Napanee wins Junior Canadians Gold

thanks to Gary Hargrove and Joe McCleary for the heads up

The Napanee were Gold Medalists at the Junior Men's Canadians in Nova Scotia today.

Napanee finished the qualifying round in first place and won their first playoff round game defeated Saskatoon 9-8. Joran Graham drove in the winning runs with a 2 run shot in the bottom of the sixth.

In their second playoff game against the host team, St Croix, NS Murphy's Fish and Chips, the winner was guaranteed a berth in the gold medal game. The Express lost 9-1 in 5 innings. Graham took the loss. Cory Alkerton also saw some pitching action in this game.

So the Express then had to beat the perenially strong Owen Sound team. Final score was 5-1 for Napanee as Graham earned the victory and a berth in the finals.

In the final this afternoon, the Napanee Express earned revenge for their early defeat and beat the host St Croix, NS Murphy's Fish and Chips 6-1 in the gold medal game of the Junior Men's Nationals. An estimated 3,000 fans were in attendance for the final. Joran Graham was the winning pitcher for the second time on Sunday.

This finished an excellent tournament for Graham, who was named the qualifying round MVP. Kudos as well to Joel Langford, a Napanee pickup, on earning all-star honours at second base. Congratulations guys on being national champs and representing the area and the GOFL in fine form. Both Graham and Langford will be suiting up for the Quyon COMBAT Flyers at the ISC World Tournament in Michigan later this month.