WC Electric vs. Easton Thurs night CANCELLED

The game re-scheduled tonight between Team Easton and WC Electric that was to be played in Richmond tonight has been cancelled. Unfortunately there were no umpires available to officiate the game.

We'll work on a replacement date.

Showcase Revisions

Due to a combination of the fact that Stittsville is unable to field a team on the weekend, and the Senators home game complicating things, the revised schedule for the Showcase in Quyon is posted below:

Home team is on the right unless indicated otherwise.

Fri
7PM WC Electric vs. Quyon
8:45PM Quyon vs. Team Easton (replaces July 10 game on schedule)

Sat
D1 9AM Blitz vs. Carp
D2 10AM Quyon vs. Manotick
D1 11AM Orleans vs. WC Electric
D2 12noon Team Easton vs. Blitz
D1 1PM Manotick vs. Carp (Flip for home game)
D2 2PM Blitz vs. WC Electric (Flip for home game)
D1 3PM Carp vs. Orleans

Quyon 8 Orleans 4 (from Tuesday night)

from Jeff Langford

Quyon Flyers defeated Orleans Gators on Tuesday night in Quyon by a score of 8-4, overcoming an early 4-2 Orleans lead.

Chad Hargrove took the loss for Orleans giving up 7 runs in 5 innings. Nick Bowman came on in relief and pitched the 6th inning and giving up 1 run.

Orleans had a early 4 run inning off starter Jonathan Belisle to take a 4-2 lead. However Joran Graham came on in relief and did not allow any more Orleans runs and lead the comeback with a home run in the middle innings to put Quyon on top for the remainder of the game.

Dennis McCleary was one of the offensive leaders for the Flyers going 3 for 3 at the plate plus a walk.

Manotick defeats the Blitz 5-0

Manotick Lomor Printers defeated the Ottawa Blitz in Manotick on Wednesday night by a score of 5-0. All runs scored were unearned.

Here are the pitching lines:

Manotick:
Shannon Borho (W) 7IP, 0R, 0ER 1BB, 2H, 8Ks

Blitz:
Derick Bulley (L) 3 2/3IP, 3R, 0ER, 0BB, 7H, 2Ks
Jamie Blakely 3 1/3IP, 2R, 0ER, 2BB, 2H, 4Ks

Top Manotick hitters:
Don Cox 2-4, triple, 2 RBI
Trevor Lahey 2-3, RBI
Adam Bickell 1-4 2R
Trevor Power 1-4 RBI
John Lindsey 1-2 RBI

Promo Video for this year's ISC Worlds in Kitchener

Check it out on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZxO8OSOCfU

WC Electric defeats Manotick 5-0

West Carleton Electric defeated Manotick by a score of 5-0 in Fitzroy Harbour on Tuesday night in six innings.

Bud Hanlon had the win for Fitzroy, throwing 5 innings of shut out ball, allowing only 4 hits, striking out 8 and walking one. Brad Porter threw the final inning three up three down for the 'Trics, striking out one.

Trevor Lahey threw the complete game for Manotick, allowing 5 earned runs over 5 innings, 8 hits, striking out 7 and walking one.

Shawn Rebertz started things off for Fitzroy in the bottom of the second stroking a double. After being sacrificed to third by Michael Cavanagh, Rebertz scored on a Neil Murphy RBI single to put the home team up 1-0.

Jason Armstrong led off the bottom of the third with a double, then scored on Trevor Barton's RBI single. Despite runners on first and second with none out, Lahey managed to pitch out of the jam to keep the score at 2-0 for Fitzroy.

Fitzroy scored two in the fourth. Steve Cavanagh walked and advanced to second on a wild pitch, then scored on Jason Armstrong's triple to the fence. Armstrong subsequently scored on Barton's second RBI single of the night to make the score 4-0.

The WC Electric final run was scored on a solo Troy Wilson home run in the fifth.

Manotick managed five base runners on the night, but was unable to score any, and conceded after 5 1/2 innings as per the league mercy rule.

Fitzroy scored 5 runs on 8 hits, made no errors and left five runners on base. Manotick scored no runs on 4 hits, made no errors and left five runners on base.

Top Hitters:

Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric:
Trevor Barton 2 for 3, 2 RBI
Troy Wilson 1 for 3, HR
Shawn Rebertz 1 for 3, double, scored run
Neil Murphy 1 for 3, RBI
Jason Armstrong 2 for 2, double, triple, two runs scored

Manotick:
Adam Bickell 1 for 2, BB
Cal Medynski 1 for 3, 2B
Trevor Lahey 1 for 2, 2B

Week 3 stats available

Check out the week 3 GOFL stats, now available at http://www.allprosoftware.net/GOFL2007/default.htm

Leaders in selected categories:

Batting Average (minimum 6 at bats):

Joel Langford (Gators) .714
Kyle Gourgon (Victory) .667
Kevin McGuire (Victory) .625
Steve Edgerton (Manotick) .600
Rich Antunes (Manotick) .556

Runs Scored:

Cory Morrison (Easton) 5
Joran Graham (Flyers) 5
Matt Alkerton (Gators) 4
12 others at 3

Hits:

Cory Morrison (Easton) 7
Joe McCleary (Flyers) 6
Shawn Houle (Victory) 6
6 others at 5

Doubles:

Kevin McGuire (Victory) 2
18 others at 1

Triples:

Steve Edgerton (Manotick) 2
Darron Barr (Blitz) 2
7 others at 1

Home Runs:

Joe McCleary (Flyers) 2
Dan Jessiman (56ers) 2
17 others at 1

Walks:

Chad Hargrove (Gators) 5
Jordan Kearns (Flyers) 5
Randy Peck (Easton) 4
4 others at 3

RBI:

Scott Herriott (56ers) 7
Randy Peck (Easton) 5
Joe McCleary (Flyers) 5
Dan Jessiman (56ers) 4
Steve McLaughlin (Victory) 4
8 others at 3

Team Fielding:

Gators .989
Manotick .986
Easton .980
Victory .973
Flyers .973
WC Electric .966
Blitz .943
56ers .915

ERA (minimum 7 IP)

Chad Hargrove (Gators) 1.52
Dan Konkle (Easton) 1.75
Neil Cooke (Victory) 1.91
Matt Greer (Flyers) 2.00
Derick Bulley (Blitz) 2.06

Strikeouts

Chad Hargrove (Gators) 48
Dan Konkle (Easton) 48
Dan Bradley (56ers) 32
Derick Bulley (Blitz) 28
Neil Cooke (Victory) 21

Innings Pitched

Dan Konkle (Easton) 28
Chad Hargrove (Gators) 23
Dan Bradley (56ers) 22.2
Derick Bulley (Blitz) 17
Matt Greer (Flyers) 14

Easton / WC Electric move game

Game #23, WC Electric at Team Easton has been moved from Weds May 30 to a Thurs May 31, at 9:00PM in Richmond, in order not to conflict with game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Carp Cruises to a 5-0 Victory Over Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric

from Shawn Williams

Sometimes life is not fair. On a night when it seems the softball gods are onside with a team, things still don't always work out. Despite losing 5-0 to Carp I4C Victory, the highlight (or rather highlights) of the night were two outstanding plays made by Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electrics left fielder, Steve Cavanagh. Twice during the game, Cavanagh threw a bullet from his post in left field to Trics catcher, Steve "Beef" Johnson resulting in outs at home plate and denying runs to the Victory.

However on this night, Carp matched Cavanagh and his teammates with some excellent team defence of its own lead by third baseman Al Read and shortstop, Kyle Gourgon and terrific pitching performances from Trevor Wood and Neil Cooke.

Carp openend the scoring on this night in the top of the first when lead off hitter, Mike Money singled. Shawn Houle stepped in next and drove a ball into the ground just in front of home plate. The errant throw on the play resulted in Houle being safe at first with Money advancing to second. Read singled to score Money and Houle moved up to second. Brooks Paziuk followed that with a single of his own to left field leading to Cavanagh's first assist of the night as he gunned down Houle at home on a questionable decision by Carp Head Coach, Shawn Williams to send Houle. On the throw, Read and Paziuk moved up to third and second base respectively but nothing further materialized in the inning.

Things were relatively quiet until the top of the fifth when Carp starter, Wood helped his own cause with a lead off single. A pair of sacrifice bunts by Eric Colvin and Money had Wood at third when Houle stepped up and drove in Wood with an RBI double. Steve McLaughlin followed up with a single to score Houle and stake Carp to a 3-0 lead. With two out in the fifth, Fitzroy Harbour brought in Bud Hanlon to relieve starter Brad Porter and record the final out of the inning.

In the top of the sixth, Hanlon issued a lead off walk to Paziuk who advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Pete Pettit. Paziuk went to third on a fielder's choice and scored on Wood's second single of the night.

Carp finished its scoring in the seventh when Houle singled and stole second and scored on a single by Read.

On the mound for Carp, Wood and Cooke held the three, four and five hitters in Fitzroy Harbour's order to a double and one hit batter as the two of them combined for the shutout. Wood threw five strong innings giving up no runs on four hits, three strikeouts, one walk, one hit batter and he had one wild pitch. Cooke threw two complete innings in relief giving up no runs on one hit, he struck out three and walked none. Carp committed one error.

For Fitzroy Harbour, Porter started the game and went 4 2/3 innings giving up three earned runs on eight hits, striking out two and walking one. Hanlon threw 1 1/3 innings of relief and gave up one earned run on one hit. He struck out one and walked one. Jimmy Ryan finished things in th seventh. JR gave up one earned run on two hits and struck out two Carp batters. Fitzroy Harbour also turned a 4-6-3 double play in the top of the third. The 'Trics had one error.

At the plate for Carp, Read was 2-3 with two RBI's and a walk. Houle continued to be hot, going 2-3 with a single and a double, two runs scored and a stolen base. He also reached on an error. Money was 2-3 with a run scored and a sacrifice bunt. Wood was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Carp left five runners on base.

For the Electrics, Neil Murphy was 2-3 with a single and a double. Troy Wilson was 1-2 with a double and reached first when he was hit by a pitch and Steve Cavanagh also contributed on the offensive side on the night going 1-2 with a walk. Fitzroy left seven on, six of them in scoring position.

Carp's next home game is Thursday, May 31st at the Carp Fairgrounds. Further updates will be posted on the website, www.i4cvictory.com early next week.

More GOFL schedule changes

The Sens' cup run has resulted in some schedule changes for the GOFL:

Game #22 on Wed May 30 between Ottawa Blitz and Manotick will be moved up to a new time at 6:30PM.

Game #34 and #35 from the June 2 Showcase in Quyon will be moved as well.

#34 Manotick and Carp will be played at a date to be determined.

#35 Team Easton and Orleans will be played in Orleans on July 26 at 8:30PM.

More possible changes to come.

EMC News featuring story on the GOFL

If you get the free "EMC" newspaper, make sure you check out the sports section for a feature acticle about the GOFL by reporter Jeff Maguire, with contribution from yours truly.

Carp Bats Come Alive in 8-3 Win Over Manotick Lomor Printers

from Shawn Williams

After a quiet day at the plate last Sunday in the Kingston Cowboys Tournament, a few days rest is just what the doctor ordered for the Carp I4C Victory. The time off seemed to rejuvenate the Carp bats as it cruised to an 8-3 win in 5 ½ innings over the Manotick Lomor Printers in Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) play in Carp on Thursday night.

Missing a number of players, Manotick played with just nine but managed to break open the scoring in the top of the first when Steve Edgerton hit a triple and scored when Trevor Power grounded out into a fielder’s choice.

After going down in order in its half of the first, Carp really opened things up in the bottom of the second. Steve McLaughlin and Casey Poldervaart hit back to back singles and then Kyle Gourgon stepped to the plate. Playing his first game of the year after just graduating on Monday from Mercyhurst College in Erie, PA, where he captained the NCAA Division I Lakers men’s hockey team in his senior year, Gourgon hit the second pitch he saw high and deep to left field where it just went foul. Gourgon eventually singled, scoring McLaughlin. Gourgon was 3-3 on the night in his 2007 debut with the Victory, a very impressive start to the season.

What followed was probably one of the strangest plays that has ever happened in a ball game. With Poldervaart at second and Gourgon at first, Eric Colvin hit a fly ball to deep centrefield. Poldervaart tagged up and Gourgon went half way between first and second. With the plate umpire moving out to watch the catch in centrefield and the base umpire watching Poldervaart tag up and with no Manotick players on the bench, Colvin passed Gourgon on the base paths which would normally result in an out. However, centerfielder Donny Cox had the ball hit off of the palm of his glove and it dropped in. Poldervaart scored from second on the play and having passed Gourgon, Colvin kept going and ended up at third with Gourgon moving to second. Before anyone realized what had happened, Russ Mitchell stepped to the plate and delivered a clutch two RBI single to score Colvin and Gourgon. It was Mitchell’s first hit of the year in the GOFL and he delivered when it mattered. Mitchell’s single was followed up by a Mike Money single and then another single when Kevin McGuire, the GOFL’s batting leader drove in Mitchell. McLaughlin who had started the inning finished it when he flew out to centre.

Trevor Lahey tried to get Manotick back in it by helping his own cause when he hit a solo shot to left in the top of the third off of Carp starter Paul Ceppi (2-0). Carp responded in the bottom of the third when Poldervaart legged out a triple for his second hit of the night and then scored on a Gourgon single. In the bottom of the fourth, Carp added another run when Money singled and advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and scored on a McLaughlin single. In the top of the fifth with one out, Cox got Manotick closer with a solo shot to right. At that point, Carp Head Coach, Shawn Williams made a pitching change bringing in Neil Cooke. After giving up a triple to Edgerton, his second of the night, Cooke settled down and struck out five of the next six batters he faced to preserve the win for Ceppi and the Victory.

Carp added one more in the fifth when Gourgon hit his third single of the game and moved to third on Mitchell’s second single of the contest and scored when Money reached on a fielder’s choice with Mitchell retired at second.

Rich Antunes who has been swinging a hot bat for the Printers singled in the top of the sixth but that was all Manotick could muster and with the score 8-3, Manotick chose to concede via the league mercy rule of a five run lead after six innings.

For Carp on the night, the offense was solid. Gourgon was 3-3 with an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Mitchell was 2-3 with 2 RBI’s and a run scored. Poldervaart was 2-3 with a single, a triple and a run scored while McLaughlin was 2-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Money was 2-4 with a run scored. Carp left six runners on base.

For Manotick, Edgerton was 2-3 with two triples and a run scored. Cox was 1-3 with a home run, RBI and a run scored, while Lahey’s offensive output matched Cox’s. Rich Antunes went 2-3. Manotick stranded five runners.

On the mound for Carp, Ceppi picked up his second win of the season throwing 4 1/3 innings. He gave up three earned runs on five hits, struck out five, walked one and had two wild pitches. In 1 1/3 innings of relief, Cooke gave up no runs on two hits, struck out five, walked none and had one wild pitch. Carp had no errors.

Lahey went the distance for Manotick giving up eight runs (six earned) on 13 hits. He struck out five and walked none. Manotick committed one error.

Carp’s next game is Friday, May 25th when the Victory face the Electrics in an all West Carleton match-up in Fitzroy Harbour at 8:00 PM. Projected starters for the game are Trevor Wood for Carp and Brad Porter for Fitzroy Harbour. Carp’s next home game is Thursday, May 31st. At this time Carp and Stittsville are still discussing if this will be one game or if it will be a doubleheader to make up for the postponed game (Game 7) that had been scheduled for May 16th so the start time has not been confirmed. Admission to all games is free.

Orleans sweeps two game series against Blitz

Orleans defeated the Ottawa Blitz by a score of 6-5 on Thursday night.

Chad Hargrove had the pitching win in relief of Nick Bowman.

Jamie Blakely took the loss and had relief from Derick Bulley.

Joel Langford had a home run for Orleans. Will Mood stroked a homer for the Blitz.

GOFL Schedule Changes

The GOFL announces a couple of schedule changes:

Game #5 from May 15 postponed due to weather will be played:
May 29 8:30PM Manotick at Fitzroy Harbour

Game #84 original date July 26 is being moved:
The Orleans Gators and the Quyon Flyers have rescheduled their July 26 game in Orleans to Saturday, June 16 at 1:30 pm. Game to be played at Pierre Rocque Park in Orleans. This change is in response to a request from the Orleans Amateur Fastball Assn to present a "showcase" game of competitive mens' fastball following the city-wide finals of the Slugger, Sprinter, Thrower competition in which 300 kids are expected to participate.

Orleans shut down the Blitz offense to notch a 3-1 victory

Orleans shut down the Blitz offense to notch a 3-1 victory
from Derick Bulley

On a warm night in Manotick that saw both pitchers mow down several batters, Chad Hargrove and the Gators nearly shutout the Blitz to take the first half of the home and home series.

The Gators opened the scoring in the first when Joel Langford scored on a Chad Hargrove single after an error kept the inning alive.

The score remained 1-0 untill the forth when Langford stroked a triple to the gap in left centre that cashed in Brian Friesen, who had puched a single through to lead off the inning.

Orleans added an insurance run in the seventh when Matt Alkerton was able to score after another costly error.

Hargrove kept the Blitz off balance all night and would have earned the shutout, were it not for an odd play in the bottom of the seventh. Andrew Bruce got on due to a fielders choice and decided to swipe second. Bruce overshot the bag and continued running to third. The Orleans infield seemed confused by the play and failed to get the out at third, allowing Bruce to steal two bases on one pitch. Bruce later scored on a wildpitch to break the goose egg.

For Orleans, Langford was 3 for 3 with a triple and a run scored and Brian Friesen was 2 for 3 with two runs scored. Chad Hargove had the complete game victory.

For the Blitz, Will Mood was 1 for 3 with a double and Andrew Bruce was 1 for 3 with a run scored. Derick Bulley took the complete game loss.

Pitching lines:

Hargrove (W)– 7IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 1BB, 1 HB, 13Ks
Bulley (L) - 7IP, 8H, 3R, 1ER, 6BB, 18Ks

List of results for the Kingston Victoria Day Weekend tourney

The scores of all games for the Kingston Cowboys tournament on the long weekend have been posted on Al's page.

Local teams:

Carp I4C Victory: 2-2-1 , lost in the semis
Ottawa Blitz: 2-2-1, lost in the semis
Shawville Snappers: 0-4 missed playoff round

Click here for all the score.

Stittsville defeats Quyon 8-7

from Sam Oliver

The Stittsville 56ers notched their first "W" of the 2007 season with an 8 - 7 win over the visiting Quyon Flyers on Wednesday night. The 56ers staked a 7 run lead after 3 innings, but for the second straight night suffered a late inning collapse that almost cost them the win.

The Stittsville offence got started in the first when Dan Jessiman hit his 2nd homerun of the season. A 2 run blast off of Quyon starter Joran Graham, that scored John Craig who had reached base on a walk.

In the second, Sam Oliver and Scott Jessiman both walked to start the inning, and moved into scoring position on a Joran Graham wild pitch. Scott Herriot singled down the first base line to score both runs. Graham was able to induce a fly ball and two ground outs to escape the inning without further damage.

Rob Rattray hit a one out single to spark the attack in the third frame. Oliver followed with a double to the right centerfield gap which score Rattray all the way from first, and Oliver took third on the throw to the plate. Scott Jessiman took his second free pass of the night and moved up to second on a passed ball. Once again Herriot singled to score both runs.

The Flyers got on the board in the 4th. Big Joe McCleary started it off with a lead off walk. He was forced out at second on ground ball off the bat of Matt Greer who reached on the fielder's choice. Joran Graham hit a single, his first of three hits on the night, and both he and Greer scored on a double off the bat of Nick Armitage.

With the score now 7 - 2, Graham was relieved by Matt Greer in the bottom half of the fourth. The second batter he faced, Oliver, homered over the left centerfield wall, however that would be the end of the Stittsville scoring, as Greer would only surrender two hits in his 3 innings of work.

Despite the 6 run mercy rule being in effect after 5 innings, Quyon elected to continue the game, and to their credit, they almost stole the game out of the 56ers hands.

Dan Bradley, who had been pitching well up to this point issued a lead off walk to start the 6th, this was followed by singles from Graham and Armitage, who picked up his third RBI of the night. Kenny Fleck then hit a ground ball that was fielded by Bradley who elected to throw home. Unfortunately, Dan Jessiman couldn't handle the throw, which allowed Graham to score. Bradley was able to get Shawn Lafromboise to ground out for the first out of the inning, but Dennis McCleary tripled to score both Armitage and Fleck making the score 8 - 6. Bradley was able to prevent McCleary from scoring by striking out the next two Quyon batters.

For the second time in four games, the 56ers were only able to field 8 players, and that missing outfielder nearly cost them. In the top half of the seventh with two out, Graham hit a high ball towards the right field corner and was able to leg out the inside the park homerun as the two Stittsville outfileders had been playing straight away. Fortunately for the 56ers, Bradley was able to strikeout Armitage to preserve the win.

Pitching:
Joran Graham (L) - 3IP, 7R, 7ER, 5H, 6BB, 1K, 0HB, 2WP
Matt Greer - 3IP, 1R, 1ER, 2H, 2BB, 2K, 0HB, 0WP

Dan Bradley (W) - 7IP, 7R, 7ER, 6H 4BB, 10K, 0HB, 0WP

Hitting:
Sam Oliver - 3/3, BB, 1B, 2B, HR, 3R, 2RBI
Scott Herriot - 2/5, 2 x 1B, 4RBI
Dan Jessiman - 1/4, HR, 2RBI

Joran Graham - 3/4, 2 x 1B, HR (inside the park), 3R, 1RBI
Nick Armitage - 2/4, 2B, 1B, 1R, 3RBI
Dennis McCleary - 1/3, 3B, 2RBI

Team Easton 6 Manotick 1 - UPDATED

from Tony Riches & Cory Morrison.

Team Easton defeated Manotick by a score of 6-1 in the early game in Manotick on Wednesday night. In a game that was actually closer than the score may indicate, the home team left 8 runners on base.

Dan Konkle had the win, giving up 4 hits and struck out 12. Shannon Borho took the complete game loss for Manotick giving up 12 hits, 3 walks, while striking out 2.

Team Easton got 2 runs in the each of the 1st, 4th and 7th innings, all earned except one in the first due to a "miscue" in the outfield by a certain T. Riches (probably still in shock over the recent theft of his car).

Easton started the scoring in the top of the first. After a Dave Tubman strikeout, Kevin Chevrier was hit by a pitch then Cory Morrison hit a ball to right field which Tony Riches turned into a circus leaving runners at 2nd & 3rd. Randy Peck then singled cashing both Chevrier and Morrison.

Manotick cut the lead in half in the bottom of the second when Riches doubled to right field scoring the speedy Rich Antunes (who had previously walked) all the way from 1st base.

Easton was back at it in the top of the 3rd as Tubman walked then Chevrier singled putting runners at first and second. Morrison then hit into a force play putting runners at the corners with 1 out. Manotick looked like they might get out of the inning unscathed after Morrison got caught stealing second but a walk to Randy Peck followed by a rbi single by John Peck another walk to Dan Konkle and an rbi single by Chad Milne allowed Easton to take 4-1 lead.

The score stayed that way until the top of 7th when with 1 out Morrison singled then Randy Peck walked, after a wild pitch by Shannon Borho advanced the runners, John Peck singled scoring both and putting Easton up 6-1.

Top Batters

Easton
Cory Morrison 2/4 2 runs scored
Randy Peck 2/2 2Rbi's and 2 runs scored
John Peck 2/4 3Rbi's
Chad Milne 2/4 Rbi
Kevin Chevrier 1/3 run scored

Manotick
Adam Bickell, Steve Walman and Rich Antunes had singles for Manotick and Tony Riches redeemed himself with an RBI double.

Editors note: Remember, Fitzroy Fastball doesn't write this stuff when there is a byline attached!

Team Easton defeats Quyon Flyers 3-0

from Cory Morrison

Dan Konkle pitched a gem for Team Easton last night in Quyon, giving up 3 hits and striking out 16 while walking 3.

Matt Greer threw pretty good as well for the Flyers, giving up 7 hits and striking out 5 while walking 3.

The scoring started in the top of the second as John Peck singled and was sacrificed to second by Dan Konkle. After getting Chad Milne to ground out to second base, Scott Marion ripped a single to right field to cash Peck.

The score stayed 1-0 for Easton until the top of the 6th when John Peck walked and was advanced to 3rd base on a Chad Milne single. The next batter Scott Marion then grounded out to 3rd base putting runners on 2nd and 3rd. Newly acquired Lukas Kamps then singled up the middle picking up his first hit of the year and cashing both Peck and Milne.

Quyon had threatened in a couple of innings and stranded a few runners at 3rd base. Joe McCleary continued to swing a hot stick as he went 3/3 with a double and two singles. He accounted for all of the Flyers hits and the only other players to reach base did so by BB.

Top Batters
Quyon
Joe McCleary 3/3 double 2 singles

Easton
John Peck 1/1 2 runs scored
Chad Milne 1/3 run scored
Lukas Kamps 1/3 2 RBIs
Scott Marion 1/3 RBI
Cory Morrison 2/4 SB

WC Electric prevails 9-7 over Stittsville

West Carleton Electric came back from a 5 run deficit on Tuesday night to defeat Stittsville 9-7 in Fitzroy Harbour.

Bud Hanlon had the win in relief of 'Trics starter Jim Ryan. Dan Bradley took the loss in relief of 56ers starter Darren Featherstone.

Stittsville started the scoring with a Dan Jessiman two-out double in the first, followed by a Featherstone two run homer. WC Electric answered back in the bottom of the first with two runs of their own. Trevor Barton singled with one out and advanced to second on a ground out. Shawn Rebertz then hit an RBI single. Rebertz advanced to third after Troy Wilson reached on an error and subsequently scored on a wild pitch. Score after one, 2-2.

The 56ers responded with a huge second inning. Bradley walked to lead off the inning. After two strikeouts, Rob Rattray punched out a single to centre. Scott Herriott then hit a monster three run homer that landed in the garden of the Hutchingame's house in very deep left-centre. The rally continued with John Craig hitting a double, and being driven in on a Dan Jessiman two run homer. Featherstone then stroke a very long fly ball to deep left that was caught to end the inning.

Down 7-2 after an inning and a half, the Electric responded with a three run second. After a a single, two walks and a pair of fielder's choices, Mike Cavanagh hit a two-out single that scored Steve Cavanagh and Jon Daley. Then Rebertz singled to drive in Barton to draw the 'Trics within two. 7-5 for Stittsville after two.

Hanlon came in to relieve Ryan in the top of the third, and started to quiet the bats of the 56ers.

Bradley came in to relieve Featherstone in the fourth, and pitched out of a jam to preserve the two run Stittsville lead.

After the offensive outburst in the first two innings, there was no more scoring until the bottom of the sixth.

Steve Cavanagh led things off for Fitzroy with a single. Daley then stroked a line drive two run homer over the left-centre fence to even the game at seven. Barton doubled. After a Michael Cavanagh sacrifice bunt, Rebertz then singled to drive in his third run of the game, advancing to second on a throw to the plate. Wilson then showed his wheels and legged out an infield single to put runners on the corners. Neil Murphy then hit an RBI sac fly to left, scoring Rebertz and putting the 'Trics ahead 9-7.

Despite a two out single by Dan Jessiman in the top of the seventh, Stittsville could not close the gap, and the scored ended as Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric 9, Stittsville 56ers 7.

Bud Hanlon had the win, with five innings pitched, no runs, three hits, five strikeouts and no walks. Jim Ryan started the game, threw two innings, gave up seven earned runs, six hits, four strikeouts, and one walk.

Dan Bradley took the loss in relief, throwing 2 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits, five strikeouts and one walk. Darren Featherstone had the start and went 3 1/3 innings, allowing five runs (four earned) on seven hits, striking out two and walking two.\

Offensively, Fitzroy was paced by Shawn Rebertz who went 3 for 3 with a walk, 3 RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base. Trevor Barton was 2 for 4 with three runs scored, and Jon Daley had a homer and was 2 for 3 with a walk, 2 RBI, a stolen base and two runs scored.

Stittsville's leaders were Scott Herriott (2 for 4, home run, 3 RBI, and a stolen base), Dan Jessiman (3 for 4, double, home run, 2 RBI, 2 runs scored) and Darren Featherstone (1 for 4, two run homer).

Week 2 Stats

Week two stats are now inputted. Visit http://www.allprosoftware.net/GOFL2007/ for the updated info.

Leaders in selected categories:

Batting Average:

Kevin McGuire - Carp - .800
Shawn Houle - Carp - .800
Joe McCleary - Quyon - .667

Home Runs:

Joe McCleary - Quyon - 2
Eight others tied with 1

Doubles:

Kevin McGuire - Carp - 2
Six others tied with 1

RBIs:

Joe McCleary - Quyon - 5
Rich Antunes - Manotick - 3
Adam Bickell - Manotick - 3
Randy Peck - Ott Easton - 3

ERA (minimum 6 IP)

Dan Bradley - Stittsville - 0.00
Paul Ceppi - Carp - 1.05
Chad Hargrove - Orleans - 1.62

Strikeouts

Chad Hargrove - Orleans - 25
Dan Bradley - Stittsville - 22
Dan Konkle - Ott Easton - 21

Carp I4C Victory Makes it to Semi-Finals of Kingston Cowboys Tournament

from Shawn Williams

It was two different days for the Carp I4C Victory this past weekend at the Kingston Cowboys Tournament in Sydenham, Ontario. The first day was sunny and warm with a couple of wins for Carp. Sunday was cloudy, cool with some cold Victory bats thrown in for good measure.

Kingston Cowboys 0 Carp 0
Saturday started out with a tight ball game between the Victory and the host Kingston Cowboys. While both teams threatened in a couple of innings, neither team was able to cash in runners in scoring position and the final score was 0-0. Neil Cooke started the game for Carp and earned the tie with relief from Paul Ceppi.

Carp 5 St. Leonard Jr Express 1
In the second game of the day, Carp took on last year's host of the Junior Men's Nationals, the St. Leonard Express. In what was a very slow game, the two teams were only able to complete four innings within the 90 minute time limit.

Carp opened the scoring in the bottom of the second when a double by Chad Hargrove, a walk to Al Read, a wild pitch and an RBI to Trevor Wood on a fielder's choice combined to give Carp a 2-0 lead. Eric Colvin walked and eventually scored making it 3-0 Carp after two.

St. Leonard responded in the third when a walk and two singles gave the Express its first and only run of the game.

In the fourth inning, Kevin McGuire, Shawn Houle and Steve McLaughlin hit consecutive singles with McGuire scoring on McLaughlin's single and Houle moving to third where he eventually scored on a Matt McNish sacrifice fly.

Wood (1-0) earned the win for Carp. Offensively for the Victory, McGuire was 2-3 with a run scored, McLaughlin was 2-2 with an RBI and Hargrove was 2-2 with a single a double and a walk.

Carp 2 Knoxville/Ontario 1
In Carp's last game of the day, the Victory played Knoxville and in another tight, low scoring game, won on a strange play. With the game tied 1-1 and Blake Orr on the mound for Knoxville in relief of Craig Hollingsworth, Carp had runners on second and third. With Houle at the plate with a full count, the ball got away from Orr and went high and inside striking umpire Dave Norris in the shoulder and rolling along the first base fence towards the Knoxville dugout allowing Wood to score from third making it 2-1 Carp.

Hargrove (1-0) got the win for Carp while Cooke (0-0-2, 2 SV) got the save. Umpire Norris was injured on the play but stayed in the game and completed his duties on the plate.

Ottawa Blitz 2 Carp 0
With a record of 2-0-1 after its first three round robin games, Carp was assured of a playoff position but was aiming for first place in the division and top seed in the playoff round as the Victory took on Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) opponent the Ottawa Blitz. Both teams were new to the GOFL in 2006 and the two clubs have built up a friendly rivalry. On this day, the Blitz would prevail as Jamie Blakely threw a perfect game and Ottawa won 2-0 highlighted by a Derick Bulley solo shot to centrefield. Ceppi (1-1) took the loss for Carp. Defensively for Ottawa, shortstop Darren Featherstone made several excellent plays. Featherstone, who regularly plays for the GOFL's Stittsville 56ers, will play for Carp at the ISC II Qualifier in Sydenham at the end of June.

North Fred Kings 7 Carp 0
After that disappointing loss for Carp where the bats had fallen silent, the struggles at the plate continued in the semi-final game against a tough North Fredricksburgh Kings team. The Kings, from just north of Napanee had gone undefeated in round robin play and kept right on rolling. While Carp starter Cooke kept the game close through the first three innings, the veteran Kings kept chipping away and eventually won via the mercy rule with a seven run lead after six innings. Final score, 7-0 for North Fred. Cooke (0-1-2, 2 SV) took the loss for Carp with relief from Wood. The only hit for Carp came in the top of the first when Read hit a hard double down the left field line but that was the only hit of the day for Carp which ended the tournament with a record of 2-2-1.

Carp's next game is Thursday, May 24th at 8:30 PM at the Carp Fairgrounds against the Manotick Lomor Printers followed by a Friday night tilt on May 25th at 8:00 PM against Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric. Admission to all games is free.

Blitz play well in Sydenham tourney

from Sam Oliver / Derick Bulley

Kingston Cowboys – 2
Ottawa Blitz – 2

P – (Kingston) Ryan Sharpe (5IP, 2R) Jason Smith;
P- (Ottawa) Jamie Blakely

Game Notes: Both Kingston runs were unearned as a result of some poor defensive play. Blitz runs came from back-2-back sac flies off the bats of Darren Featherstone and Sam Oliver in the first inning scoring Blakely and Terry Redden

Ottawa Blitz – 3
Knoxville-Ontario – 1

WP – (Ottawa) Darren Featherstone;
LP - (Knoxville) Blake Orr

Game Notes: Blitz score in the top of the first. Featherstone hit a two out hard come backer at the pitcher that was too hot to handle. Oliver followed with a walk, and Featherstone scored from second on the single off the bat of Chris Carrol. Featherstone hit a two out single up the middle which scored two more in the 5th.

Knoxville held scoreless until the 7th, when Lyle Brown tripled to lead off the inning, and scored on single from the next batter. Featherstone was able to close out the game without further damage.

Ottawa Blitz – 0
St. Leaonard Jrs – 6

WP - Francis LeClaire
LP – Derrick Bulley

Game Notes: The quick bats and feet of the Quebec Jr. team finally came alive in their third game of the day after struggling against Carp and K-O.

Ottawa Blitz – 2
Carp I4C Victory – 0

WP – Jamie Blakely
LP - Paul Ceppi, Chad Hargrove

Game Notes: In this must win to advance game, Blakely comes up with the performance of the weekend and pitches a masterful perfect game. A Chris Carrol RBI single and a Derick Bulley homerun provided the offence which allowed the Blitz to finish atop their division and advance to a match up against CPI in one of the semi finals. I4C takes second in the division to face North Fred in the other semi.

CPI – 6
Ottawa Blitz – 0

WP – Shaun Winship
LP - Darren Featherstone, Derick Bulley

Game Notes: A three run blast off the bat of Winship in the first inning set the tone for the game. Blitz couldn’t muster an attack in response.

This was a very good weekend for this young Ottawa Blitz team. They held their own and then some in surprising some very good competition.

Bradley, Hargrove duel as Stittsville and Orleans play to scoreless draw

from Sam Oliver

The 56ers made their first visit to Orleans on Thursday night and came away with a point as Dan Bradley dueled Chad Hargrove to 0 – 0 tie. Bradley pitched the complete game, not allowing a run, while giving up only 1 hit and 3 BB while striking out 12. The lone hit came off the bat of Max Serre who doubled in the 5th.

Hargrove matched Bradley inning for inning, not allowing a run through seven complete innings, giving up only 3 hits, while allowing 3 walks and striking out 13. Stittsville threatened in the top half of the 5th. Dan Bradley led off with a single, and with one out out, Scott Herriot slapped a single of his own into right field. Both runners moved up a base on a Hargrove wild pitch, but the young pitcher was able to maintain his focus and escape without any damage as he struck out the next two 56er batters.

Darren Featherstone had the other hit for the 56ers, an infield single in the first inning.

Carp I4C Victory and Ottawa Team Easton Battle to a 4-4 Tie

from Shawn Williams

In weather that was more suited for hockey than fastball, Carp I4C Victory and Ottawa Team Easton may have thought about instituting their own form of playoff overtime with a few more innings to see who could come out the winner in this one on Thursday night in Carp. In the end it was a 4-4 tie between the reigning Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) champs and the second year Victory squad.

Carp jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first when lead-off hitter, Kevin McGuire continued to swing a hot bat by doubling. Shawn Houle followed that with a single, scoring McGuire and later advanced to second. Houle then scored on a single by Steve McLaughlin.

Carp remained in the lead until the top of the fifth. Carp starter, Neil Cooke (0-0-1, 1 SV) was working on a no hitter when Team Easton’s Chad Milne battled him hard and after fouling off several pitches, hit a solo home run to right field. The next batter was Team Easton’s ace pitcher, Dan Konkle (1-0-1) who helped his own cause by belting a home run, also to right field. Cooke settled back in after that and struck out three of the next four batters, interrupted by a Kyle Olson single.

In the bottom of the fifth McGuire started the inning with his second double of the night. Brooks Paziuk had replaced Houle and stepped to the plate where he promptly drilled a ball over the centrefield fence to quickly restore Carp’s two run lead. However the Victory would not hold that lead.

In the top of the sixth, Ottawa showed why its veteran laden team is one of the top ranked ISC II team’s in North America. After Kevin Chevrier lined out to left, Corey Morrison singled and then stole second. Randy Peck was hit by a pitch putting runners on first and second. After a discussion on the mound, Carp’s Head Coach, Shawn Williams decided to leave Cooke in the game. Milne, who had hit a home run in his previous at bat stepped to the plate. After a wild pitch moved Morrison and Peck to third and second respectively, Milne grounded out to second and Morrison scored on the fielder’s choice making it 4-3 for Carp.

With two out, Konkle hit a towering fly ball to shallow right field. A hard charging Eric Colvin took an extra step and the ball hit off the top of his glove and dropped in for a two base error scoring Peck from third to tie the game. Paul Ceppi (1-0) came in to relieve Cooke and struck out the remaining four batters that he faced. Carp couldn’t manage to get anything going in the bottom of the sixth or seventh. Final score 4-4.

On the mound for Carp, Cooke pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs on four hits, striking out 10 and walking none. He had one hit by pitch and one wild pitch. In relief, Ceppi gave up no runs on no hits, struck out four and walked none. Carp made two errors.

For Ottawa, Konkle went the distance, giving up four earned runs on seven hits. He struck out nine and walked two. Team Easton committed no errors.

Offensively for Carp, McGuire led the way again going 2-3 with two doubles, a walk, two runs scored a stolen base. Houle was 2-2 with two singles an RBI and a run scored. Paziuk was 1-2 with a home run, two RBI’s and a run scored. Carp left four runners on.

For Team Easton, Milne was 1-3 with a home run, two RBI’s and a run scored. Morrison was 1-3 with a single, a stolen base and a run scored. Ottawa stranded three runners on the night.

Carp is off to the Kingston Cowboys Tournament in Sydenham this weekend where it will play the host Cowboys at noon on Saturday. The Victory’s next league game is at home next Thursday, May 24th at 8:30 PM at the Carp Fairgrounds followed by an all West Carleton match-up when Carp and the Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electrics meet on Friday, May 25th at 8:00 PM in Fitzroy Harbour. Admission to all games is free.

Orleans and Stittsville play scoreless tie

Stittsville visited the Gators in the first ever GOFL game in Orleans and the game ended in a scoreless draw after a pitcher's duel.

More details to follow


Current Standings
1. Quyon 2-0
2. Carp 1-0-1
Easton 1-0-1
4. Manotick 1-0
5. Stittsville 0-1-1
Orleans 0-1-1
7. Fitzroy 0-1
8. Blitz 0-2

Victoria Day Weekend Tourney in Sydenham

The Victoria Day Weekend tournament in Sydenham north of Kingston has 10 teams this year, including three local teams. Competing for this year's title are:

Napanee, ON Jr. Express
Oshawa,ON BB Jr.
North Fred, ON Kings
Shawville, QC Snappers
Oswego, NY C.P.I.
Ottawa, ON Blitz
St. Leonard, QC Express Jr.
Knoxville / Ontario (PA and ON)
Carp, ON I4C Victory
Kingston, ON Cowboys

Quyon defeats Blitz 5-3; 'Big Joe' hits another dinger

from Shawn Laframboise

Quyon Flyers defeated the Ottawa Blitz 5-3 in Quyon on Tuesday night.

Joran Graham started and pitched a complete game to get the victory for Quyon. Ryan Cox took the loss for the Blitz with relief from Derick Bulley. Graham also started the offense for the Flyers, hitting a ground ball to Cox with Luke Young on second. Cox then attempted to get Young at third but a little miscommunication allowed Young to score. That proved to be more costly than anticipated with Joseph "ZZ" McCleary taking Cox deep to right field for his league leading second homerun of the season, a two run shot, Flyers 3 Blitz 0.

After getting into a little trouble finding the strike zone in the middle of the game, Graham began to walk a few. Darron Barr knocked in the first Blitz run with a deep sacrifice fly to left field, Flyers 3 Blitz 1.

Steve McCord then added a two run home run off of Cox to extend the Flyers lead to 4. The Blitz took a charge near the end of the game and added a couple more runs however the deficit proved to be too much as the Flyers held on for the 5-3 victory.

Cancellations tonight (Wednesday) - UPDATED AGAIN

Quyon was supposed to visit the Blitz in the second part of a "home-and-home" tonight, but due to the poor weather and cold temperature, the game has been postponed.

Update: The Fitzroy - Manotick game has also been postponed.

Further Update: This just in the Carp - Stittsville game has been postponed too.

So all GOFL games scheduled tonight have been postponed. Make up dates will be announced on the blog as they become available.

GOFL Article in the Orleans Star

The GOFL and the Orleans Gators were featured in an article in the Orleans Star:

http://www.eastottawa.ca/article-104410-Citywide-fastball-league-diamond-in-the-rough.html

City-wide fastball league diamond in the rough
by Jim Donnelly

I realized I'd made a mistake only seconds after uttering the word.

“See, you said the word 'baseball'," corrected Gary Hargrove. "This is fastball."

What's the difference, I asked?

"This is windmill pitching, and there’s a big difference," continued the manager of the Orléans Gators, the latest team to join the Greater Ottawa Fastball League. They're the only squad from Orléans in the city-wide GOFL, and hooked up with the league this year after logging several seasons in the Orléans Amateur Fastball Association as the Orléans Rebels midget boys' team.

The junior-aged team (all players under 23) lost their league debut last Thursday 3-2 to the Carp I4C Victory, an intermediate side (all players over 23) with a bit more league experience.

Just don't ask the Gators about the b-word, however. “It’s a faster game than baseball,” described Hargrove.

Fastball pitches are delivered from 46 feet as opposed to 60, he explained, thus requiring greater reaction time from the hitter – top windmillers are regularly clocked at 90 mph–plus, despite slinging a large and less-aerodynamic softball.

“We’ve seen players come over from playing baseball and try to adjust to hitting fastball pitching, and it's really tough on them," he said, a little proudly. He added the basepaths are also several feet shorter.

That's a Phyrric victory for Hargrove and his fellow fastball supporters, however, who acknowledge they're fast becoming an endangered species on local diamonds across the city.

Though he said the GOFL has entered a growth phase as of late – they've moved from four teams to nine in a matter of a couple years, including clubs from Kanata (Kanata's Team Easton is the squad to beat), Manotick, Stittsville, Fitzroy Harbour, and downtown Ottawa – Hargrove points to the immense popularity of baseball (a.k.a hardball) and slow-pitch as immediate causes for windmilling's decline.

“Men’s fastball has died over the years,” explained Hargrove, whose own son Chad pitches for the team – he fanned 13 batters in his league debut last week, good for the league lead in strikeouts – along with 10 of his childhood friends, including infielder Matthew Bowman.

Bowman said he's patrolled sandlots for teams in both sports, and wouldn't think of leaving the windmill sport he's come to love. "I played high school baseball," he said. "And just comparing the two, the pace of (fastball) is so much quicker – you're not standing around as much.

Plus the mound is much closer, so it's more about reaction time," he explained. "You have a split-second to react. It's out of the pitcher's hand and you have to decide immediately whether to swing."

Bowman, however, said the experience garnered against older, more experienced competition will be invaluable for the Gators – especially when they enter high-level tournaments, as they did last August during the National Midget Fastball Championship in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. The team finished fifth in that tournament, the 20-year-old Bowman explained. But he said they could have done better had they more experience.

"We're going up against better pitching (in the GOFL), for sure," he said. "But I think we're going to gain a ton of experience this year."

We might not win as many games as we have in the past, but in the long run it'll be invaluable."

The Gators will play home games at the Pierre Rocque Park diamond (at the north end of St. Pierre Street), and games start at 8:30 p.m. on Thursdays. The team's inaugural home game is scheduled for this Thursday, May 17 versus the Stittsville 56ers.

Photo from Carp / Orleans game

from Gary Hargrove

Max Serre covers third base for the Orleans Gators in their GOFL debut game against I4C Victory in Carp on May 10. Shawn Williams looks on from the coach's box.

GOFL announces statistics site

Thanks to Statistician Sam Oliver, the GOFL statistics site is now up and running.

The site has pitching, batting, and fielding statistics as well as box scores and plenty of other information.

A reminder to teams to continue keeping detailed scoresheets, we will be able to post these statistics all season long.

The website will also be linked along the left hand menu of the blog.

http://www.allprosoftware.net/GOFL2007/

Darren Featherstone to Join Carp I4C Victory for ISC II Qualifier

from Shawn Williams

The Carp I4C Victory are pleased to announce that Darren Featherstone has been added to its roster for the Eastern Canada ISC II Qualifier to be held in Sydenham, Ontario from June 22-24.

Featherstone is another arm to add to the Carp rotation and he can also fill the role of Designated Player and play the middle infield.

Featherstone played his minor softball in the Stittsville 56ers system and played Midget for the Kanata Pirates from 1995-97. He went on to play one year of Junior for the Kemptville Thunder in 1998 before returning to Kanata to complete his Junior career with the Pirates from 1999-2002.

In 2000 he was picked up by the Alviston Indians to play at the NAFA World Series where he was a 2nd Team All-World Shortstop.

For the past two seasons he has played for the Stittsville 56ers Intermediate Men's team in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) and attended the ISC II Tournament of Champions held in Kitchener in 2006 with the 56ers.

Featherstone previously played for the Victory at the 2004 Elkland Softball Association Annual Labour Day Tournament. He will also participate for Carp in this year’s Jim Bradford Classic in Grafton form June 8-10.

GOFL Leaders after Week 1 (revised)

Home Runs
Matt Alkerton (Orleans) 1
Darren Ladouceur (Stittsville) 1
Gary Sancartier (Ott Blitz) 1
Matt Greer (Quyon) 1
Joe McCleary (Quyon) 1

Triples
Cory Morrison (Ott Easton) 1
Matt McNish (Carp) 1
Darron Barr (Ott Blitz) 1

Runs Batted In
Rich Antunes (Manotick) 3
Randy Peck (Ott Easton) 3
Adam Bickell (Manotick) 3

Strikeouts
Chad Hargrove (Orleans) 13
Dan Konkle (Ott Easton) 12
Dan Bradley (Stittsville) 10

Wins
Dan Konkle (Ott Easton) 1
Paul Ceppi (Carp) 1
Shannon Borho (Manotick) 1
Matt Greer (Quyon) 1

Quyon defeats WC Electric 4-0 in GOFL opener

The Quyon Flyers defeated the Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric by a score of 4-0 in GOFL play on Sunday afternoon in Quyon.

On a sunny afternoon, with a sizeable crowd in attendance, the Flyers made their successful debut capitalizing on home runs by Matt Greer and Joe McCleary.

Greer had the pitching win, with Joran Graham getting the save in combining for a 2-hit shutout of Fitzroy. Jim Ryan took the loss for the Harbour, with Brad Porter seeing some work in relief.

Quyon broke the scoreless tie in the bottom of the second with a solo shot by Greer off WC starter Ryan.

The score remained 1-0 until the fourth inning. With Nick Armitage on base, Ben Younge stroked a two-out single to right field for the RBI. Armitage scored, but Younge was thrown out trying to stretch his hit into a double to end the inning. Quyon 2 Fitzroy Harbour 0.

With Greer giving up the ball to Graham after four innings of no-hit ball, WC Electric threatened in the top of the fifth, with back-to-back singles by Todd Clouthier and Jason Armstrong. However the midget-aged Graham threw out of the jam, and the Flyers kept their two run lead.

Porter came on to throw for Fitzroy Harbour in the bottom of the fifth. With Graham on base, Porter threw a riseball to McCleary that didn't quite rise, and "Big Joe" put the pitch over the right field fence for a two run homer to put Quyon up 4-0.

The Flyers scored four runs on eight hits, left five on base and made one error. WC Electric score no runs on two hits, left six on base and made no errors.

Matt Greer threw four innings of no-hit ball for Quyon, striking out three and walking two. Joran Graham threw the final three innings, allowing two hits, striking out four and walking one. Offensively for the Flyers: Luke Young was 2 for 2 with a single, double and a walk; Joe McCleary was 1 for 3 with a 2-run homer; Matt Greer was 2 for 3 with a solo homer and single; Ben Younge was 1 for 3 with an RBI single.

Jim Ryan started his first GOFL game for WC Electric and pitched well over four innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, striking out four, walking two and hitting one batter. Brad Porter came in relief and threw two innings, allowing two earned runs on four hits, striking out two and walking none. Todd Clouther (1 for 3) and Jason Armstrong (1 for 2) had the hits for Fitzroy Harbour.

Quyon Box Score
Fitzroy Box Score

Carp Opens Second Season With a 3-2 Win Over the Orleans Gators

from Shawn Williams

On a night when the Ottawa Senators opened the third round of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win, the Carp I4C Victory was doing the same at the Carp Fairgrounds on Thursday night with an opening game 3-2 win over the young Orleans Gators.

It was a warm, breezy night with great conditions for fastball in May. Carp wasted no time in opening the scoring in the bottom of the first, when leadoff hitter Kevin McGuire walked and advanced to third on a single by Shawn Houle. Steve McLaughlin followed that with a single to score McGuire making it 1-0. Orleans starter and I4C Victory tournament pitcher, Chad Hargrove settled down after that and struck out the next three batters.

In the bottom of the second inning, veteran third baseman, Brooks Paziuk lead off with a single and advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on a McGuire single for a 2-0 Carp lead. In the bottom of the third, Matt McNish hit a ball to the centrefield fence for a triple and was cashed in by a Pete Pettit single. 3-0 Carp.

The Gators proved why it was one of the best Midget aged teams in the country last year. Orleans is made up of players that were a top team at last year’s Midget Nationals and while many have graduated from that age category the lessons learned at last year’s Nationals taught them to battle back. In the top of the fourth, Matt Alkerton hit a solo shot to right and then both Matt Bowman and Curtis Summers singled. Both Bowman and Summers were stranded at the end of the inning but not before the Gators rattled the cages and let Carp know that they were not going to lie down.

In the Gators sixth, Alkerton reached safely on a throwing error from the normally sure handed McGuire and advanced to third on a Bowman single. At that point, Carp Coach Shawn Williams replaced starter Paul Ceppi with reliever Neil Cooke. Cooke walked Hargrove to load the bases and then Summers hit a sacrifice fly to centre scoring Alkerton to make the score 3-2. But that was all for the Gators as Cooke shut the door the rest of the way.

Paul Ceppi threw 5 1/3 strong innings for Carp, giving up one earned run on four hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Cooke earned the save giving up no earned runs, no hits, walking one and striking out three. Orleans had one error. For the Gators, Hargrove went all the way, throwing six innings and giving up three earned runs on eight hits, walking one and striking out 13. Carp committed one error.

Offensively for Carp, McGuire lead the way going 2-3 with a walk, an RBI and a run scored. Carp catcher, Houle was 2-3 at the plate. For Orleans, Alkerton was 1-3 with a home run, an RBI and two runs scored while Bowman went 2-3. Summers was 1-3 with an RBI on the sacrifice fly in the sixth.

Carp Box Score
Orleans Box Score:

Orleans to make GOFL debut tonight

The young Orleans Gator squad will make their GOFL debut tonight at the Carp Fairgrounds against the Carp I4C Victory. Game time is 8:30PM.

Manotick additions for 2007

For those of you keep track at home, Manotick has made some additions to their team this year.

Veteran John Lindsey DP/1B rejoins the team after missing all of last season with neck surgery.

Shannon Borho P joins Manotick. He played a bit with the Blitz last season, and is one of the key players on the Blackburn Bombers tournament team. Manotick now has two lefties on the slab, with Borho and Trevor Lahey.

Rich Antunes C also is new to Manotick team. He is a veteran of the Ottawa Valley Raiders RA League and tournament team.

Captain Tony Riches is pleased to report that he now has a full roster of 16 for the 2007 campaign.

56ers Routed in Home Opener; GOFL to consider steroid policy

from Sam Oliver

The Manotick Lomor Printers opened the season on the road last night and cruised to an 11 - 1 victory over a hapless Stittsville squad.

Shannon Borho picked up the win for the Printers, throwing 4 complete innings allowing 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 7 while walking none. The only real mistake for Borho was a thigh high change up that Darren Ladouceur stroked over the left field fence in the second inning. Trevor Lahey came on in relief of Borho in the 5th inning, and despite loading the bases escaped without giving up any runs. His line on the night was 3 innings pitched, giving up two hits, allowing 3 free passes and striking out 4.

The 56ers countered with ace Dan Bradley who suffered the loss despite giving up only 4 hits through 5 complete innings, striking out 10 along the way. Unfortunately, the combination of 2 walks,7 Stittsville errors, coupled with timely Manotick hitting saw Bradley give up 5 runs all of which were unearned. Darren Featherstone relieved Bradley in the 6th, and after walking Manotick lead off man Joe Allan, struck out the next three batters in order. Unfortunately for Featherstone, the 7th inning would see him surrender 6 runs on 4 walks (including the first 3 batters of the inning), a 2 RBI single off the bat of Rich Antunes and a 3 RBI double off the bat of Manotick SS Adam Bickell. Featherstone's line on the night; 2IP, 6R, 5ER, 2H, 5BB, 4K.

Offensively, Manotick catcher Rich Antunes lead the way for the Printers with 2 hits in 4 trips to the plate driving in 3 runs.

In a related story, Manotick player/manager Tony Riches is said to be requesting a league investigation into Stittsville third baseman John Craig regarding alleged steroid use. It was a strange incident in the 7th inning that prompted the speculation. The diminutive Craig took a mighty swing at a Lahey offering and despite completely missing the pitch, the force of Craig's hack snapped his composite bat into two distinct pieces. Thankfully no one was injured on the play, except perhaps, Craig's reputation. When asked about the allegations after the game Craig reportedly attributed this new found power to a switch from light to regular beer. Stittsville manager Sam Oliver refused to comment on the incident until speaking with GOFL president Bob "El Presidente" Templeton regarding any possible sanctions against his third baseman.

Stittsville Box Score
Manotick Box Score

Manotick defeats Stittsville 11-1

Manotick defeated the 56ers in Stittsville yesterday by a score of 11-1.

Shannon Borho had the win for Manotick, with Trevor Lahey throwing in relief. (Quite possibly the first lefty-lefty combo in GOFL history. ) Dan Bradley took the loss for Stittsville, with Darren Featherstone seeing some work in relief.

Lindsay Medynski and Rich Antunes each had 2 hits and Adam Bickell had 3 RBI for Manotick.

Darren Ladouceur had a dinger for Stittsville.

More on this game later.

Blitz lose 3-2 nail biter to Easton

from Derick Bulley

The Ottawa Blitz opened the season last night in Manotick against the defending champions, Team Easton.

The Blitz jumped out to a 1-0 lead when Gerry Sancartier’s sacrifice fly followed Darron Barr’s leadoff triple in the bottom of the second inning.

Easton responded with a leadoff triple of their own in the top of the third. Corey Morrison stroked a liner to left centre and was cashed in on a Randy Peck ground out to short stop.

The defense and pitching held steady until the sixth inning when Easton scratched out three singles in a row, the last one by Randy Peck to cash Kevin Chevrier and Corey Morrison.

The Blitz brought the game one run closer in the bottom of the seventh on Gerry Sancartier’s solo shot down the line in right, but were unable to tie the game.

Dan Konkle pitched the complete game victory for Easton, fanning 12, walking one, and surrendering 2 earned runs on 2 hits.

Derick Bulley suffered the loss, pitching 5 2/3 innings, striking out 3, walking 3, and allowing all 3 Easton runs on 4 hits. Jamie Blakely came on in relief, allowed one hit and K'ed 2 batters.

Blitz Box Score
Easton Box Score

GOFL starts tonight

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League play starts tonight with Manotick visiting Stittsville, and the Blitz hosting Team Easton.

fitzroyfastball Blog Stats

Thanks to everyone that keeps visiting the site, which I can proudly call the #1 fastball blog in Eastern Ontario. (OK, so it's probably the only one).

Anyway, for those of you scoring at home, some interesting stats:

From Jan 1, 2007 - May 7, 2007: 13,008 individual page views. That's for the off-season - looking forward to crunching the numbers once the season actually begins and the game reports start coming online!

Since I started tracking the number of visitors on June 9, 2006, the number of page views is just under 50,000. (49,459 to be exact.) Pretty surprising if you ask me. Shows the interest in fastball in the area.

Keep the hits coming, and be sure to send me anything you have that you think is newsworthy. All leagues and levels of fastball welcome. (Slo pitch and lob ball go find your own blog.) Feel free to link the blog to any webpage that you might have.

Especially at this time of year, I'd be happy to put up any "team profiles" for the season. Send any info you have to fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com or to my work email address, if you have it.

Blackburn league starts tonight

The Blackburn Men's Fastball League starts play tonight, with eight teams competing in the east-end of Ottawa loop. This year's teams include defending champion Good Ol' Boys, Wally's A's, Ball Bangers, Stan's Diner Draughts, Knights, Blues, Guzzlers, and the newly added Rogues from the RA League.

For the full BMFL schedule, visit www.bmfl.ca.

Update on ISC II qualifier teams in Sydenham

The ISC II qualifier in Sydenham is now up to 12 registered teams for this year's edition of the qualifier, six of which were in the Top 40 for ISC II North American pre-season rankings.

Note that late entrants will be accepted up to 16 teams - contact Blair Setford at blairjs[at]rogers.com for more information.

1. Carp I4C Victory
2. Blackburn Bombers
3. Sudbury Northern Explorers
4. Ottawa Team Easton - #8
5. Kingston Cowboys - tied for #38
6. Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric - tied for #38
7. Stouffville Mennos - #32
8. Waterdown Hammer - tied for #17
9. Ottawa Valley Raiders
10. Donnacona Blue Sox (Quebec City)
11. Scarborough Wolverines
12. Toronto Indians - tied for #33

As for the Innerkip version of the qualifier, there are 20 teams entered:

1. Port Elgin Blue Devils - #12
2. Hickson Reds
3. Elora Brewers - #10
4. Jarvis Rock
5. Wyevale Tribe
6. Ingersoll Crush - tied for #38
7. Harriston Mercury’s - #16
8. Bucktown Bees
9. Mitchell Mets - #21
10. Glencoe Astros - #22
11. Ohsweken Redmen -
12. Shakespeare Falcons
13. Linwood 86ers
14. Alvinston Indians - #20
15. Hamilton Hawks - tied for #24
16. Elmira Cubs - #4
17. Owen Sound Crunch
18. Rockwood Rush
19. Innerkip Orioles
20. Blenheim Home Run

Note that Ontario teams #1 Tavistock Merchants, #2 Niagara Snappers, #3 Palermo Athletics, #13 Kitchener Outlaws and #14 Bridgeport Braves all have berths secured for the ISC II Tournament of Champions in Kitchener through various reasons and do not need to play in a qualifier.

Carp I4C Victory Opens Pre-season With a Win on Saturday

from Shawn Williams

The Carp I4C Victory opened 2007 with a pre-season game against the Shawville Snappers of the RA League.

In a nine-inning game as agreed to by both teams and with unlimited substitutions and batting orders, Carp came out on top 6-2 at the Carp Fairgrounds on Saturday afternoon.

The Carp attack was paced by Carp newcomer and former Ottawa Team Easton Thunder player, Al Read, who went 2-4 with a solo home run and two runs scored. Carp shortstop, Kevin McGuire, was 1-4 with a single, RBI and a run scored. McGuire also reached on an error and hit the ball hard in his two other plate appearances.

For the Snappers, Big Joe McCleary had a line drive home run and Matt Greer also contributed with a solo home run of his own.

Paul Ceppi pitched the first three innings of the game for Carp and was followed by Chad Hargrove for the next three. Trevor Wood pitched an inning and Neil Cooke completed the game with two strong innings of work.

Veteran Earl Kearns started for Shawville with relief from Greer.

The Carp I4C Victory opens the Greater Ottawa Fastball League regular season on Thursday, May 10th at 8:30 PM at the Carp Fairgrounds against Chad Hargrove and the expansion Orleans Gators.

Carp plays its home games at the Carp Fairgrounds on Thursday nights starting at 8:30 PM. Admission is free. For more information, visit the Carp I4C Victory website at www.i4cvictory.com

WC Electric defeat Snappers 5-0 in pre-season tune up

On Sunday, the Shawville Snappers of the Ottawa RA league visited the Fitzroy Harbour WC Electric of the GOFL for a pre-season tune up game in the Harbour.

WC Electric came out on top 5-0. Pitchers Brad Porter, Steve Cavanagh and Jason Armstrong combined for the shut out for Fitzroy. Matt Greer and Earl Kearns threw for Shawville.

Despite some sleep deprivation, new dad Trevor Barton led the way offensively for WC Electric, going 3 for 3 at the plate, with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Shawn Rebertz, also a new dad in the last week, had 2 RBIs for the home side. Adam Brown, Steve Cavanagh and Todd Clouthier scored the other runs for Fitzroy.

Bubba Eades had what looked like a sure home run for Shawville in the top of the sixth when he hit a towering shot that looked like it was going over the "grey monster" in right field - until it dropped directly on the top bar of the fence and bounced back on the field for a double. The Snappers had several base runners and had a man on third in four innings, but failed to score get a run across.

Ottawa Blitz primed for second GOFL season

from Derick Bulley

The Ottawa Blitz are excited to open their second GOFL season next Wednesday versus Team Easton. After a difficult first season plagued by injuries, player defections, missed opportunities and a slew of losses, the Blitz are looking to make a fresh start.

New to the fold this year are Duane Bromley, formerly of Carp; Ryan Cox; Tyler Cox; Brett Dugan; Will Mood and Andrew Bruce formerly of Valley; Luis Anguas, who is making his GOFL debut after playing in the Glen Cairn league; Eric Sanchez, who is coming off of a solid season with the Blackburn Bombers; Darron Barr from the Upper Ottawa Valley league; and Danny Gallant, who is making his first foray into fastball.

Last year’s core group of Ron Hrycak, Scott Dumouchel, Jamie Blakely, Kevin O’Neil, and Derick Bulley are returning to help lead the team this year.

Jim Blakely, Eric Coatsworth, Anil Hayne, Pat Smith and Gerry Sancartier will be filling out the roster on a part-time basis.

Noel Hayes will be sliding from his regular spot at third base into the coach’s box to help guide this young squad. Coach Hayes is hoping to coax more victories out of the Blitz this year and is excited about the mix of youth and experience, as well as the versatility that has been added to the team for the upcoming season.

Chad and Corey Costello to join Niagara Snappers

From the Niagara Snappers website at http://www.niagarasnappers.com/.

Tuesday, May 1
Niagara will enter it's ninth season of play with two goals in mind. One goal is to win the OASA Intermediate Eliminations held in St. Thomas, ON from August 3-5. The OASA Elimination is a jewel of a tournament for those who call Ontario home. The Snappers only other OASA experience was in 2005 when they competed in the Senior Eliminations and went a disappointing 0-2.

The other goal is to finally capture the elusive ISC II Tournament of Champions crown held in Kitchener and Cambridge from Aug 14-18. The Snappers have attempted to qualify for the TofC for the past three years with mixed results. Niagara had their best result in 2005 when they finished tied for 5th. In 2004 and 2006, the Snappers failed to qualify. Provided Niagara meets their ISC Travel League obligations, they will have an automatic berth to this years event.

With the objectives in place, we are pleased to announce the group of men that will make up the 2007 version of the Niagara Snappers.

00 Scott Young OF St. Catharines, ON
7 Matt Bedrosian OF St. Catharines, ON
9 Alex Szockyj IF St. Catharines, ON
10 Peter Dobbin IF Niagara Falls, ON
11 Dean Carr IF Lynden, ON
14 Byron Demoe P St. Catharines, ON
15 Kevin Newhouse IF Thorold, ON
19 Trevor Falk C Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
21 Adam Dearborn OF Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON
22 Jim Wilson OF Dundas, ON
24 Mike Bateman IF/P Niagara Falls, ON
25 Kres Anderson OF St. Catharines, ON
27 Jamie Morey IF St. Catharines, ON
28 Corey Costello P Pembroke, ON
33 Jarrod Burtt DH St. Catharines, ON
41 Dan Duemo P St. Catharines, ON
42 Chad Costello C Pembroke, ON
44 Todd Dawdy OF Ridgeway, ON
55 Dan Bernard IF St. Catharines, ON
77 Perry Bartley IF Niagara Falls, ON
91 Jay Paylove IF Niagara Falls, ON

Ottawa Lynx Promotion

Looking for a way to raise money for new equipment or upcoming summer tournaments? The Ottawa Lynx are celebrating their 15th Anniversary playing in the Nations Capital and want you to come help us celebrate. The Ottawa Lynx fundraising program is tailored to help you raise money for your team, while bringing out a group of family and friends to enjoy an Ottawa Lynx baseball game. For more information please contact Ryan Newton at 613-747-LYNX (5969) x 236 or e-mail newton[at]ottawalynx.com. Tell him the Fitzroy Fastball Blog sent you!

RA to operate with 5 men's teams this season

Looks like the Ottawa RA league will have five men's fastball teams this summer. League play starts on Monday May 14th at the RA Centre.

The defending champion Valley Raiders return for another season in the RA League.

The Orleans Rebels midget program will be playing in the RA League again this season. (The 'graduating' players from Orleans last year have formed the new Gators team and will play in the GOFL.)

The Shawville Snappers have made the move from the McNab/Braeside Junior League to the RA this season.

Despite there being only five teams in the RA League, Team 6 returns to the loop with the same name for this season.

And interestingly, the fifth and final team is known as Ed Taylor's Team. Catchy name, don't ya think? Good luck to Ed and the boys, whomever they may be.

ISC II news, and pre-season rankings

(with an update May 2/07))

The ISC II pre-season North American rankings have been released, based on preliminary rosters submitted by ISC II teams. http://fastpitchwest.com/thedeuce/?p=720

Some interesting tidbits:

• Confirming some rumours going around, Corey Costello, formerly of the Micksburg Twins, has been submitted on the preliminary roster of the Niagara Snappers. This helped them move up to #2 on the rankings.
• Ottawa Team Easton Thunder starts the season off at #8 in the rankings this season. Team Easton was ranked by each of the 10 voters, with the highest position being 3rd and their lowest rank at 17th.
• Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric have made their first ever appearance in the rankings, coming in tied at #38. Two of the ten rankers placed the Trics in the top 25, with one vote for 21st place, and a vote for 25th place. The other 8 rankers did not recognize WC Electric in the top 25.
• All teams receiving a vote are listed here:

The list of teams getting at least one vote by the ten rankers:

1 Tavistock, ON Merchants
2 Niagara, ON Snappers
3 Palermo, ON Athletics
4 Elmira, ON Cubs
5 Perkasie, PA Rise
6 Oswego, NY Cutro Professional Inspections
7 Wilkes-Barre, PA Keating's Fitness
8 Ottawa, ON Team Easton Thunder
9 Bakersfield, CA Lumberkings
10 Elora, ON Wellington Brewers
11 South Lebanon, PA TNT
12 Port Elgin, ON Blue Devils
13 Kitchener, ON Outlaws
14 Bridgeport, ON Braves
15 Ashland, OH Merchants
16 Harriston, ON Mercury's
17 Waterdown, ON Hammer
18 Hermann, MO Black Gold
19 Memphis, TN Posse
20 Alvinston, ON Indians
21 Mitchell, ON Mets
22 Glencoe, ON Astros
23 Marshall, MI Rice Creek Lightning
24 Hamilton, ON Hawks
25 Salinas, CA Taylor Farms
26 Appleton, WI The Bar of Appleton
27 Harrisburg, PA PA Power
28 Frankenmuth, MI Tiffany's
29 Monfort, WI New Image
30 Anadorka, OK Super Chiefs
31 Bulyea, SK Rustlers
32 Stouffville, ON Mennos
33 Millington, MI Up-to-Date Painting
34 Toronto, ON Champion Indians
35 Camrose, AB Fury
36 Stockton, CA Italian Athletic Club
37 Yakima, WA JRW Associates
38 Ingersoll, ON Crush
39 Kingston, ON Cowboys
40 Fitzroy Harbour, ON West Carleton Electric
41 Sacramento, CA River City Rockers
42 Grand Prairie, AB Pride
43 Sydney, NS Cardinals

International Superstars of Fastball calendars available

International Superstars of Fastball calendars available for 2007-2008

$10.00 per calendar , postage included for any orders in Ontario - outside Ontario inquire via email to get shipping prices.

Group prices are available on orders of 25 or more - to order, email Derek at pitchtowin[at]hotmail.com.

North Leeds league has five teams this season

Looks like the North Leeds Fastball League will have five teams this season: defending champs from Newboro, Lansdowne, Lyn, Greenbush, and the addition of the Smiths Falls Juniors.

Wyevale Tribe tourney info

Anyone interested in a road tour for Canada Day weekend?

The Tribe Fastball Club will once again be holding our tournament in Elmvale/Wyevale on the Canada Day long weekend (Jun 29 - Jul 1).

Entry Fee: $350
# of Teams: 15
1st Prize: $1500
Total Purse: $2800
Pitching: ISCII Only

We already have a good portion of our field confirmed, and would like to extend an invitation to you. If you are interested let me know, and if you need more information then I would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.

Mike Kelly: mkelly[at]tribefastball.ca