UOVMFL final wrap up at the "Deuce"

Full wrap up of the UOVMFL final series is posted at "The Deuce":
http://fastpitchwest.com/thedeuce/?p=677

Gee-Gees and Ravens to Appear on A-Channel Friday

from Scott Searle

The Ottawa Gee-Gees and the Carleton Ravens Women’s FastPitch Softball Teams have dedicated their first and second meetings of the OIWFA 2006 season to Canadian Troops at home and abroad. We will both be wearing specially designed uniforms featuring red as the dominant colour.

Friday, September 29th, 2006, represents the first time our teams will be at home in the 2006 season and in support of an initiative started at the CF base in Petawawa by two wives of soldiers in Afghanistan, the Gee-Gees and the Ravens will be wearing special red jerseys for the game.

There are currently 2,300 Canadian soldiers fighting in Afghanistan 36 of whom have died in support of their cause.

This athlete-driven iniative is intended to boost morale and show support for Canadian Soldiers in Afghanistan.

Local members of the Royal Canadian Legion, all members of the Canadian Forces that are stationed in Ottawa , the general public and members of the local media are hereby invited to the game.

Everyone who attends the game is encouraged to wear red to show support for our troops.

The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM on Friday September 29

Garrison Commander Colonel Claude Rochette will address the crowd for a few moments before the game and the national anthem will be sung by University of Ottawa student Alyssa Beltempo.

The game will take place at Brewer Park off Bronson Avenue across the street from Carleton University.

Both teams will be appearing on the A-Channel (Channel 6 in Ottawa) to help raise awareness Friday morning from 7:30-8:00. Tune in to check us out!

See you at the Park!

Micksburg wins Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League title for third consecutive year

Photo from the Pembroke Daily Observer Website.

CHAMPIONS - The Micksburg Twins are the 2006 Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League champions after defeating the Pontiac Royals 3-0 in game five of the finals Tuesday evening. Kneeling in front are (from left) Barry McIntyre, Jamey Mick, Scott Bell, Jerry McIntyre and Brent McIntyre. Standing in back are (from left) Kerr Childerhose, Chad Costello, Kevin Humphries, Corey Costello, Joran Graham and Wayne Ready.

Micksburg 3 Pontiac 0 - Twins win the series 4 games to 1
from Shawn Laframboise

Micksburg defeated Pontiac 3 – 0 to win the UOVMFL championship 4 games to1. Corey Costello got the win scattering 5 hits over seven solid innings ofwork. Darren Featherstone suffered the loss allowing all three runs in four innings of work. Mark Wright came in to the game for the Royals and pitched three shut out innings to no avail.

In the top of the first, the Micksburg ace fanned the first three batters he faced to get out of a quick first inning. Costello was moved up to the leadoff spot in the Twins line-up in hopes that the Royals would finally pitch to him and they did. In his first at bat he popped out to right field, and the Royals escaped the first three up, three down.

In the second inning, with one out, Joe McCleary busted out of his slump with a solid hit up the middle, but was unable to score from second base.

Both teams were held off the score sheet until the fourth inning. In the top of the fourth, Featherstone led off for the Royals, and reached first on a throwing error charged to the Micksburg pitcher. He was also left stranded on second at the end of the inning.

In the bottom half of the inning, with two out and one man already on base, coach Tim Ferrigan elected to give Costello the free pass. Barry McIntyre then came up with a clutch hit to score the games first and eventual winning run. The single advanced Costello to third, and McIntyre reached second with the throw going home. Kerr Childerose then stepped up to the plate and knocked a base hit to center field, scoring the other two Micksburg runs. After Jamey Mick reached first in the next at bat, Featherstone was pulled for Wright, and he got out of the inning with a ground ball to second baseman Ron Laronde.

In the fifth inning, Tony Newberry hit a line drive single to right field (the first of his two hits on the night), but again the Royals couldn’t cash in the base runner. With Mark Wright up next, he struck out and then said how he was having vision problems.

In the bottom half of the inning, Wright allowed a walk to the lead off batter and said he had to come out of the game because he thought he was having a stroke, seeing double of everything. It turned out that one of his lens’ fell out before his previous at bat and he stayed in the game for the duration.

Matt Greer led off with a double in the sixth but the Royals were unable to mount more than one hit per inning, and the Twins won the Upper OttawaValley Men’s Fastball League championship in five games.

Congratulations to both teams on a great season.

Pembroke Daily Observer story: http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=207971&catname=Sports&classif=

Pontiac Equity wrap up for the UOVMFL finals

Pontiac Equity reporter Wilbur McLean wraps up the UOVMFL finals: http://www.theequity.ca/te_page05.htm

Blackburn Men's League final knotted at one

from Tyler Cox

The Good Ol' Boys beat the Guzzlers 10-9, to even the BMFL final series 1-1. The deciding game in the best of three series is on Thursday at 7.

Ottawa U GeeGees "Bridge to the Future"

from Scott Searle

If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, the University of Ottawa Softball Gee-Gees are paying a huge compliment to the ISC. Building on their very successful Bridge to the Future clinic at all World Tournaments, the Gee-Gees have stolen the idea and will conduct their own clinic on Saturday at Alexander Grove Park in Stittsville.

All athletes are welcome to attend the clinic that will be run by Gee-Gees athletes and coaches.

The clinic will run from 9-11am and all participants are encouraged to stay in Stittsville to watch the Gee-Gees take on the Brock Badgers.

For more information contact Scott Searle at 613-837-0787.

Gee-Gees win 1, lose 3 over the weekend

Disappointing 2nd Weekend for Gee-Gees
from Scott Searle

Disappointing weekend for the University of Ottawa Softball Gee-Gees as they traveled to Guelph and Toronto to face the last two OIWFA Champions.

UOttawa 6 Guelph 4
On Saturday against Guelph the Gee-Gees jumped to an early lead behind singles from Vanessa Homiak and Erin Durant before a 2-RBI Single from Sarah Thompson. They added to their total in the 3rd inning behind a 2-Run Home run from Sam Pantalone to score Sarah Thompson who had singled earlier in the inning. The Gee’s piled on another run in the 4th behind a fielder's choice from Jillian Taylor. Ashley Sands threw very well to take the win, going 6 innings with 6 strikeouts and giving up only 2 hits. Elissa Sivel came in the game in the 7th inning to shut the door but the Gryphon bats came alive to score 4 quick runs to cut the Gee-Gees lead to 2. This would be all they could get as the Gee-Gees improved to 4-1 on the year.

Guelph 5 UOttawa 0
Isabelle Richard took to the circle for the Garnet and Grey but fell victim to a very solid hitting performance from the Guelph squad. They seemed to continue their momentum from the previous game exploding for 5 runs in 2 innings. Jillian Taylor got the call and went a very strong final 5 innings scattering 6 hits with 2 strikeouts. Gryphons pitcher Karen Russell held the Gee-Gees to only 3 hits in 7 innings to take the complete game shutout.

Toronto 10 UOttawa 3
A wild game between two rivals. These teams have squared off twice every year since 2001 and have taken turns breaking each others hearts. The Gee-Gees eliminated the Varsity Blues in 2003 en route to their OIWFA Championship and the Blues returned the favour last year, giving the Garnet and Grey a Silver Medal in 2005. The Gee-Gees jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning behind a pair of singles from Nicole Dunlop and Erin Durant. Gee-Gees RBI leader Sam Pantalone ripped a shot to the gap in Right-Center to score both runners. The Gee-Gees added another run behind an Erin Mulvihill double to score Lindsey McLaughlin. Jillian Taylor took the start for the team and pitched very well into the 5th inning giving up 1 run on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts. Bad luck for the Gee-Gees in the 5th as 3 bloop singles drove in the Blues first run and Ashley Sands took over with the bases loaded and one out. Sands induced a ground ball to get the force out at home. Another single from the Blues pushed the score to 3-3 after a dramatic 12 pitch at bat. Several uncharacteristic errors from the Gee-Gees and bad luck knocked the wheels off the cart as the Varsity Blues raced to a 7 run inning to end the game in the 6th inning.

Toronto 6 UOttawa 1
The Blues started strong off Gee-Gee starter Elissa Sivel and never looked back scoring 5 runs over the first two innings. Ashley Sands came in to relief and threw the ball well scattering 5 hits and allowing one run. The Gee-Gees couldn’t kick start their offense in the rain and only managed 4 hits and one run in 7 innings of play.

Games in Ottawa area this weekend
The team comes home to Ottawa next weekend and will look to avenge these losses as they take on Brock (Saturday Sep 30 2PM & 4PM) and McMaster (Sunday Oct 1 Noon & 2PM) at Alexander Grove Park in Stittsville.

The Gee-Gees play their first home game of the year against Carleton University on Friday September 29 at 7:00 at Brewer Park in Ottawa. The team has dedicated this effort to Canadian Troops at home and abroad and will be wearing special red uniforms in support of the initiative started in Petawawa. The team is looking forward to a big crowd for this game to show support for our soldiers.

Fans of the team are encouraged to visit our website to take part in our Hockey Pool to help us raise money in 2006. www.eteamz.com/ottawaufastpitch

Comments.....

I've decided to activate a feature in the comments section so that all comments from "non-members" need to be "approved" by me before posting. Once you enter your comment, I will get an email and decide whether to put it up or not.

In most cases, I don't think I'll allow postings to go up without someone's name attached to them. I might allow some anonymous postings, but there would have to be a reason why the name shouldn't be attached.

The other way that you can get your comments up here it to become a "member". If you want to become a member of the good ol' fitzroyfastball blog, send me an email at fitzroyfastballyahoo.ca, and then you should be able to post comments with your name attached and without me intervening. (If you have my work email, feel free to send the request there.)

It's going to be a bit of a pain, but I'd rather moderate it that way instead of having the comments section turn nasty like some other sites have. As well, I've been told that I am personally legally accountable for all content on this thing whether I write it or not, so while it might be a bit far fetched, I'd rather not have a libel lawsuit on my hands.

Blackburn League Playoff update

Last night the Guzzlers (let by veteran thrower "Disco" Stew Shonfeild) beat the Good Ol' Boys 3-2 in Game 1 of the best-of-three Blackburn Men's Fastball League finals.

Finals

#1 Good Ol' Boys vs #2 Guzzlers

Guzzlers lead 1-0

Sunday, September 24th at 5:00pm - Guzzlers 3, Good Ol' Boys 2
Tuesday, September 26th at 7:00pm
Thursday, September 28th at 7:00pm (If necessary)

Micksburg 2 Pontiac 0; Twins take 3-1 series lead

Photo from the Pembroke Daily Observer Website

COSTELLO BLANKS THE ROYALS - Micksburg Twins' Corey Costello pitches against Campbell's Bay during game four of the final series in the Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League on Friday. Micksburg won 2-0 to take a three games to one lead in the best of seven series.

UOVMFL Finals: Twins take 3-1 series lead in heated game
Costello throws no hitter; Burger done for the season

submitted by Shawn Laframboise

The Micksburg fans saw another low scoring affair in UOVMFL play Friday night as both teams went without a hit and the Twins taking the game 2 - 0.

Corey Costello pitched the complete game no - hitter for the Twins and Darren Featherstone throwing the majority of the game for the Royals. Lenny Burger started the game for Pontiac, deciding to test his knee injury. Barry McIntyre led off the game with a walk and then stole second base. After advancing to 3rd on a pass ball, McIntyre scored on a Jerry McIntyre sacrafice fly to left field. Burger faced one more batter before handing the ball over to Featherstone for the rest of the game. The knee injury proved to be too much and he announced later on that he is officially done for the season.

The game remained quiet until the third inning when Royals' right fielder Greg Wrinn stepped up to the plate. He asked the ump to get Costello to tuck in his shirt. Twins' catcher, Chad Costello, then asked Wrinn if he had any padding on underneath his uniform The ensuing pitch was a rise ball that plunked Wrinn in the ribs. This started an uproar from the Royals' bench and words were exchanged from both teams. The Royals' fielder then stole second and third but was left stranded on base.

The top of the fifth inning was delayed for a few miniutes which saw the Royals' second baseman get into an altercation with a Micksburg fan.

In the bottom of the inning, Featherstone walked both Barry and Jerry McIntyre and then coach Tim Ferrigan decided to give Corey Costello the free pass again, loading up the bases for Jamey Mick. After getting down in the count 1 - 2, Mick fouled one off and watched three balls go by to score the second Micksburg run.

Game 5 will take place next Tuesday night at 8:30 in Micksburg. The Twins look to close out the series and the Royals will be playing some desperate ball as they find themselves with their backs against the wall.

Note: see also the article in the Pembroke Daily Observer by Stephen Uhler. http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=204004&catname=Sports&classif=

North Fred Kings sweep Loughborough League final

from the Kingston Whig-Standard:

Kings complete Loughborough sweep
The Whig-Standard
Local Sports - Friday, September 22, 2006 @ 07:00

North Fredericksburgh Kings hit five home runs - two of them by Cory Brooks - as they polished off Sydenham 10-0 Wednesday night to win the Loughborough Fastball League championship.

The Kings swept the best-of-seven final 4-0. Brooks also hit a home run in the third game of the series, won 2-0 by North Fred.

Pat Severin, Mike Finn and Chris Wager also homered for North Fredericksburgh Wednesday, as Bryan Brooks claimed his fourth pitching victory of the series.

GOFL finals Game 1 and 2 are set

The GOFL finals between Stittsville and Team Easton are now set:

Game 1 - Wednesday October 4, 8:30PM
Game 2 - Thursday October 5, 7:30PM
Game 3, 4, 5 - TBD

All games to be played in Stittsville.

Pontiac Equity Article - Micksburg vs. Pontiac

Another good article on the UOVMFL finals in the Pontiac Equity by Wilbur McLean.

Is Royals' ace Lenny the toe-tappin' lefty Burger done for the season?

Read about it here: http://www.theequity.ca/te_page07.htm

Ottawa U fastpitch fundraising hockey pool

from Cory Morrison

The University of Ottawa Gee Gee's Women's Fastpitch Team Presents:
06 NHL POOL 07
Cash Prizes to the Top 3 Entries
Entry fee $10
1st Prize $400 (min) or 40% of Total Take (expected to be a prize of about $700)
2nd and 3rd $50 (min)or 5% of Total Take

Visit http://eteamz.active.com/ottawaufastpitch/index.cfm for the entry sheet and more details.

Hargrove to join Carp I4C Victory in 2007 for select tournaments

from Shawn Williams (with some updates after some comments)

The Carp I4C Victory is pleased to announce that Chad Hargrove has agreed to join Carp next year for the ISC II Qualifier and for select tournaments throughout the 2007 season.

“We are pleased to have a young pitcher with Chad’s ability agree to join us for the 2007 ISC II Qualifier,” said Shawn Williams, Carp’s Head Coach and General Manager. “He performed very well for us this year in the Newboro, Elkland and Williamsburg tournaments as well as in the playoffs. As a 19-year-old, he has a great future in men’s fastball.”

Hargrove lead his Orleans Rebels Midget Boys team to a fifth place finish at the 2006 Canadian Midget Boys Championship in Prince Albert, SK where he went 5-3 (4-2 in round robin and 1-1 in the playoff round). Hargrove was also a late release from Team Ontario at third base. Hargrove is equally strong with the bat and will be counted on by Carp to pitch and to hit in the middle of the line-up at the tournaments he participates in for the I4C Victory.

“As part of our three-year plan, we will continue to add players of Chad’s ability to our team as we grow and improve”, stated Neil Cooke, sponsor and pitcher for the I4C Victory. “We are building a program that will produce a competitive club and Chad will help us as one of the younger players who can make us successful at top flight tournaments.”

The 19-year-old Orleans resident is studying Criminology at the University of Ottawa. Hargrove’s regular season plans for 2007 have not been finalized at this time.

Team Easton sweeps series, to face Stittsville in GOFL finals

with info from Shawn Williams, Sam Oliver and Cory Morrison

Team Easton swept their semi-final series with a 7-0 mercy rule shortened win over Carp I4C Victory on Tuesday night.

Dan Konkle got the shut out win throwing a one hitter with thirteen strikeouts in five innings work. Chad Hargrove took the loss. Hargrove gave up seven runs on six hits, walked four and struck out six.

Easton scored three in the first, as Dave Tubman walked, Kevin Chevrier walked, and Todd Fraser hit a single to center field (looked like it might be caught so no one scored). Randy Peck then hit a single (2 RBI). Cory Morrison then hit a sac fly (RBI).

Morrison drove in another run in the third when hit a double driving in Chevrier who had previously hit a double.

Easton finished the scoring in the fifth when Todd Fraser ripped a single with runners on base that nearly decapitated Brooks Paziuk on third, going on to win 7-0.

Tim Power had the only hit (an infield single) for Carp and added a stolen base.

Team Easton will now face Stittsville in the league final for the second year in a row, with the schedule to be determined. Easton is looking for their fourth consecutive league playoff title, while Stittsville is seeking their first title since the formation of the league in 2000.

Schedule will be posted here once announced.

http://ca.geocities.com/fitzroyfastball/box091906.htm

Williamsburg wrap up

from Lyle Schell

3rd Annual “Casey at Bat” Tournament Williamsburg, ON September 15, 16 & 17, 2006-09-18

At the start of last week we were worried that we were going to have to cancel the tournament as we had a few teams drop out in the two weeks preceeding the tournament and more teams were calling saying that they were going to have to pull out. Monday evening we received confirmation that the 6th team was in so we agreed that we could pull off a successful tournament with six teams and decided to go full speed ahead. We had another scare on Wednesday night when one of the six teams called to say that they had lost some players – thankfully, with a little leg work and phone calls by our committee and the team in question replacements were found and we were pressing on.

The tournament started on Friday night at 8:00 with the local team, the Williamsburg Cigars, playing North Augusta. The home team walked away with their first victory of the tournament, winning by a score of 13-5.

Play resumed on Saturday morning at 9:00 in the double knock out format (a team must lose two games to be eliminated from the tournament) seeing teams from Cornwall (2 teams), Carp and Quyon, Quebec. Our local boys lost their second game, played on Saturday at 3:00 against Carp (score 5-1) sending them to the losers bracket. The Williamsburg Cigars returned to the field on Sunday morning at 9:00 to begin their battle back to the top. They started off against North Augusta walking away with a victory (score 3-0). After a brief 20 minute rest they were on the field again facing the Quyon Flyers for the first time over the weekend, after trailing 3-0 in the first Jason Smith came in to pitch in spite of injuries and brought the team back. The game went into extra innings (the 7th inning ended with a 4-4 score) when Williamsburg jumped ahead scoring 6 unanswered runs in the 9th to win the game 10 – 4. Williamsburg now had to face the undefeated I 4 C team from Carp that put them in the losers bracket on Saturday. The tired and sore team pulled together and played with determination giving all the support they could to Jason Smith who was throwing his heart out for his home team. The boys climbed on the score board with a single run in the second inning. Allen McNairn took away some of the pressure in the sixth inning when he hit it out of the park with two runners on base making the score 4-0. The Cigars held on to win the game forcing another show down against Carp due to the double knock out format. Another 20 minute break and both teams were back at it. This would be Williamsburg’s sixth game of the weekend, fourth for the day – all back to back! The team once again gave everything they had to support their injured pitcher Jason Smith and walked away as the proud tournament champions! Final score in that game was 6-2

Individual awards were given to the following players:
Top Hitter: Matt McNish, I 4 C Victory
Top Pitcher: Jason Smith, Williamsburg Cigars
Tournament MVP: Wayne Garlough, Williamsburg Cigars (Wayne was very consistent at bat with an average in the 300’s, and was error free for four games on short stop until he made one slight throwing error in the sixth, after being hit in the head/face with a hard throw home during the Williamsburg at bat while scoring a run. He shook off the throw and continued with his amazing play for the remaining inning and a half).

The Second Place team was I 4 C Victory from Carp, ON. They walked away with a $450 monetary prize and will have their names on the tournament trophy.

The First Place team was the Williamsburg Cigars from Williamsburg, ON. All players on the team were born and raised in South Dundas – they were either coached by Casey Schell at some point or simply learned from him via being on an opposing team. All were proud to be there to represent him and show appreciation to man who’s memory will remain alive in this tournament! The winning team was awarded $850.

We estimate that there were approximately 400 people in attendance over the weekend (based on admissions collected) not counting the volunteers and players. The proceeds from the tournament are going to be given to graduates of Seaway High School in the form of a bursary.

Details are still being worked out with the vice principal, but it is the intention of the committee to give one bursary to the top male athlete of the year in memory of Keith “Casey” Schell, and one to the top female athlete of the year in memory of Michael Steward. (Michael is a family member that passed away last year during the weekend of the tournament in a motor vehicle accident)

We have a few remaining details to take care of with the finances before we can confirm 100%, but we estimate that the bursaries will be between $400 and $500 each.

This amazing weekend could not have been possible without the support of volunteers. We're very pleased to say that our family shares our enthusiasm in keeping Grandpa's memory alive as do some very dear friends. A huge thank you goes out to the Schell family, McNairn family, Hutt family, Jamie Smith, Heather Wells-Baker, Bobby-Jack Hart, Angie Merkley, Jessica Bercier, Greg & Kelly DeDekker, Sherry Beckstead, Steffanie Garlough and the Morrisburg Pentecostal Church Women's Ministries Group.

The committee is discussing holding the tournament earlier in the year next year in hopes of attracting more teams and not battling as many injuries. Our hopes are to increase the tournament to 10 - 12 teams next year and award prizes of $1000, $600 & $400.
Hope to see you next year!

Ottawa U goes 3-1 on first weekend of play

A solid weekend for the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Softball as they opened the 2006 season. The team was ready for a tough weekend as they prepared to face the reigning bronze medalists from 2005 in the University of Western Ontario and a perennial favourite in the Windsor Lancers.

Ottawa 5 Windsor 4 (8 innings)
The Gee-Gees sent Ashley Sands to the circle to open the season against the Lancers Saturday afternoon. She went a strong 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 5 hits with 2 walks before turning the ball over to Elissa Sivel to finish the game. Elissa displayed her ability to keep hitters off balance and superior control in her 3 innings of wok allowing one run on one hit with a walk. The Gee-Gees offence started slow but asserted control in the 4th inning with a 4 run flurry to give them a one run lead. The team revealed their depth as 3 singles in a row loaded the bases before a triple from Nicole Dunlop cleared them to cash all 3 runs. This brought Gee-Gee rookie, Jen Alexander to the plate who smoked a double to left field to drive in the teams 4th run and give them the lead. Windsor responded in the 5th and the game went to extra innings knotted at 4. Lindsey McLaughlin headed to 2nd base to start the Tie-Breaker and a clutch single from another rookie, Allie Rutherford drove in the winning run for the Gee-Gees. Elissa Sivel took the win with a flawless 8th inning.

Ottawa 4 Windsor 3
The team’s offense kept rolling with 3 runs in the first inning to give Gee-Gee started Isabelle Richard a cushion to work from. Isabelle is a recent import to Canada after spending the last 4 years in Miami, Florida. A walk to Vanessa Homiak, a single by Erin Duran, and a double from Sarah Thompson did most of the damage before another single from Sam Pantalone notched the 4th run. The bats went quiet the rest of the game as the Windsor defense was very strong. Jillian Taylor came into the game in relief in the 4th inning to shut the Lancer offense down and held them scoreless through 3 innings of work. The Gee-Gees went to the bottom of the 7th inning tied at 3 before a single by Vanessa Homiak and a monster double from Lindsey McLaughlin drove in the winning run. Lindsey has already renewed her reputation as the most dangerous hitter in the OIWFA who turns heads at every park when she has a bat in her hands; the reigning Female Athlete of the Year was dominant all weekend with 5 hits and 4 RBI’s, all in clutch situations. Vanessa was very impressive in her Gee-Gee debut with 4 hits and scoring 4 runs to go along with 4 walks at the top of the order.

Ottawa 3 Western 2
The Gee-Gees traveled to London Sunday morning to face an old rival in the University of Western Ontario. Mutual respect and admiration for each others program has been the call sign of this rivalry over the past 5 years. The Mustangs defeated the Gee-Gees in front of a home crowd in 2004 for the Bronze medal and the Gee-Gees returned the favour in 2005, knocking them out of the Championship game. As always between these two teams the game was a classic and scoreless through 4 as Gee-Gee hurler, Jillian Taylor threw a gem with 2 hits and 5 strikeouts in 4 innings of work before giving way to Ashley Sands. Sands took the ball for the last half giving up only 2 more hits and another run. The Gee-Gees maintained their reputation as the cardiac kids heading into the bottom of the 7th inning down 2-0. The team has gained an early confidence in their hitting and there was no doubt in the outcome as a pair of walks to Vanessa Homiak and Ashley Sands and an RBI single by Elissa Sivel brought Lindsey McLaughlin to the plate with another chance to win the game. Lindsey didn’t disappoint with a double to drive in the winning run.

Western 4 Ottawa 1
The final game of the weekend featured a dominant pitching performance from Western hurler Kristina Lemon. She kept the Gee-Gees of the scoresheet until the 7th inning, but this time the late inning heroics were not enough as the team took a 4-1 loss. Another rookie, Allie Rutherford had a very strong game defensively and a pair of walks and the only run scored in a losing cause. Erin Durant did her best to contribute with a pair of singles and Erin Mulvihill was very strong in her Varsity debut at 1st base. A very promising weekend for fans of the team, after a second place finish in 2005 the team looks as strong as ever with a strong crop of rookies to complement an excellent returning team.

The team heads to Guelph and Toronto next weekend to take on the last two OIWFA Championship teams. Directions to the parks and a full schedule is available at www.oiwfa.org

Please visit our site for all the news on the team at www.eteamz.com/ottawaufastpitch

Perkasie Rise tournament for 2007

sent on by Blair Setford

This looks like a real great opportunity to see where you stack up about a month before the ToC - traditionally a quiet time in Ontario - and play at one of the legendary fields on the Atlantic seaboard as Allentown has a great fastball heritage.

Perkasie, PA Rise are planning a top caliber ISC II tournament July 20-22 in Allentown, PA at Lyons Park. Entry Fee will be $350 with the winner taking $1500 and 2nd taking $500. 8 teams with 2 divisons of 4. Guarantee of 3 games. Ontario teams will not play until Saturday to help on travel. We are hoping to bring in 4 Ontario teams to go along with the Rise, CPI, Ashland, and South Lebanon. Next year we will expand the tournament to more teams if this year is succesful. For more info, please contact Steve Moore: stevo714@verizon.net.

Williamsburg Tourney results

Six teams competed at the Williamsburg tournament this past weekend.
Results: Williamsburg Cigars (1st), Carp I4C Victory (2nd), Quyon Flyers (3rd).

Story by Shawn Williams:

Carp I4C Victory finishes second at 3rd annual Casey at Bat Tournament in Williamsburg.

The Carp I4C Victory had a chance to win its first ever tournament as an Intermediate team but came up short at the 3rd Annual Casey at Bat Tournament in Williamsburg. In a town full of fastball history with the Pioneers, Rose’s Bar and players that have played for and against that community for years such as Doug Casselman, Ted Hoy, Greg McLaren, Reg Hyndman and former Canadian Senior Men’s National Team catcher, Bruce Casselman, who made a return to the diamond over the weekend, Carp was trying to make a little history of its own.

Despite the absence of a number of I4C Victory regulars, the team put together was competitive and made it through the undefeated game and straight to Sunday afternoon’s final against the Williamsburg Cigars.

The Victory opened with a win over Cornwall’s R.J. O’Neill on Saturday morning by a score of 4-2 highlighted by a two-run homer off the bat of Shawn Simzer, a pick-up from the Glen Cairn Men’s Fastball League. Shannon Borho of the Blackburn Bobmbers who was also picked up for the weekend added a solo shot in that first game.

In the second match of the day, Carp faced Lyle Schell and the host team from Williamsburg. Final score for the Victory was 5-1 and a meeting later that evening against Matt Greer and the Quyon Flyers.

With Greer apparently not feeling 100%, Carp had its offence going against Luke Young and the score was 9-0 for Carp after one inning. However, the always scrappy and competitive Junior Men’s club was not about to give in and kept chipping away at the score. At one point with the score 11-5 for Carp in the top of the fifth and the prospect of the mercy rule coming into play, Quyon kept battling and a three run shot made the score 11-8. A couple of late runs by Quyon and two runners on the top of the seventh inning made it interesting for Carp. Final score, Carp 11, Quyon 10. The game saw 21 runs, four home runs, six pitchers used (three by each team), including Matt Greer pitching twice. The game took close to 2 ½ hours to play.

Carp advanced to the final on Sunday at 1:00 PM. Williamsburg had to win four games in a row to win the championship. The Cigars started with a win over the teal shirted North Augusta team in the 9:00 AM game and then advanced to play Quyon in the semi-finals. The game was tied 4-4 after seven and remained that way through eight. In the top of the ninth, Williamsburg exploded for five runs and the final was 9-4.

In the championship game, Williamsburg broke on top early with a 1-0 lead after one. The score held until the sixth inning when a three run shot made the score 4-0 and that’s how the game ended.

In the second game, behind the outstanding pitching of Jason Smith who had shut out Carp in the first game, Smith picked right up where he had left off and showed why, that despite sore shoulders, he is still one of the premier pitchers in the game today. Despite some late inning base runners for the I4C Victory, Smitty held on and the final score was 5-1 for Williamsburg.

Smith was named the tournament’s top pitcher and through 23 innings on Sunday while only giving up five runs on the day. Matt McNish of the Victory was named Top Hitter going 5 for 13.

This is a great “end of season” locally based teams tourney and all local teams are encouraged to put it on their schedule for next year.

UPDATE - Game 3 of GOFL series

This just in 10:15AM Monday morning.....

Game 3 of the GOFL semifinal series between Team Easton and I4C Victory will be played Tuesday Sept 19 at 9:15PM in Stittsville.

Easton leads the best-of-five series 2-0. The winner of the semifinal faces Stittsville 56ers in a best-of-five series for the GOFL championship.

UOVMFL Game 4 postponed - new schedule released

Game 4 of the UOVMFL finals was to be played tonight in Micksburg, but with all the rain, the diamond is unplayable.

New dates have been set as follows:

Game 4 Tuesday September 19 8:30PM in Micksburg
Game 5 Friday September 22 8:30PM in Micksburg

Blackburn League Playoff update

from Tyler Cox

Results from BMFL quarterfinals:
- Ball Bangers (Rob Elder, Brett Watt, Tim Keyes) sweep Blues (Shannon Borho, Steve Walman, Norm Manns) in two games

- Guzzlers (Disco Stew, Kevin Shonfield, Joe Allen) sweep Stan's Diner Draughts (Mike Goodfellow, Scott Parsons, Derek Bergeron, Dave Milette)

- Knights (Jamie Blakely, Tyler and Ryan Cox, Brett Dugan, Gerry Sancartier) are tied 1-1 with Wally's A's (Will Lowe, Will Mood, Terry "TJ" Jones). Game 3 on Thursday at 7 PM at Blackburn Arena.

- Good Ol' Boys (bye)

Semi-finals
#1 Good Ol' Boys vs #6 Ball BangersSeries tied 0-0
Sunday, September 17th at 7:00pm
Tuesday, September 19th at 9:00pm
Thursday, September 21st at 7:00pm (If necessary)

#2 Guzzlers vs Knights/A's WinnerSeries tied 0-0
Sunday, September 17th at 9:00pm
Tuesday, September 19th at 7:00pm
Thursday, September 21 at 9:00pm (If necessary - could be moved to 7pm)

Micksburg wins 2-0 over Pontiac in Game 3 of the UOVMFL finals

Micksburg took a 2 games to 1 lead in the Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League finals last night in Bryson. NOTE: Game 4 will now be played on Thursday September 14 in Micksburg (not Friday as originally scheduled).

from Shawn Laframboise

Game 3: Micksburg Twins 2 Pontiac Royals 0

After last Friday night's game getting rained out, the Twins travelled to Bryson last night for game 3 of the UOVMFL finals. Corey Costello pitched another complete game for the Twins, getting the win, while Len Burger took the loss with relief from Darren Featherstone.

In a revamped Micksburg line-up, Corey Costello was moved to the lead-off spot. After battling the count full, he ended up taking a walk to lead off the game. Barry McIntyre followed up with a sacrafice bunt to advance Costello to second. Burger then proceeded to strike out the next two Twins' batters to get out of the inning. Costello continued his sharp pitching by striking out the first three batters he faced in the bottom half of the inning.

In the second inning, both Burger and Costello retired the first three batters they faced.

In the third, Burger came out with three more K's, and adding an intentional walk to Costello. Jacques Pilon got the Royals first hit of the game, on a two-out infield single, but was left stranded at second.

Jamie Mick led off the fourth inning for the Twins and smacked a double to the gap in left-center field. Burger retired the next batter but then Kerr Childerose knocked a single into left field and Pilon was able to hold Mick at third base preventing the run. After Childerose stole second base, Kevin Humphries knocked both runs in with a single to right field. He was then doubled off at first after Burger snagged a Scott Bell come-backer to get out of the inning.

In the bottom of the inning, Chad Milne had the only hit for the Royals, and was left stranded at second after three Royals struck out.

Featherstone came into the game to start the fifth inning. Burger left as a precautionary measure to what is being called a "lower body" injury, and is questionnable for game 4. Joran Graham led off the fifth inning with a walk for the Twins, and was sacraficed over to second by Jerry McIntyre. Costello was then given the one-out intentional walk (on five pitches) in
order to implement the force play. A ground ball to short stop followed and Milne made the out at second to leave runners on the corners with two out. Featherstone then struck out Mick to get out of the inning.

Costello and Featherstone each retired the first three batters they faced in the sixth.

In the seventh inning, Scott Bell had the lone hit for the Twins, and Featherstone had the only hit for the Royals.

Costello finished the game with 12 K's allowing only four hits and one walk.

Burger pitched four innings, striking out 8, with three hits and two earned runs. Featherstone struck out four in three innings of work, allowing one hit and two walks.

Game 4 is scheduled to take place Thursday night in Micksburg at 8:30. (Note date change from original Friday date.)

Smiths Falls Redmen Junior program to be revived?

According to our Greenbush correspondent, Terry McCann: "Terry Shea is going to resurrect the Smiths Falls Junior Redmen next year. They will be playing in the North Leeds Men's fastball league."

As well, he reports that: "Good to see Ray Madden out to one of the North Leeds finals games as well. Could Ray be considering a come back in some capacity with the Redmen?"

Six members of the GOFL's WC Electric are alumni from the Smiths Falls junior program and played for the legendary Madden.

Hopefully this will happen for 2007 - it would be great to have another Junior team in the area.

Note - as always, if anybody has any other interesting fastball information to pass on (i.e. game results, new teams for 2007, teams folding, teams changing leagues, players moving to new teams, new leagues, tournament news, etc.), send me an email at fitzroyfastballyahoo.ca or to my work email account if you have it. I'll want to put your name as the person providing the news and/or rumour so you must be willing to take 'credit' for the posting.

Team Easton takes 2-0 lead in GOFL semifinals

from Sam Oliver
UPDATE: Box score now posted: http://ca.geocities.com/fitzroyfastball/box091106.htm

Game 2 of the best of 5 GOFL semi-final was a strange but entertaining contest, that would see two unexpected pitching starts, a pair of homeruns, a power outage and ultimately Team Easton emerging with a 2 games to none lead in the series. The home team Carp I4C Victory must have felt as though the let one slip away.

With Dan Konkle unavailable, Easton was forced into starting apparent “Mr. Utility” Todd Fraser. I4C countered with the up and comer Chad Hargrove, as their ace Neil Cooke is sidelined with a muscle strain.

In the top-half of the first, Hargrove struggled to find the strike zone as Team Easton loaded the bases with one out via a couple of walks and a Kevin Chevrier single. However, I4C was able to escape without surrendering a run as Hargrove was able to induce ground ball outs from the next two Easton batters.

This defensive stand seemed to rally the I4C side. Mike Money lead off the bottom half of the first with a hard liner that was misplayed in the Easton outfield. After Money had advanced to second on a passed ball, Victory right fielder Trevor Wood drew a walk which put runners on first and second with no one out. Standing on second base, Money must have felt as though he had caught Easton napping as he attempted a delayed steal of third base. Although the attempt appeared successful (uncontested), veteran umpire Teddy Metcalfe ruled that Money had left the bag when the Easton pitcher was in the circle with the ball and therefore Money was out for a lead off.* Naturally, this spilled the wind from the Victory sails, and the next to batters were retired in order.

Hargrove, seemed to settle in after the first inning, striking out the side in the 2nd, and fanning two more in the third. For his efforts, he would eventually be rewarded with a 3 run lead.

For Easton, Fraser continued to struggle. In the second, he retired the first two batters, but then gave up back to back singles to Brooks Paziuk and Duane Bromley, and issued a free pass to Russ Mitchell to load the bases. Fortunately, he was able to get lead off man, Mike Money to pop up and once again end the threat without damage.

In the third inning, Fraser’s luck would run out. I4C shortstop Kevin McGuire reached via the free pass. He would score as clean up hitter Matt McNish hammered the next Fraser offering to deep left center field, a 2 run homerun. GOFL veteran Tim Power, followed the home run with a single, and promptly stole second to put himself in scoring position. Victory batter Peter Petit hit a sharp ground ball that seemed to eat up the Easton 2nd baseman Chevrier, and Power scored on the error. However, that would be it for the I4C scoring, as Fraser stepped up his play after that, only allowing 2 more base runners over the next 4 innings whicle collecting 7 of his 8 strikeouts on the night.

As is indicative of good ball clubs, the defending GOFL champions would not roll over. In the top of the 4th with one out, back to back to back singles by Johnny Peck, Scott Marion, and Pat O’Connor (RBI) would score the first Easton run. Easton catcher Al Read, flied out to left, and Dave Tubman drew a walk to load the bases. However, Marion was cut down attempting to score on a passed ball to end the inning.

Easton would tie the game in the 5th, on the strength of a two run blast by Todd Fraser, scoring Chevrier who had reached on an error.

The score would remain tied until the 7th inning. In the top half, with one out, Fraser singled and stole second, and advanced to third on a passed ball. The always dangerous Randy Peck drew his second walk of the night putting runners on the corners. Easton right fielder Cory Morrison, singled scoring Fraser and advancing Peck to third. Morrison moved to second uncontested putting two runners into scoring position. John Peck hit a ground ball to the normally sure handed I4C shortstop, however McGuire couldn’t field the ball cleanly allowing Randy Peck to score from third, Morrison to move up to third and John Peck to reach safely. Peck advanced to second on a passed ball, and with one out, Easton left fielder Scott Marion executed a perfect squeez bunt scoring Morrison from third (moving Peck to third). This would bring Pat O’Connor to the dish and with Hargrove just about ready to deliver … the lights went out. Call into action none other than “Mr. Utility” Todd Fraser, who jimmied the flux capacitor disabling the over-ride and jammed the shunt to ultimately have the lights back on after a 15 minute delay. When play resumed, O’Connor hit a a high pop up towards third base that was totally missed by the I4C third baseman but hit him as it bounced foul. This allowed Peck to score what would be the last run of the night.

I4C wasn’t able to mount an attack in their half of the seventh as Fraser, rejuvenated by the break, struck out the side.

The third game of the series will be played at Alexander Grove on Wednesday, September 13th at 9:00PM.

*As a spectator I could only imagine the kind of fireworks there would have been had outspoken manager Shawn Williams been in attendance. Unfortunately, he could not be reached for comment.

Ottawa U women's team announces roster, coaches

Some info on the Ottawa U women's fastball program. Al Read and Cory Morrison from Team Easton are coaches on the team. The team will be playing home games at the Grove in Stittsville on Sept 30 and Oct 1.

from Scott Searle

The University of Ottawa Softball team is ready to kick of the2006 season. After a grueling Evaluation Camp over the LabourDay weekend, the team was selected for their quest to improve on their Silver Medal from 2005.

2006 Roster
Jen Alexander
Nicole Dunlop
Erin Durant
Allison Hibbett
Vanessa Homiak
Lindsey McLaughlin
Erin Mulvihill
Samantha Pantalone
Carol Piche
Isabelle Richard
Allie Rutherford
Ashley Sands
Elissa Sivel
Jillian Taylor
Sarah Thompson

Coaches
Al Read
Scott Searle
Jim Cowdrey
Cory Morrison

The team will have a bit of a new look in 2006 as former Head Coach Gil Read stepped back to focus on professional and personal commitments. He has agreed to remain as a mentor to the program and help at practices. We are thrilled to announce Al Read as our new Head Coach. Al is no stranger to softball diamonds around the city as he has grown up playing in the Kanata Minor Softball Association and more recently has competed at the ISC World Tournament with Team Easton for the last 3 years, taking home bronze and silver medals. Al is committed to helping the Gee-Gees in their goal of winning the 2006 OIWFA Championship. We are also very excited to add Jim Cowdrey to the staff full-time. Jim is one of the top pitchers ever to compete for Canada and represented his country at the ISF World Championships, as well as the Pan-American Games. That experience was invaluable last year and we are thrilled to have him full time this year. We are also very happy to announce that Dale Aiken has agreed to join the staff. Dale is no stranger to the softball community in Ottawa as the new President of the Kanata Minor Softball Association. Cory Morrison and Scott Searle are returning from 2005.

For full biographies of all of our coaches and athletes please visit our website.

Successful Summer for Gee-Gees

The 2006 Evaluation Camp concluded a very successful summer for many of the Gee-Gees. Returning player Lindsey McLaughlin helped lead her Brampton Blazers to a 5th place finish at the Senior Nationals in Ile Perrot, Quebec. Jillan Taylor and Samantha Pantalone were impressive enough at the Junior Provincials to be picked up by the Clarington Juniors for their first exposure to a National Championship. The pair helped lead Clarington from a 10th place ranking to a 6th place finish at the Canadian.

New to the team in 2006, but no stranger to softball fans in the province, Vanessa Homiak led her team to a 1st place finish at the Ontario Provincials in the Midget Category and a silver medal at the Canadian Championships in Guelph. Vanessa kick-started the offence with 4 homeruns at the provincials, and another 2 at the nationals en route to being selected to the Tournament All-Star Team as an outfielder.

Not to be out-done, returning pitcher Elissa Sivel and teammate Jen Alexander led their Kars Aces Midget team to an Eastern Canadian Championship win in Truro, Nova Scotia. Jen ignited the offence with a solo homerun to win the semi-final game, and a grand-slam to put her team ahead for good in the championship match. Elissa contributed key clutch hits and a pair of stellar pitching performances to keep their opponents in check.

All of these athletes are excited to return to the Garnet and Grey in search of a championship of their own.

The team heads to Windsor and Western on September 16/17 for their first games of the year. For their full schedule please visit our website http://www.eteamz.com/ottawaufastpitch

Newboro wins North Leeds playoffs, North Fred leads Loughborough league finals

North Leeds League website http://www.leaguelineup.com/welcome.asp?url=nlmf

September 11, 2006 - -- The series went 5 games and both teams had mercy wins but Newboro outlasted Greenbush last night to win the league championship. Newboro won game 1, 8 - 1, Greenbush won games 2 and 3, 9 - 8, and 10 - 4 respectively, Newboro won game 4, 11 - 3 and also won last night 12 - 8 to win the series 3 - 2.

Loughborough League: From the Kingston Whig newspaper http://www.thewhig.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=184982&catname=Local%20Sports&classif=Sports%20-%20Local

September 9, 2006 - Blake Orr led off the game with a home run, but the North Fredericksburgh Kings responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning Thursday night, en route to a 5-2 win over Sydenham in the opening game of the Loughborough Fastball League final series.

The Kings will take a 1-0 lead into the second game of the best-of-seven series Monday in Sydenham. A two-run home run by Mike Finn was the highlight of North Fred's first-inning uprising. Bryan Brooks collected the pitching win, while Mike Halligan took the loss.

Pontiac fastball rumours

Some interesting fastball rumours from the Pontiac Equity newspaper, by sports reporter Wilbur McLean. The articles are at http://www.theequity.ca/te_page03.htm (but only for another day or two).

According to Wilbur's reports in the September 6th edition, page 3:

In an article on the Shawille Snappers winning the McNab/Braeside Junior Fastball league title:

"Next year the Snappers plan to move from the six-team McNab/Braeside league to the R.A. League in Ottawa. The R.A. League is a higher grade of fastpitch. The Quyon Junior Flyers made a similar move three years ago, winning the McNab/Braeside league then shifting to the R.A. League, this year capturing the regular season title there."

In another story about the Quyon Flyers losing in the R.A. League final, Wilbur writes:

"The Flyers are also considering switching leagues for next year, and may move to either the Greater Ottawa Fastball League or Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League, both of which represent the top tier of fastpitch in the Ottawa and Ottawa Valley areas, respectively."

Snappers photo

Congratulations to the Shawville Snappers who won the McNab/Braeside junior league championsip the year over the Micksburg Jr. Twins. This photo was in The Equity newspaper, http://www.theequity.ca/ which featured articles all summer about this junior league, the UOVMFL and the Quyon Flyers from their sports reporter Wilbur McLean, who just happens to play for the Snappers by the looks of it!

Games 2 and 3 now set in Team Easton / Carp I4C Victory semi-final

Dates have been set for games two and three of the Team Easton / Carp I4C Victory series.

Game 2: Monday September 11, 9:00PM at Stittsville
Game 3: Wednesday September 13, 9:00PM at Stittsville

Note that Carp will be the home team for the Sept 11 game.

Easton leads the series 1-0.

Team Easton takes 1-0 lead in GOFL semi-final

from Shawn Williams

Team Easton Jumps Out to Early 1-0 Series Lead Over Carp I4C Victory in GOFL Semi-Final Series

What started out with some promise ended in defeat Wednesday night for the Carp I4C Victory in Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) action last night at the Carp Fairgrounds as Kanata Team Easton took a 1-0 semi-final series lead with a 5-1 win. A scheduling conflict had the game played in Carp with Kanata being the home team.

Dan Konkle (1-0) got the complete game win for Team Easton throwing a three hitter and giving up no earned runs. Konkle struck out 15 and walked four. Easton committed one error and Carp left six runners on base.

For Carp, Neil Cooke took the loss (0-1), throwing four innings before leaving the game with an injury and was relieved by Chad Hargrove. Cooke gave up one earned run on three hits, struck out six and walked two. In relief, Hargrove surrendered three runs on six hits, struck out three and walked one. Carp made one error and Kanata left seven runners on.

Carp scored its lone run of the game in the top of the second inning when Pete Pettit lead off with a walk. Then after a pop up and a strike out, Russ Mitchell drew a two out walk moving Pettit to second. Pettit and Mitchell moved up sixty feet on a passed ball with Dany Viel at the plate. Pettit scored when Kanata catcher, Todd Fraser dropped the ball on a third strike and on the ensuing throw, first baseman, mishandled the toss allowing Pettit to score and Viel was safe at first. Mitchell moved to third on the play before Mike Money popped out to Fraser in foul territory to end the inning. On the night, Carp stranded runners at third in the second, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Said Carp Head Coach and General Manager, Shawn Williams, “You just don’t get that many chances against and elite Intermediate pitcher like Dan. When you do, you have to cash them and we just couldn’t get the job done tonight. It was a tough loss and I didn’t think the score reflected the fact that we hit the ball well tonight, just not at the right times.”

Team Easton score two runs in the bottom of the third. Dave Tubman drew a one out walk and stole second on what seemed to Carp players to be an obvious lead-off but was undetected. Then Cooke was sure he had Kevin Chevrier struck out however that wasn’t the case and Chevrier ended up hitting a double and scoring Tubman for Team Easton’s first run of the game. Chevrier then stole third and on the throw down it was mishandled and went into shallow left field allowing Chevrier to score and making the score 2-1 for Kanata.

In the bottom of the fifth with Hargrove now on the mound for Carp, Scott Marion who had replaced Al Read lead off with a single. Again it appeared that there was missed lead off call at first and Marion was allowed to steal second. A Tubman single scored Marion to make it 3-1 and then Chevrier singled to move Tubman to third. Chevrier then stole second and Tubman came home and scored. With Chevrier on second, Randy Peck hit a single to score Chevrier. Cory Morrison followed that with a single and he and Peck advanced to second and third on a passed ball. Konkle then walked to load the bases and with two out Pat O’Connor struck out and on the dropped third strike, Carp catcher Mike Money stepped on home plate for the force out.

Offensively for Kanata Team Easton, Chevrier lead the way going 3-4 with two RBI’s, two runs scored and two stolen bases. Tubman was 1-3 with a walk and two runs scored and Scott Marion was 1-2 with a run scored and a stolen base.

For Carp, Pettit was 2-2 with a run scored and two walks. Pettit reached base safely in all four plate appearances. Wood was 1-3 with a triple.

The next two games will be played in Stittsville on Monday, September 11th and Wednesday, September 13th a the Alexander Grove Park. Both games will start at 9:00 PM.

Stittsville advances to GOFL final with semi-final series sweep

Stittsville swept the GOFL semi-final series with a 4-2 victory over WC Electric in game three on Wednesday night in Stittsville to win the series three games to none.

Darren Featherstone had the complete game win, throwing a four hitter and allowing two runs, with no walks, one hit batter, and seven strikeouts.

Steve Cavanagh got his first start of the year for WC Electric as Bud Hanlon was injured and Brad Porter was late due to work commitments. Cavanagh allowed one run on four hits, one walk and two strikeouts in two innings of work. Brad Porter took the loss in relief, throwing four innings and allowing six hits, two earned runs, walking two and striking out seven.

Stittsville scored the first run of the game in the second, as Dan Preston led off with a single, was sacrificed to second by Darren Ladouceur, followed by a Mike Barrett hit an RBI single. John Craig later hit a single and Barrett attempted to score but was thrown out at the plate in a 7-1-2 relay to home.

The 56ers padded their lead to 2-0 in the third, as a couple of costly WC Electric errors resulted in an unearned run in Porter’s first inning of work. Scott Herriott led off for Stittsville with a single. Dan Jessiman attempted to sacrifice bunt, and a WC Electric error resulted in two runners on base. Darren Featherstone subsequently hit a fly ball to left which was misjudged, allowing Herriott to score. After an infield single by Sam Oliver, the bases were loaded with none out. However Porter then responded and struck out the next three batters.

WC Electric tied the game at 2-2 in the top of the fourth. Neil Murphy hit a one out double and then Troy Wilson was hit by a pitch. After a Todd Clouthier ground out moved the runners to second and third, with two out, Shawn Rebertz came to the plate. Rebertz hit a single to score two runs.

In the bottom of the fifth, Stittsville regained the lead. Sam Oliver hit a two out triple to right centre. After Dan Preston walked, Darren Ladouceur then hit an RBI single to put the 56ers up 3-2.

Stittsville added an insurance run in the sixth, as John Craig hit his third single of the game, and advanced to second and third on wild pitches. After a Dan Jessiman walk, Darren Featherstone then hit a line drive off Porter’s glove, scoring Craig.

With the win, the 56ers sweep the WC Electric in GOFL semi-final action for the second year in a row. Stittsville will now wait for the winner of the Team Easton / Carp I4C Victory semi-final to begin the best of five final.

http://ca.geocities.com/fitzroyfastball/box090606.htm

Pontiac and Micksburg knotted at one in UOVMFL finals

from Shawn Laframboise

Micksburg jumped out to a 1 - 0 series lead last Thursday as Corey Costello threw a no-hitter, and added a solo homerun of his own to win the game 1 -0. Costello's only blemish to his pitching was a walk to his counterpart Lenny Burger. Burger threw a two-hitter in the loss. After the game, when Royals coach Tim Ferrigan was asked about the homerun, he replied, "I have nothing but respect for the guy, but if we have a choice it won't happen again".

In game two, Costello was given the intentional free pass in his first three at bats, as the game stayed scoreless until the sixth inning. Both Burger and Costello were mowing down batters one after another. After the first intentional walk, there were words exchanged between the Royals coach andTwins' ace. Burger then proceeded to retire the next Micksburg batter on strikes. In the bottom the first inning, Matt Greer led off and was hit by a pitch. He reached second on a passed ball, and then stole third, only to be left stranded.

In the top of the sixth, Jerry McIntyre led off with a walk in an at bat that lasted seven or eight pitches. He reached second on a pass ball, and then was bunted over to third. He then scored on a ground ball to Burger who took the out at first, with the relay to home plate not in time.

Greer was hit again in the bottom of the sixth inning by a Costello rise-ball that got away. Both pitchers were throwing hitless ball into the seventh inning with only blemish to Costello's game being the two bean balls to Greer. Burger's only faults were the three intentional walks to Costello, and the walk to McIntyre.

In the bottom of the seventh, Burger led off for the Royals and reached first on an error to the Micksburg second baseman. Chad Milne walked, putting two on with no out. Ron Laronde then came through, ending Costello's hitless streak of thirteen innings with a single to center, and tying up the game in the process. With runners on the corners and no outs, Costello decided to give Tony Newberry the free pass to give them the forceout at home plate if needed. Ferrigan called the squeeze play with Shawn Laframboise up, and Costello managed to get Milne just in time at home for the first out. The same playwas called again and this time the Micksburg third baseman made the play at ome for the second out. Costello then got out of a jam with his 15th trike-out of the night.

Burger started the eighth inning giving up a walk. Barry McIntyre reached first with a sac bunt and an error charged to Burger. With runners on first and second, Brad Steege reached first on a drag bunt that fooled the Royals infield, to load up the bases for Costello. This time Ferrigan was unable to give him the free pass and Burger had to go at him. With only one out, and the count to 1 - 2, Burger induced Costello to hit a ground ball to short, and Milne made the play at home to get the second out. Jamey Mick followed suit, grounding out to Milne to get the Royals out of the jam.

In the bottom of the eighth, Costello struck out Greer and Joe McCleary to start off the inning. Burger then hit a bloop single into left field to start things off. This brought up Milne, who went up and smashed a riseball at the shoulders for a walk-off triple, off the fence in center field to win the game. Burger finished the game going 8 strong and throwing a no-hitter, with 5 walks, two batters reaching on errors, and adding 13 K's. Costello threw a 3-hitter, posting 15 K's in the loss. In the two games, Costello has given up only three hits, with Burger giving up only two.

Shawville wins Junior League playoffs

The Shawville Jr Snappers won the best-of-five final against the Micksburg Jr Twins in game five to win the McNab/Braeside Junior Men's Fastball title.

Matt Greer threw a complete game 1-hitter in the 4 - 0 victory. Joran Graham also threw the complete game, taking the loss.

In the top of the first inning, after striking out the first two Shawville batters, Graham gave up a walk to Dennis McCleary. Greer then made him pay the price, knocking out a Graham offering to deep left, to give the Snappers the early 2 - 0 lead.

In the fourth inning, McCleary hit a high fly ball to right field, and was almost at second base, when the Micksburg fielder dropped it. The relay to third was wild and over the fence, allowing McCleary to score on the series of errors. The Snappers added one more to ensure the victory.

Awards
Micksburg Twins:
Most Valuable Player: Matt Romain
Most Improved Player: Cody Coughlin
Most Sportsmanlike: Adam Stone

Shawville Snappers:
Most Valuable Player: Matt Greer
Most Improved Player: Curtis Daley
Most Sportsmanlike: Jeff Drisner

GOFL All-Star Teams announced

The GOFL is pleased to announce the league's all-star teams as voted on by each GOFL member teams. Each captain submitted their votes - teams could not vote for their own players.

Congratulations to each player recognized!

First Team All-Stars
Pitcher: Dan Konkle, Team Easton (unanimous selection)
Catcher: Todd Fraser, Team Easton
First Base: John Peck, Team Easton (unanimous selection)
Second Base: Kevin Chevrier, Team Easton
Third Base: Randy Peck, Team Easton (unanimous selection)
Shortstop: Michael Cavanagh, West Carleton Electric
Left Field: Ryan Bond, Stittville 56ers
Centre Field: Dan Jessiman, Stittsville 56ers
Right Field: Matt McNish, Carp I4C Victory
Designated Player: Mike Branchaud, Manotick Lomor Printers

Second Team All-Stars
Pitcher: Dan Bradley, Stittsville 56ers (unanimous selection)
Catcher: ShawnHoule, Carp I4C Victory
First Base: Scott Jessiman, Stittsville 56ers (unanimous selection)
Second Base: Scott Herriott, Stittsville 56ers
Third Base: John Craig, Stittsville 56ers
Shortstop: Kevin McGuire, Carp I4C Victory
Left Field: Kyle Gourgon, Carp I4C Victory
Centre Field: Dave Tubman, Team Easton
Right Field: Darren Featherstone, Stittsville 56ers
Designated Player: Scott Parsons, Stittsville 56ers

I4C goes 2-2 at Elkland Open Tourney

from Shawn Williams

First, before reading the attached story on the blog, I would suggest that any team from Eastern Ontario that wants to attend a tournament with quality competition, your club should consider the Elkland Tournament in Elkland, PA. Elkland is just across the New York state border in northern Pennsylvania. It’s about 5 ½ hours from Ottawa/Kanata to Elkland. The organizers have always taken the distance our team has had to travel when setting up the schedule so we have always been scheduled for late morning/early afternoon. This year there were 17 teams in the tournament including ISC Finalists the NY Patsy’s as well as the NY Gremlins that included such players as former Canadian National Team pitcher, Steve Price and New Zealand National Team player, Jared Martin. ISC II fourth place finisher, The Rise was also there. If you want your team to get better and have some good competition, this is a tournament to consider.

Rain dampens weekend but not spirits of softball players and fans.

The Carp I4C Victory team headed to Elkland, PA over the Labour Day weekend under sunny skies and full of hope for a successful weekend tournament. Unfortunately, Hurricane Ernesto had something to say about that. After getting the first game in on Friday night between host Elkland and local team Keenyville Fastpitch, the skies opened up around 2:00 AM on Saturday and did not let up for 24 hours straight forcing organizers to scramble with the schedule, a washed out field and challenging conditions on the other two diamonds. As a result, all games on Sunday were reduced to five innings with a mercy rule of seven runs after four innings. It was a tremendous job done by the tournament organizers under the most challenging conditions most teams, players and fans had seen in many years.

Carp opened up against host Elkland at 1:00 PM on Sunday. Elkland had recruited former New Zealand National team pitcher, Paul Algar as well as Bill Hillhouse, a former pitcher on the U.S. National team and younger brother of Elkand’s regular starting pitcher, Hugh Hillhouse. Algar started the game for Elkland and Carp countered with its ace, Neil Cooke. It was something of a challenge for the I4C Victory as Algar had defeated Carp the last two times the team had made the trip to Elkland. Those years, Algar was throwing for Shaggy Dog out of Erie, PA. A series of timely hits, strong pitching by Cooke and solid defence had Carp out to a 4-1 lead after 3 ½ innings of play. In the bottom of the fourth, Carp Head Coach and General Manager, Shawn Williams made a change, bringing in Dan Bradley, a pick-up from the Stittsville 56ers for the weekend. After giving up a lead-off walk, Bradley shut down Elkland in the fourth and the score was still 4-1 going into the 5th inning. The Victory didn’t add any runs in its half of the fifth but in the bottom of the fifth, Elkland mounted a comeback. After making the score 4-2, Elkland put two more runners in scoring position and drove those two in to tie the score at 4-4. Williams went back to Cooke to try and close the door and take the game to extra innings but with a runner on second, a soft bloop single to left field would score the runner from second on a close play at the plate. The hard but clean slide jarred the ball loose from Carp catcher, Shawn Houle and the final score was 5-4 for Elkland and a cracked rib for Houle.

Carp’s second game was against local team, Bill’s Produce. Williams told the team before the game that this would be the toughest game for Carp to win that weekend after the emotional letdown of losing to Elkland and Williams’ words proved to be prophetic. The game was played on Diamond 2 where the area in front of the 3rd base dugout was a small lake. The first base dugout was a mud bowl but that’s what 24 hours of straight rain will do to a ball field. Carp started Bradley in this game and with Houle sitting out, Pete Pettit took over the catching duties. Bradley and Pettit just couldn’t get a rhythm going and with the balls being very slick a series of passed balls and wild pitches and a couple of hits by Bill’s Produce had Carp down 3-0 early in the game. Carp battled back scoring two runs of its own and made some defensive changes, bringing Mike Money in from his regular centrefield position to catch. Pettit returned to his regular second base position and Russ Mitchell moved to the outfield. However, things didn’t get much better and a two run homer by Bill’s Produce catcher, Tim McCloskey produced two more runs for the locals making the score 5-2. Williams went to the bullpen again, bringing in
19-year-old right hander, Chad Hargrove. Hargrove settled in nicely and shut down Bill’s Produce the rest of the way. In the top of the fourth, Carp got things going on offence and scored four runs to take a slim 6-5 lead. In the top of the fifth, the Victory scored three more making the final 9-5 on the darkening fields of unlit Diamond 2.

Carp’s last scheduled game for Sunday evening was moved to Monday morning at 7:30 AM against Aqua Specialists. The Carp bats were ready and with Hargrove on the mound, I4C Victory won handily, 9-1. This brought up a meeting for the third time in a row at the Elkland tournament against Shaggy Dog. Cooke started for Carp while Erie countered with Toronto native and well traveled softball nomad, Tom Berube. Erie opened with an unearned run in the top of the first, when its lead off hitter reached second on an error and was advanced to third on a fielder’s choice before scoring on a sacrifice fly to left field. In the top of the second, with runners at second and third and two out, the Dogs’ number nine hitter hit a ball that barely eluded the glove of Pettit at second base. Pettit managed to knock the ball down but two runs scored making it 3-0 after 1 ½ innings. Things stayed that way until the fourth when Carp answered back with a run of its own. In the bottom of the sixth, controversy erupted when Tim Power hit a double down the third base line scoring another run for Carp and making the score 3-2. Erie protested and crossed the line resulting in the ejection of its catcher and first base coach. There were some words exchanged between Williams and a number of the Erie players before cooler heads prevailed. Erie removed Berube and replaced him with its first baseman who shut down Carp making the final score 3-2 for Shaggy Dog.

It was a successful weekend for the I4C Victory as the team outscored its opponents, 24-14. Hargrove had both wins for the Victory while Cooke and Bradley were both 0-1.

Blackburn Men's league playoff preview

The regular season of the Blackburn Men’s Fastball League (BMFL) came to a close on last night. The playoffs begin Thursday, September 7th. Below is the first round schedule. The first round is best-of-three series. Key pitchers and other notables are listed.

Quarter-finals Bye: #1 Good Ol' Boys Congratulations to the Good Ole’ Boys on finishing in first place, three points ahead of the second place Guzzlers. The Good Ole’ Boys (Gilles Roy, Andy Dunn, John Tremblay) win a bye through to the second round.

#2 Guzzlers vs #7 Stan's Diner Draughts Thursday, September 7th at 9:00pm Sunday, September 10th at 7:00pm The second-place Guzzlers (“Disco” Stew Shonfeild, Kevin Shonfeild, Joe Allan) take on the last place Draughts (Mike Goodfellow, Dave Millette, Derek Bergeron, Scott Parsons)

#3 Blues vs #6 Ball Bangers Series tied 0-0 Thursday, September 7th at 7:00pm Sunday, September 10th at 9:00pm The Blues (Shannon Borho, Steve Walman, Norm Manns) take on the Ball Bangers (Rob Elder, Tim Keyes, Anil Hayes)

#4 Knights vs #5 Wally's A's Series tied 0-0 Sunday, September 10th at 5:00pm Tuesday, September 12th at 7:00pm The Knights (Jamie Blakely, Ryan & Tyler Cox, Brett Dugan, Chad Milne, Gerry Sancartier) take on Wally’s A’s (Will Mood, Will Lowe, “TJ” Terry Jones).

Pontiac edges Micksburg 2-1 to even UOVMFL finals at a game apiece

from Wayne Ready

Pontiac Royals evened up the best of seven series with a 2-1 victory over the Micksburg Twins in 8 innings in the UOVMFL finals in Bryson on Tuesday night.

Again it came down to pitching. Veteran lefty Len Burger was the winning pitcher for the Royals giving up only 1 hit. Corey Costello suffered the loss while only giving up 2 hits.

Game 3 is scheduled for Friday night in Micksburg--Game time is 8:30.

Stittsville wins 5-0 in Fitzroy Harbour in Game 2

Stittsville defeated WC Electric 5-0 to take a two game to none lead in the best-of-five GOFL semi-final series in game 2 on Tuesday night.

A nice crowd was on hand in Fitzroy Harbour to watch the game, which was played in beautiful late summer conditions.

Dan Bradley had yet another complete game win for the 56ers, scattering six hits for the shutout and once again showing excellent control by walking none and striking out fourteen.

With Bud Hanlon on the bench due to a shoulder injury, Brad Porter went the distance for the home team and pitched well, allowing three earned runs on five hits, three walks and nine strikeouts.

Stittsville opened the scoring with a Mike Barrett solo homerun in the top of the third.

After a single by Michael Cavanagh, his second of the game, and an infield single by Jon Daley, WC Electric threatened with base runners on second and third with one out in the bottom of the third, but could not get the run across.

With the score a tight 1-0 margin after five complete, a series of three consecutive errors by WC Electric in the sixth resulted in two more Stittsville runs. John Craig and Scott Herriott both reached on errors, and a misplayed fly ball off the bat of Dan Jessiman resulted in two runs scoring.

Stittsville finished the scoring with two more runs in the seventh. Darren Ladouceur led off the inning wit a walk, was sacrificed to second by Rob Rattray and brought in on an RBI double by Craig. Craig subsequently scored on an RBI single by Scott Herriott.

Neil Murphy and Todd Clouthier had doubles for the home team. Troy Wilson also had a single to lead off the sixth inning, but Bradley struck out the next six batters he faced to seal the victory. WC Electric had the lead off batter reach safely in three innings (first, second, sixth) but failed to get a run across.

Game three is Wednesday September 6 in Stittsville at 8:30PM.

http://ca.geocities.com/fitzroyfastball/box090506.htm

I4C Victory / Team Easton series to begin Wednesday

The I4C Victory vs. Team Easton best-of-five GOFL semi-final will begin with Game 1 Wednesday night at 9PM in Carp.

Subsequent games are to be determined.

Blackburn wins silver at OASA Men's C

Word is that Blackburn won the silver medal in the "C" division at the rain-plagued OASA Men's Provincials in North Fred this past weekend.

The tourney had nine teams and was to determine the B and C provincial champions.

There was also discussion that North Fred may be the location for the ISC II eastern Ontario qualifier in June 2007.

Ottawa Blitz announces 2007 tournament

Ottawa Blitz have made an announcement on Al's about their tourney next year:

http://www.mail-archive.com/alsfastball%40fastpitchwest.com/msg01627.html

Micksburg defeats Pontiac 1-0 in Game 1

from the Pembroke Daily Observer
http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=176297&catname=Local%20Sports&classif=

NOTE: Costello threw a no-hitter, and Burger threw a two-hitter in this game.

Costello steals the show in Micksburg victory
Take 1-0 lead in fastball final
by STEPHEN UHLER Local Sports - Friday, September 01, 2006

The Micksburg Twins have taken the lead in the Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League finals against the Campbell's Bay Royals, thanks to pitcher Corey Costello.

A fourth-inning home run hit by Costello ended his pitching duel with Lenny Burger, and proved to be the game winner, as Micksburg chalked up a 1-0 victory to take the opening game in the best-of-seven series.

Playing at home, the Twins first made their bats sing in the bottom of the first, with a double by Barry McIntyre. However, he got no further than that as Burger quickly shut his teammates down.

This continued throughout the game, with Burger and Costello keeping the bats quiet, with an able infield mopping up the occasional hit.

Still scoreless by the bottom of the fourth inning, after Brad Steege was called out, Corey Costello stepped up next and connected with Burger's pitch, sending the ball over the fence.

Micksburg pressed hard to increase their lead. Jamie Mick struck out, then Chad Costello singled. Under the two out rule, the Twins' catcher was called back and Mick acted as his substitute runner. With Kerr Childerhose at bat, Mick attempted to steal second and slide under the reach of the second baseman, but was called out by the umpire covering the base.

After that, Costello and Burger picked up the pitching duel where they had left off, which quieted the bats for the remainder of the game.

The Twins and Royals head to Bryson, Quebec for game two of the final on Tuesday, Sept. 5, starting at 8 p.m. Game three is back in Micksburg on Friday, Sept. 8 at 8:30 p.m.