but Simcoe tied the game up in the 7th forcing us to go into extra
innings. Mitchell
couldn’t cash anymore runs but, Simcoe did, leaving Mitchell with a 4 to 3 loss.
Game 2 was later that same day at 6pm vs our local rivals the
Listowel Legionnaires. In
an attempt to get as many pitchers to Sunday as we can, we have to play a
strategic game of chess on day one to ensure we can win these games and have
enough pitchers to win the later games. Eric
“Getty” GETTLER, Wyatt HUITEMA and Luke MURRAY (again) pitched this game and
lead us to victory with a score of 8 to 2. As
an added bonus, we got a bye.
Phew! We
get to stay the night and play again on Saturday, but the Astros are now taking
the long way to try and win this tournament.
Game 3 was moved to Delhi due to the diamond being flooded and
was delayed a bit due to more rain. The
game got underway by 4pm vs St. Thomas. Eric
TAYLOR did an amazing job on the mound pitching the entire game with just 91
pitches. The boys had
a huge 11 run inning and finished the game with a triumphant 18 to 3 win.
The team is now off to the SEMIS Sunday morning at 8:30am.
Game 4 was our semi final game vs. the Essex Yellowjacks. Essex inched us out of the
OBA Championship last year in the last inning of the final game, so winning
this was a must. It
also meant making it to the finals. Head coach, Heather MONDEN, had a
brief chat with Kale MURRAY, our other midget callup, while he was on deck and
suggested he aim for the trees on the other side of the fence. So, he did! Dead centre, over the fence! MONDEN jokingly took credit
for his dinger. GETTY
pitched the entire game with 109 pitches. He
had a phenomenal game earning 9 k’s and only allowing 4 hits and zero runs. 7 to 0 for Mitchell.
The boys are off to the Finals! LET’S
GO! POP SHOVE IT!
Game 5 the Astros met up with the undefeated Leamington team. So, not only did we have to
beat them to win, we had to beat them twice! REAY
pitched the entire game using just 99 pitches. The
boys were on fire all weekend, and nothing pumps these guys up more than a huge
3rd out. Catcher, Lake
TAYLOR did this at the end of the 6th with
a throw back to 3rd after they started the inning giving up two base runners. Assistant
coach, Trevor DIXON, described this as “pretty electric”! Mitchell won their first final
game 6 to 3. Just one
more to go.
Game 6 started after a short rest for both teams. Leamington was starting to
get tired, but Mitchell was full of life. They
continued to play like champions both offensively and defensively. Brayden TAYLOR made an
amazing diving catch in left field early on in the game to keep the momentum
going. Mitchell’s
outfield was unstoppable and when you see Brayden TAYLOR, Ryan HARMER and
Tanner DIETZ running to take their positions in the outfield you knew that nothing will get by them. Mitchell
added to the scoreboard every inning for the first five innings giving them a
healthy lead and increasing the excitement for all their fans. The game got really
exciting in the 6th. Leamington’s first batter got a single, the
second popped out and then Jake MONDEN finished the inning off with a diving
double play as he dove for the ball, tagged the runner between first and second
and then beat the other guy in a foot race to first base. The ball park exploded! Kale MURRAY was on the mound for this
all-important final final game. He
pitched out with just one out needed to end the game. HUITEMA
had been on standby all day to come in and relieve and he finally made his
debut. Kale MURRAY had
struck out the first two batters. All HUITEMA had to do was strike out one guy. The first batter got a
single. The second
batter got a single and now there’s runners on first and third. Leamington started to perk up a bit. We cannot let them rally back. Third batter made contact
and hit it right back to HUITEMA, the ball hit his leg, he picked it up and
threw it to MONDEN at first. And
that’s the ball game! Mitchell
won their final game 9 to 1 and became OBA Champions!
What an amazing weekend! 6
exciting ball games, 25 stolen bases, 32 RBI’s, 5 errors, 6 pitchers for Sunday with all of their pitches, 12 amazing ball players, 3 days of fun, 1 OBA
CHAMPIONSHIP!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, it is an honour to
coach these young men. They
arrive early to every game, they practice, they communicate, they pump up their
teammates, they work hard, they dig deep. They
are and always will be champions in my eyes.