Napanee wins bronze at Nationals
Napanee wins bronze at Nationals
Posted By MIKE KOREEN, SUN MEDIA Belleville Intelligencer
After finishing an unlucky fifth in round-robin play and then barely avoiding elimination in their first playoff game, the Napanee North Key Express bucked the odds and captured a bronze medal at the Canadian Junior Fastball Championship.
The Express, who missed a desirable top-four round-robin finish (those teams have to lose two playoff games to be eliminated) because of the tiebreaking rule, made it all the way to the penultimate game of the tournament yesterday in Owen Sound.
That's as far as the Express could go as they dropped a 4-2 decision to Nova Scotia, missing out on a chance to play in the final after winning three playoff games.
"It was a great effort by all of our players, absolutely huge," said Express coach Joe Lewis. "I'm very happy with the finish."
The Express squeezed into the nationals, grabbing the fourth and final Ontario berth at the Ontario Eliminations in Mitchell. At the nationals, the Express were the top-finishing club from Ontario.
Newfoundland beat Nova Scotia 4-2 in the final.
Napanee finished 5-3 in round-robin play at the nationals, the same record as Owen Sound, but finished behind the host team after losing 3-2 to that squad in preliminary action.
That forced Napanee into the single-knockout playoff bracket. And right off the bat, the Express received a serious scare from the eighth-seeded Saskatoon Diamondbacks.
The game went to extra innings, tied at 3-3 after seven.
In the first extra frame, Saskatoon scored a run (each team gets a runner on second to start the inning), only to see Napanee even things up in the bottom of the inning.
So it went to a ninth inning and Saskatoon scored again to put Napanee in a must-score situation. But the Express did one better, tying it on a Kyle Lloyd double and winning it on a Chris Brown single.
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Then, the Express exacted revenge on Owen Sound with a 9-1 win and earned a berth in yesterday's play with a 3-2 triumph over Waterloo.
Chris Lewis had the offensive highlight of the day, hitting a grand slam in the first against Owen Sound to cap a seven-run inning.
"We were amazing (on Saturday)," Lewis said.
Yesterday, however, Napanee ran into its nemesis for the tournament, Nova Scotia starter Cory Avery.
Though Napanee had success against Avery in the past, including in the 2005 national midget final, he won two games against the Express this tournament.
On Sunday, the teams were tied at 2-2 before Napanee ace Joran Graham gave up a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Graham and Mike Roantree drove in runs for the Express.
Napanee has seven players eligible to return next year.
"They'll be great," Lewis said. "The future is bright."
The Express now return home to complete their Loughborough League schedule.
Posted By MIKE KOREEN, SUN MEDIA Belleville Intelligencer
After finishing an unlucky fifth in round-robin play and then barely avoiding elimination in their first playoff game, the Napanee North Key Express bucked the odds and captured a bronze medal at the Canadian Junior Fastball Championship.
The Express, who missed a desirable top-four round-robin finish (those teams have to lose two playoff games to be eliminated) because of the tiebreaking rule, made it all the way to the penultimate game of the tournament yesterday in Owen Sound.
That's as far as the Express could go as they dropped a 4-2 decision to Nova Scotia, missing out on a chance to play in the final after winning three playoff games.
"It was a great effort by all of our players, absolutely huge," said Express coach Joe Lewis. "I'm very happy with the finish."
The Express squeezed into the nationals, grabbing the fourth and final Ontario berth at the Ontario Eliminations in Mitchell. At the nationals, the Express were the top-finishing club from Ontario.
Newfoundland beat Nova Scotia 4-2 in the final.
Napanee finished 5-3 in round-robin play at the nationals, the same record as Owen Sound, but finished behind the host team after losing 3-2 to that squad in preliminary action.
That forced Napanee into the single-knockout playoff bracket. And right off the bat, the Express received a serious scare from the eighth-seeded Saskatoon Diamondbacks.
The game went to extra innings, tied at 3-3 after seven.
In the first extra frame, Saskatoon scored a run (each team gets a runner on second to start the inning), only to see Napanee even things up in the bottom of the inning.
So it went to a ninth inning and Saskatoon scored again to put Napanee in a must-score situation. But the Express did one better, tying it on a Kyle Lloyd double and winning it on a Chris Brown single.
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Then, the Express exacted revenge on Owen Sound with a 9-1 win and earned a berth in yesterday's play with a 3-2 triumph over Waterloo.
Chris Lewis had the offensive highlight of the day, hitting a grand slam in the first against Owen Sound to cap a seven-run inning.
"We were amazing (on Saturday)," Lewis said.
Yesterday, however, Napanee ran into its nemesis for the tournament, Nova Scotia starter Cory Avery.
Though Napanee had success against Avery in the past, including in the 2005 national midget final, he won two games against the Express this tournament.
On Sunday, the teams were tied at 2-2 before Napanee ace Joran Graham gave up a two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Graham and Mike Roantree drove in runs for the Express.
Napanee has seven players eligible to return next year.
"They'll be great," Lewis said. "The future is bright."
The Express now return home to complete their Loughborough League schedule.
posted by fitzroyfastball | 8/10/2009 01:08:00 pm
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