Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoff write up

from Michael Vandenberg

Semi-Finals Round 2 Game 1 Taggart's Welding vs Laurysen Kitchens (Sept 17)


Laurysen Kitchens took the earlier 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning with 4 start hits capped by a home run by Tony MacDonald. Laurysen Kitchens tacked on another run in the top of the 3rd inning when Corey Laurysen scored off a single by Monty Davis. Taggart's Welding got on the board in the bottom of the 4th inning when Kevin McGuire reached on an error and was driven in by Matt Medaglia. Laurysen Kitchens answered right back in the top of the 5th inning when Michael Laurysen scored on a double by Duane Bromley. In the bottom of the sixth Kevin McGuire hit a triple and was promptly driven in by Chris Heaton. No scoring occurred in the 7th inning and Laurysen Kitchens won 6-2 taking a 1-0 series lead.
Duane Bromley threw for Laurysen Kitchens and Shawn Ryan threw for Taggart's Welding.

Semi-Finals Round 2 Game 1 Mattamy Homes vs ASAP Print Management (Sept 17)

The first game of this series turned out to be a real pitchers duel. There was no scoring through 5 innings. ASAP Print Management took the 1-0 lead when Richard Culleton was driven in by a sacrifice fly hit by Dean Thompson. Mattamy Homes didn't get on the board till the bottom of the 7th inning. Jason Cope lead the inning off with a triple. With one out Shaun MacKenzie popped a pitched up in foul territory which was misplayed. The next pitch Shaun drove up the middle which easily scored Jason Cope to tie the game. The game when to extra innings. ASAP Print Management failed to capitalize in the top of the inning. With 2 out and the runner on 3rd, Darryl Doxsee knocked in the game winning run. Darren Featherstone retired 21 outs via strike out with 7 runners getting on base. Billy Gerber was equal to the task and recorded 13 strikeouts with 9 base runners. Mattamy Homes won 2-1 in 8 innings and took the 1-0 series lead.

Semi-Finals Round 2 Game 2 Mattamy Homes @ ASAP Print Management (Sept 19)

Game 2 of the series was not as tight as the first. Darren Featherstone retired all 21 batters via strike out and only 3 batters reach; 2 walks and 1 single. Mattamy Homes scores their first run in the 4th inning with a solo home run from Darren Featherstone. Mattamy Homes scored another run in the 4th when Scott Parsons crossed the plate. Mattamy Homes made it 5-0 in the 6th when Derek Tysick, Darren Featherstone and Scott Parsons all scored. Mattamy Homes added one more in the top of the 7th when Jason Cope drove in Darryl Doxsee. Mattamy Homes won 6-0 and won the series 2-0.
Darren Feathersone pitched for Mattamy Homes and Billy Gerber threw for ASAP Print Management.

Semi-Finals Round 2 Game 2 Taggart's Welding @ Laurysen Kitchens (Sept 19)

As Laurysen Kitchens did in the first game, Taggart's Welding jumped out to the 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning with 3 straight hits which included a home run from both Cory "Spud" Morrison and Kevin McGuire. Taggart's Welding went up 4-0 when Paul Taggart drove in Matt Medaglia. Laurysen made it 4-1 when Pat Prentice hit a double to score Monty Davis. Aaron Amo hit a homerun in the bottom of the 3rd inning to make it 4-2. Laurysen Kitchens scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 5th inning when with 5 hits in the inning anchored by a 2 RBI double by Tom Wark. Up by 2 in the bottom of the 7th inning, Taggart's Welding made it real interesting when Matt Carter lead off with a triple and with 1 out, a throwing error on a strike out allowed a run to score more importantly nullify the strike out. Duane Bromley retired the next 2 batters by strike out to preserve the 6-5 win. Laurysen Kitchens won the series 2-0.

Finals Round 3 Game 1 Mattamy Homes vs Laurysen Kitchens (Sept 24)

On a cool September evening, the GCMFL finals were set to begin between Mattamy Homes and Laurysen Kitchens. After Laurysen Kitchens stranded 2 runners in both the 1st and 2nd inning, Mattamy Homes took the 1-0 lead after 2 doubles in the bottom of the second by Scott Parsons and Darryl Doxsee. In the top of the 3rd Aaron Amo hit a single and was driven in when Monty Davis hit a home run. Mattamy Homes answered right back in the bottom of the inning with a home run by Jason Cope. Mattamy Homes got 2 runners on in the bottom of the 5th inning. One run scored on a throwing error during a delayed steal and the second run was driven in by Jason Cope. That was enough for Mattamy Homes and they won 4-2 and the series 1-0 lead. Darren Feathersone pitched for Mattamy Homes and Duane Bromley threw for Laurysen Kitchens.

Finals Round 3 Game 2 Mattamy Homes @ Laurysen Kitchens (Sept 26)

Mattamy Homes took advantage of being the visiting team in game 2 by quickly putting 2 runs across in the top of the 1st inning. Jason Cope and Shaun MacKenzie scored with a single by Darren Featherstone and a sacrifice fly from Scott Parsons. Laurysen Kitchens failed to answered in the bottom of the 1st. Mattamy Homes continued to put the pressure on Laurysen Kitchens when Graham Lowrey lead off with a triple and was driven in by Darryl Doxsee. With a runner on 3rd base in the bottom of the second Darren Featherstone was able to induce 2 ground ball outs to end the threat. Both teams both had a runner on base in the 3rd but failed to cash them leaving the score 3-0 after 3 innings. Mattamy Homes broke the game wide open in the top of the 4th inning with a lead off home run from Scott Parsons and a 2 run homer from Darryl Doxsee. Down by six, Laurysen Kitchens were able to put the game back in reach with singles from Corey Laurysen and Tony MacDonald and a 2 RBI double by Duane Bromley. Darren Featherstone ending the inning getting the 3rd out looking with a runner on 3rd base. In the bottom of the sixth inning, and one run already across to make it 6-3, Darren Featherstone again was able to retired the 3rd out via a strike out with runners on 2nd and 3rd base. Down by 3 runs, Laurysen Kitchens went 3 and out in the bottom of the 7th inning. Mattamy Homes won the game 6-3 and are the 2012 GCMFL Champs!

St. John's, NL playoff controversy

Check out this article from St. John's Telegram. Hat tip to @alsfastball on this one.

Forfeiture stands, Gamberg suspended 20 games

Despite disagreeing with umpire’s call, league will not reverse decision, but levies steep penalty for abuse of official


Published on September 27, 2012
by John Browne

3Cheers Pub second baseman Shane Gamberg has been suspended for 20 games and the Molson St. John’s Senior Softball League has upheld the forfeiture of Tuesday night’s controversial semifinal game, league secretary-treasurer Bill Barron said Wednesday.

The opening game of the best-of-seven final between Imagewear Custom Apparel (ICA) and Bull & Finch Bar & Grill is scheduled for seven o’clock tonight after Imagewear was awarded Tuesday night's deciding semifinal contest by home plate umpire Keith Pender.

Barron said while the league had no grounds to reverse Pender’s decision to hand Imagewear the win, “We don’t agree with it and we think there was no call for it.” ICA and 3Cheers Pub Bud Light were tied 3-3 in the top of the seventh inning in the fifth and deciding game of the best-of-five series at Lions Park when things took an unexpected, ugly turn.

With the game tied after six innings, ICA left fielder Danny Mullins led off the top of the seventh with a ground ball to short and was called safe at first base by base umpire Terry Sweeney.

3Cheers players didn't agree with the call, including pitcher Lee Cose who said to Sweeney, among other things, that his decision was “brutal,” after which Pender ejected him from the game.

3Cheers coach John Hill then started arguing with Pender, admitting he was “quite loud” in getting in his two cents worth across.“I gave him an earful and probably not enough because, in my opinion, what he did to us was premeditated. “What went on last (Tuesday) night was a new low,” said Hill.

Hill said he had no problem with getting tossed from the game. “I should have been tossed out. But it’s my job to pick up for my pitcher.”

As Hill left the field he picked up four bats and tossed them over his shoulder.

Pender, in an e-mail to senior league representatives, said the bats were thrown in the direction of both umpires.

At that point, “As the game was no longer safe, the game was forfeited,” said Pender. Pender said there were “unsportsmanlike circumstances” that led to three ejections (Cose, Hill and Gamberg) and to ICA ultimately being awarded the win.

Hill, while acknowledging bats were thrown, noted, “The bats that came unto the field landed on the dugout side of third base and the scrum and all of the nonsense was going on by first base.” Gamberg’s suspension stems from an incident immediately after the game was forfeited.

Pender said Gamberg ran toward him and he was pushed backwards “with great force."

The plate umpire said ICA players intervened and quickly removed Gamberg, who, despite being held back, continued to work his way through teammates and grabbed the umpire a second time.“Physical abuse of an official cannot be tolerated at any time, even if the game is forfeited,” said Pender.

Article 28 of the league bylaws states: “When a player is ejected from the game, he must leave the dugout area immediately. Failure to leave within a minute or reasonable amount of time will result in the team forfeiting the game.

“You can be ejected from a game, without warning, for swearing or using vulgar language; disputing the umpire’s judgement, throwing equipment, assault of an umpire (verbal or physical).”

It also mentions that “all physical assaults are to be reported to the police."

The 20-game suspension handed down was not an arbitrary number, according to Barron. Abuse of officials — verbal or physical — calls for a 20-game suspension.“We didn’t make the number up,” noted Barron.“I don’t condone his actions and he (Gamberg) doesn’t either,” said Hill, who added that it was all done out of total frustration with the umpiring.

That said, Hill didn’t mince any words in his assesment of Pender’s performance “Again, I’m not condoning the actions of Shane Gamberg, but when you’ve got an umpire who has an absolute hate for (him) and an umpire who pulls a stunt like he did last night (Tuesday) what does one expect?”

Hill went on to say trouble “has been brewing for some time and when fuel is continuously being thrown into a fire you get an explosion and that's exactly what Pender did last (Tuesday) night.

“The stories are endless of his tactics that seemingly go unchallenged time after time,” said Hill.

“Mr. Pender had no right to eject Lee Cose for a comment that was made to Mr. Sweeney — a comment, I might say, that was said to him at least 20 times during the game that he chose to ignore. But again, Pender has to step up to the plate and play hero again,” Hill said.

Hill also claimed Sweeney didn’t make a single right call in the close situations in the entire game “for either side.”In the meantime, Hill said he wants a hearing before tonight’s game because he maintains Pender had no authority to forefit the game.

“The game is not over and I’ve asked my players to be down at the field tonight in uniform. We fully expect to finish the game.”

Before the league handed down its decision on Gamberg, Pender had warned that unless the Metro Umpires Association got a hearing on Gamberg by noon today, “The association will not be available for work in the opening game of the final this evening.”

Pender told The Telegram Wednesday night he was satisfied with the league’s ruling on Gamberg.

“The actions at that game were very explosive,” said Pender. “He (Gamberg) hit me hard enough to knock me backwards and physical abuse calls for at least 20 games according to the bylaws. “If anything,” added Pender, “it should be longer.”

Mattamy Homes wins the Glen Cairn playoff title

Mattamy Homes won the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoff title with a two games to none series win over Laurysen Kitchens. Game 1 was 4-2 while Game 2 last night was 6-3.  Darren Featherstone pitches for Mattamy and Duane Bromley throws for Laurysen.

Guzzlers win fourth straight BMFL title

Congratulations to the Guzzlers, who won their fourth straight Blackburn Men's Fastball League title, sweeping Gloucester Heating. The "Guzz" capped things off with a 8-5 win tonight at the Blackburn Arena diamond to win the series three games to none.

Memories of Elkland 2012

Sorry for the delay, this September has been ridiculously busy for several reasons. Anyway, based on a fuzzy recollection from earlier in the month and some notes scribled on a copy of the tournament bracket on the long drive home, here are the 2012 Memories of Elkland.

Loyal blog readers know that the Labour Day weekend in Elkland, PA is a special tournament to which many people look forward. This year, the 60th Annual Durk Sherman Labor Day Classic Tournament met expectations - and believe me, the expectations were high!

The 18-team fastball tournament was great, the weather was excellent, the crowds were good, the venue was in tip-top shape. It was quite simply a fantastic way to spend a weekend for those of us that love fastpitch softball.

I recall back in the spring of 2003, talking over pints after a game. One of my teammates at the time was telling me about the 50th Annual Labor Day tournament he attended the previous fall with another squad. It was his first time he had been in Elkland and he raved about the tournament, the fireworks, the Moose, how much fun he had and what a wonderful time it was. Being teammates and friends, we did what has been done since the invention of team sports - we mocked him mercilessly for his love of this mythical "Elkland" place in northern Pennsylvania.

Fast forward nine and half years later: I have been to Elkland six times and look forward to Labour Day more than Christmas, have some sure to be lifelong memories of the event, have made some great friends in Elkland and have told anyone who will listen (or reads the blog) that they gotta go. Funny how these things work sometimes, eh? Anyway, thanks Mike, were you ever right on this one. And if you are reading this, you gotta come next year.

On to some memories of 2012 in Elkland.

The tourney: With 18 teams registered, the numbers were up. The competition was a little more even this year as the talent seemed to be spread out a bit more over several teams. There were five teams from eastern Ontario (Kars, Carp, Orleans, West Carleton and Greenbush), one from New York and twelve from Pennsylvania. As per an earlier blog posting, South Lebanon TNT beat Kars Aces in the final.

The pitching: With the Canadian National Men's being held in New Brunswick at the same time as it usually is, given the distance, it did prevent some top Canadian arms from attending. There was also a tournament in the Czech Republic that lured away other chuckers. But this seemed to help somewhat with the 'parity' in the tournament and there was some top notch pitching with ISC, ISF, and Canadian Junior Nationals experience. Some of the pitchers that attended included: Josh Johnson, Steve Price, Brad Porter, Cory Alkerton, Doug Hoffman, Bill Sherman, Paul Algar, Ty McKinney, Gregg Garrity, Marty Humphries, Ty Sebastian, Jamie Blakely, Andy Barber, Jeff Barber, Cody Price, Craig Hollingsworth, Bill Hillhouse, Ryan Nichols, Sean Kelly, Doug Gillis, Darren Featherstone, Paul Ceppi, Neil Cooke, Kyle Crawford and of course......Lip (if you missed this post, be sure to check it out, it's one of my top Memories of Elkland 2012).

The venue: The Durk Sherman Complex was in top shape for the event, looking great. As usual, the staff worked hard selling pints, making food, keeping the place clean, working on the diamonds. The Thunderbellys players really pull together to get the fields in top shape for every game. And full points to the guys for making an improvement out in centre field! The 60th Anniversary fireworks on Saturday night were really great and added to the celebration, as did the special ceremony honouring the long time attendees. With its combination of "old time" feel yet excellent venue, it is tough to see any other softball-only complex measuring up to this place. There may be others but I haven't seen them. So given that, there's no wonder why PA Power and the NY Gremlins are combining to host a new Open tournament there next July. As well, in the future there could be an even bigger tournament there - more news on that hopefully in the next year or so.

The beer: Pints are still two bucks at the stadium. Hell of a deal. Added this year were one dollar jello vodka shots. A nice touch! As well, 16 ounce (473 ml in Canadian measurement) aluminum bottles of Bud Light were available for $2.50. We just got those in Canada. And the sad thing is they are about that same retail price in the Beer Store!  (For US American readers: the "Beer Store" is the only place in the province of Ontario where you can buy retail beer, except from a government run liquor store or direct from a brewery location. Contrary to popular belief, the Beer Store is actually owned by a couple of major breweries, not the government. It's kind of a sad, pathetic hold over from Prohibition and the place has a virtual monopoly and charges exorbitant prices. This is why many people in eastern Ontario buy their beer in Quebec, which has similar beer sales rules to the states and has much better prices, by Canadian standards anyway.)

The chicken: Good eating again this year with the legendary Elkland chicken. Approximately 900 chicken dinners sold! As the one of the hard-working guys in the chicken pit told me, "We sold so many of these there's gotta be people sh_tting feathers in Elkland this weekend!" Their method isn't sophisticated (see photo below) but the folks running the pit have it down to a science and cook it to perfection.

Photo credit: The Murph Dog

The accommodations: Many players choose to stay in motels in Corning, Painted Post, Elmira or other nearby towns across the state line in New York. But many people take advantage of the onsite camping which the Elkland boys generously provide free of charge. Water hook ups, electrical hook ups, right beside the ball park, walking distance to the Moose - what more could you want? There are not a lot of rules. In fact I think the Shermans really only ask one thing - if you gotta go, go in the "Port-a-Johns" that are provided. Do not whip it out in the open air at the campsite. There is a neighbour that doesn't particularly like the goings-on at the ballpark and he will take your photo as you pee, and he will call the cops, and they will issue you a citation (American for "provincial offence"). Once again, a couple of young guys got busted (not from my team, but from an eastern Ontario squad) and owe several hundred in fines to the State of Pennsylvania. The cops are actually pretty understanding (one of our guys who was caught going in the street got a free cop car ride back to the campsite and a mild lecture) but they have their hands tied when there is photographic evidence from a grouchy resident showing you holding your johnson and smiling at him. Guys, there is really only that one rule! Learn from previous mistakes of others and whizz in the provided go-hut.

The batboy: For the sixth consecutive year, our batboy Jesse made an appearance. Good old Jess made a three hour drive from his new home in downstate PA back to Elkland to help us out. Over the years we have fed him, given him a few refreshments (but of course never beer as he is not 21 yet) and given him life advice. He didn't follow all of it (his girlfriend is pregnant and he has some homemade tattoos) but hopefully we will see him next year again. Would hate not to have him around, it's a fun having him there.

The officiating: Overall, the umpiring was pretty decent.......except for one of our games. I won't go into the details, but let's just say I was displeased with the integrity of one of the umpires and leave it at that. I can also report that "Weird Al" the ump has a new hairstyle! Apparently his wife back in Williamsport got sick of the curly, frizzy mullett thing he had before, so he has a new look. Good call, dude.

Strange play of the weekend: There is always a strange play or two in Elkland. This year, we had a guy ground out 7-6-3 to end an inning. After he pulled a hard single down the third base line, looking like he was batting in a run with two out against "Lip", he ended up being the last out of the inning when during the twist in his hitting of the ball, his kneecap moved from its normal position to about three inches to the side of his knee. In a word, 'ouch'. As he was writhing in pain in the batter's box, the ball came in from deep left to the shortstop then thrown over to first base for the force out.

The Moose: Ah, the Moose Lodge # 746 of Elkland, PA. What a spot. The beer, the whisky, the music, the popcorn.....all contribute to the excellence as ball players took over the bar all weekend. I was there Friday, Saturday and Sunday and the atmosphere, while smoky, was once again great. My sources tell me Monday was also good times and featured some incidents of Kiwi nudity. There were several fastball heart-to-hearts going on discussing old times, the current season and tournament, and future plans for next year. Danielle the bartender, sorry for trying to kiss you on the cheek goodbye at 3am on Sunday night when you told me I had to leave. I meant it in as an expression of my appreciation for all the top quality Yuengling (yummy!) you served me all weekend. As well, thanks for not actually punching me as you threatened to do. My only disappointment was at the Moose breakfast (served from midnight until 2ish) on Saturday night. I had been looking forward to a serious feed of bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, etc. but when I got down there, the nice old church ladies that make the food were out, except for toast. Oh man, I almost cried. Thanks though to the woman that took pity on me and made me a "toast sandwich". This PA delicacy consists of two pieces of buttered toast put together in a fake sandwich format. At that time of night and in that state I guess you take what you can get.

The shenanigans: One of the great things about the Elkland tournament is that there is lots of time between games to enjoy the atmosphere and have a few pints. However, every year this down time results in some 'brainstorming' on how to improve the Elkland experience. This year, sitting around the campfire Saturday night, the boys of West Carleton Electric looked at some of the kindling that was on hand, and found a few scraps of 2 x 6 pine that just happened to be about the size of a shoe. So what else would you do but get out the duct tape, and create a pair of wooden shoes and grey 'leg warmers' for the same guy that wore the Terminator Eye last year. As he walked over to the Moose he was making quite a racket (clack! clack!). A local resident screamed at him to keep it down or she would call the cops. ("9-1-1, what's the nature of your call?" "There is a guy with wooden shoes and duct tape spats on the street!") Anyway he made it to the Moose safely and certainly made a fashion statement that made an impression on the attendees.

The conclusion: A successful tournament as always in Elkland, thanks to a great job by Bill and Grant Sherman and all the Thunderbellys and the legion of volunteers. I am already looking forward to the 61st edition. Good fastball, good friends, good times, good memories.

For those of you who haven't read the blog over the years, some of the references above might be confusing. I highly recommend you check out these previous Elkland posts from years gone by!

2007

2008

2009

2010

2010 "open letter" 

2011

Greenbush memories of Elkland

Terry McCann from the Greenbush Generals has lots of Elkland memories over the years. He forwarded on some of this from this year.

Some Elkland tidbits from the Generals camp


- It was kinda of neat to have 3 grizzled veterans (Chris Bresee, Randy Williams, Terry McCann) who all played in 1981 (the first time I took a team to Elkland) all be back 31 years later playing in the 60th

- The Roller Coaster Ride: After only having a 55yr old pitcher at 3pm on Friday, (concerned), delayed starting trip for half hour while negotiating on the phone, secure pitcher at 3:30pm and head out (happy), pick pitcher up passed out on the grass and put him to bed Sat morning at 1am (concerned) beat the WC nemesis (Dick's Diner) and the vaunted PA Power on Sat, (very happy), pick pitcher up passed out on the grass and put him to bed Sun morning at 1 am (very concerned) lose to Kars after giving up 7 runs in the first on Sun (very concerned), pitcher in bed without assistance off the grass at midnight Sun (happy), pitcher throws 17 straight innings and 2 wins Monday morning for a 3rd place finish (very happy), find out after game 2 Monday there is no Chicken left at the pit (not very happy) - ok now that is a roller coaster ride.

- Long Grass: One of our rookies after a late night out at the Moose took a wrong turn leaving the newly renovated establishment, ended up at the bottom of the hill to the South and passed out in the long grass beside the drainage creek, when he woke up at daylight he realized he was not that far from our main street encampment and wandered home thus the nickname Long Grass for the rest of the weekend.

- I Will Get Her Back Next Year: Another player not a rookie but a seasoned sophomore had a late night out on Sunday night, or more like early Monday morning before a 10am Mon game, then proceeded to get a broken bone in his finger in the warm up, then after 3 straight games headed home on a 6 hour drive only to end up out of commission for 2 days with severe stomach pains, now that hurts. In famous last words he said the Moose would not beat him next year!

Canada wins gold at Pan Am ISFs in Colombia

I am a little late with this news, but congratulations to the Canadian Men's National Team on their gold medal in Colombia at the ISF VIII Men’s Pan American Championship.

Special nod to local GOFLer Mike Branchaud who was with the team in a management capacity. Congrats, Pudge!

Glen Cairn Playoff update

In the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League finals, Mattamy homes beat Laurysen Kitchens 4-2 in game 1 on Monday night. Game two is scheduled for Wednesday at 7pm.
The semi-final round saw Laurysen defeat Taggart's Welding, while Mattamy beat out ASAP Print Management.

Pitching both fastball and baseball

A story in the Kingston Whig-Standard from earlier this summer about Josh Lockridge throwing no-hitters in both fastball and baseball.

Kingston league final info

From Al's Fastball, the A's won the title in the Kingston Men's Fastball League this season.

Rockets are Ashton League champs

submitted by Mark

Rockets Reclaim Championship


ASHTON - After winning four consecutive Ashton Men’s Fastball Championship, followed by a 2 year Championship void the “Rockets” reclaimed the Cup last night with a 6 – 1 victory over the reigning champion Napa Shockers and a 2 -1 games victory in the best of five final. The Rockets took an early 1st inning 3 – 0 lead on back to back doubles by AJ Purdy and Rod (Hawk) Bowes, followed by singles by Fred Olmsted and Matt McKay. From that point the combined shutdown pitching (Shockers managed only 5 hits) of AJ Purdy and Matt McKay, and a flawless game defensively, the Rockets 5th Championship in 7 years was never in doubt. Rod Bowes provided the TSN Turning Point in the Game with a diving catch on a short flare behind 3rd base in the 5th with a runner at 2nd base and Fred Olmsted led off with a towering homerun to right/center to open the 6th inning to seal the championship victory. Johnny Olmsted plated the only run for the Shockers with a lead-off home run to center in the 7th inning off Matt McKay.

The series was not friendly to the home team with all games being won by the visiting team. Game 1 went to the Rockets (6 – 3), Game 2 saw the Shockers charge back into the series with a convincing 7 – 1 win leaving Game 3 to decide the winner and eventual Ashton Men’s Fastball Champion. The Ashton Farmers won the “B” side final with the same 2 games to 1 with their late game win over the Chuggers – the game was over early as the Farmers plated 8 runs in the first inning.

Thanks to all players, fans and the ladies in the Snack Bar for another successful season – see everyone again next year!

Rocket Team Members: Benny Lewis, Will Sample, AJ Purdy, Fred Olmsted, Steve Sheedy, Rod Bowes, Andy Bowes, Mark Camphaug, Corey Sample, Matt McKay, Jeff Faris, Jason Lee

Trend Arlington League wraps up

from Ivan Taylor

The Trend Arlington Men's Fastball League completed another successful season on Wednesday night. Vipond Fire Protection defeated That's How We Roll, the regular season champions, in the playoff finals with a three game sweep. In the series, Gord Flannery, Fred Stoneypoint and Andrew Fleck pitched well for Vipond Fire Protection while Elton Cryderman and Rene Roncali pitched well for That's How We Roll.


Back in April, the executive were scrambling to decide what to do about the low turn out at the two registration nights. However, they perserved and planned for a four-team league. Throughout the season, there were a significant number of players who found out about the league through the website and wanted to join. By the end of the season, there was even interest in re-establishing a five-team league next season.

Best of luck to the Trend Arlington league - let's hope they get back to five teams next season.

Blackburn League finals set

The Guzzlers will face Gloucester Heating in the Blackburn Men's Fastball League best of three five finals.

Game times are as follows:

Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00 PM
Thursday, September 20 at 7:00 PM
Sunday, September 23 at 7:00 PM

Fall Ball 2012 Tournament

Fall Ball Classic
To be held in Orleans
October 12th-14th, 2012
$250 per team
Open Pitching
Prize depends on number of teams

Please contact Derek Martin for more info.
derek.t.martin@hotmail.com

Memories of Elkland 2012...

....is coming, I promise.

Kars wins GOFL playoff championship - with details

The Kars Aces are the playoff champions for the Greater Ottawa Fastball League, earning the "I4C Trophy" by defeating the Quyon Combat Flyers in the finals of the Final Weekend tournament.

The double knockout tournament featured Kars which finished in first place in regular season play and earned the bye, as well as Quyon, Stittsville 56ers and Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric which each won their best-of-five semi-final playoffs series to earn a berth at the event.

This is Kars third year in a row as GOFL playoff champions. The Flyers have lost in the finals for the previous four seasons.

The tournament was held at the Manotick diamonds and was hosted by the Barrhaven Broadway Blues. Congrats to the Blues on holding a well run event.

Kars Aces 1 West Carleton Electric 0
In a very well-played defensive game, Corey Costello lead the Aces with a no-hitter. Costello allowed only one base runner (a walk) and struck out 17. He also drove in the game's only run, a ground out which allowed Brad Pender to score from third. Andy Barber threw very well in a losing cause for the Electric, allowing only four hits over six innings. Costello was the clear choice by the Caveman as player of the game in this one.

Quyon Combat Flyers 5 Stittsville 56ers 2
Joran Graham got the complete game win for Quyon in this and also hit a home run, earning the Caveman's Choice. Matt Greer hit one out for the Flyers as well. Trevor Scott took the loss for Stittsville and saw relief from Dan Bradley.

Kars Aces 3 Quyon Combat Flyers 0
The Aces won the undefeated game to advance to the final with both Costello and Graham pitching complete games for their respective teams and holding up well into their 14th innings of work. Costello earned Caveman's Choice again with the five-hit shutout and 12 strikeouts, while Graham also threw very well only allowing three hits.

Stittsville 56ers 4 West Carleton Electric 1
This game was much closer than the score indicates as it was 1-1 through six and a half. Darren Featherstone earned the choice from the Caveman (who was actually in attendance for this one) as he stroked a three run walk off home run with two out and two on in the bottom of the seventh. Scott Herriot also had a solo homer for the 56ers. Dan Bradley, who welcomed his third child to the family earlier in the week, allowed only five hits, earning the complete game win. Steve Cavanagh took the loss for Fitzroy.

Quyon Combat Flyers 16 Stittsville 56ers 14 (8 innings)
The score above is not a typo - that was the actual result. This is likely one of the wilder GOFL games in playoff history. At one point in the fifth, Stittsville led 9-4. After six, the 56ers lead 12-6. But the Flyers would not quit and scored six runs in the top of the seventh to tie the game at 12-12. Stittsville didn't score in the seventh so with the international rule in place, the Flyers scored 4 in the eighth and the 56ers could only answer with two to end the scoring at 16-14. Featherstone went the distance for Stitttsville while Greer started for Quyon and Graham earned the win in relief. Scott Herriot earns Caveman's Choice as player of the game - he had a three run homer and a grand slam for the 56ers. The grand slam cleared the outfield fence, cleared the 12 foot fence guarding the Manotick tennis courts and landed at the tennis net. Sources have checked the City of Ottawa's mapping database and this appears to be approximately a 360ft home run.

FINAL: Kars Aces 6 Quyon Combat Flyers 1
The Aces took control early in the final and the result was really never in doubt as they defeated the tired Flyers. Joran Graham started - his fourth game of the day - for Quyon, and Greer saw action in relief. Brad Porter had the complete game win for Kars. Kars opened the scoring the first when Brad Pender took home from third when the Flyers attempted to throw out a runner taking second. Cory Alkerton hit a two run homer to make it 3-0 and Chad Costello's solo shot made it 4-0. The Aces later scored two more runs on bases loaded walks. The lone Quyon run was a Graham solo shot. Caveman's Choice goes to Porter for his championship clinching pitching win.

Friday night games rained out at GOFL Final Weekend

The Friday night games got rained out in Manotick at the GOFL Final Weekend tournament.

Play will start tomorrow morning with both Friday games being played at 9am on Saturday at the Manotick Arena, and the established schedule continuing from there.

GOFL coverage in the EMC

John Carter provides some GOFL media coverage in the West Carleton EMC Review.

West Carleton Electric takes game 5 in Carp

West Carleton Electric won game 5 on Wednesday night in Carp by a score of 4-3 to defeat I4C Victory and advance to the Final Weekend tournament this weekend. As in many games this series, it went right down to the final inning and had some 'drama'.

Andy Barber had the complete game win for Fitzroy, while Neil Cooke threw for Carp.

West Carleton opened the scoring in the third when Charlie Ross hit a solo homerun to lead off the inning.

I4C answered back in the bottom of the frame with two runs. Dan Loney walked, advanced to second on a ground out, then Kevin McGuire walked. After a pop up, Al Read's singled to centre scored Loney and McGuire scored as well when the ball was bobbled.

The Electric put three key runs up in the top of the fourth. Neil Murphy reached on an infield hit, and Troy Wilson laid down a bunt single. Matt Bowman sacrificed the runners over a base. Derek Barber then reached on a grounder which was thrown away, allowing Murphy and Wilson to score and Barber to take second. When Barber took third on a wild pitch, the throw was close to getting him - but hit him, sending the ball into shallow left and allowed him to score and make it 4-2 for WC.

Cooke settled in and retired the next nine batters in order. Andy Barber also continued to throw well, allowing only one hit from the fourth to the sixth.

The bottom of the seventh made for some tension as Carp tried to tie or win. Loney lead off with a sharp single. The next batter struck out, but then the always reliable McGuire stroked a hard drive to centre. As the speedy Loney went to score, the throw from the outfield was not in time at home, but catcher Derek Barber threw the ball down to third as McGuire slid hard into the base. In a close play McGuire was called out, so the score was 4-3 with two out and none on. Matt McNish at bat next hit one to short; with McNish's speed the throw had to be hurried and was put out of play allowing him to advance to second. However, Barber got out of the jam with a grounder back to him and the series was over.

For his pitching performance allowing only three runs and 11Ks, Andy Barber gets the Caveman's Choice as player of the game.

WC Electric
Andy Barber WP 7IP 3R 3ER 5H 11K 5BB 1HBP

Trevor Barton 1-4
Neil Murphy 1-3, R
Troy Wilson 1-3, R
Jeff Cavanagh 1-4
Charlie Ross 2-3, HR, RBI, R

Carp
Neil Cooke LP 7IP 4R 2ER 6H 7K 0BB

Dan Loney 1-2, BB, HBP, 2R
Kevin McGuire 1-2, 2BB, R, RBI, 2B
Matt McNish 2BB
Al Read 1-4, 2RBI
Tony MacDonald 1-3
Adam Fleming 1-3

Stittsville takes game 5 over Barrhaven

from John Craig

Stittsville 4 Barrhaven 1
The Barrhaven Broadway Blue and Stittsville 56ers switched gears last night and played a game of speed ball for the deciding game 5.

The 56ers were held to just 1 base runner through the first 3 innings, put a couple on the 4th but could not cash in followed by a 3 up 3 down 5th and Paul Ceppi was cruising for Barrhaven.

On the flip side Darren Featherstone did not allow a man on base until the fourth when Donny Cox hit a triple but was left stranded at 3rd, and then Featherstone also managed a 3 up 3 down in the top of the 5th so after about 45 minutes the two teams were tied 0-0 and moving quickly into the 6th.


At the top of the order Scott Herriot drew a walk to lead off the 6th, then Featherstone reached first on an error allowing Herriot to move to third. Dan Jessiman then ripped a line drive double into right field scoring Herriot and moving Featherstone to 3rd. A walk to Ryan Bond loaded the bases and Scott Jessiman cashed in two more runs with a single. John Craig would later score on a pass ball giving the 56ers a 4-0 lead.

As they have all series the Blues came right back in the bottom half of the 6th when Lindsay Medynski drew a walk and scored on Kevin Schonfield’s triple to left. It appeared as though momentum had quickly shifted but Featherstone got a ground ball and struck out 2 to get out of the inning.

Barrhaven threatened again in the 7th when Chad Hargrove hit a leadoff double and after a couple of outs Kevin Williams beat out a ground ball, and Medynski was hit by a pitch - suddenly the bases were loaded. Featherstone got a ground ball to close out the game with the 56ers coming out on top, 4-1.

Featherstone gets the win and Ceppi gets the loss. Jason Smith saw action in relief for Barrhaven.

Caveman player of the game is Featherstone for allowing only 1 run and picking up 8 K’s.

Other notables – a mystery 56er was speeding down the base path when he (must have) got his Ronald MacDonald shoe caught up in the bag and took a bit a header over first.

Congrats to the Blues for a hard fought series and pushing it down to the wire.

Quyon wins series over Blitz

from Moe Laframboise

Quyon Combat Flyers took game 4 over the Ottawa Taylor's Blitz last night to win the best-of-five series 3-1. The Flyers started Joran Graham once again, while the Blitz countered with Jamie Blakely.


The Flyers got on the board 1st, pushing 3 runs across in the top of the 1st inning. Dennis McCleary walked and advanced to second when brother Joe’s bunt turned into a failed fielders’ choice. Matt Greer’s RBI single made the score 1-0 and put runners on 1st and 2nd. After a successful double (delayed) steal, both would score on Shawn Laframboise’s single up the middle that was misplayed by the centrefielder.

The score remained the same until the top of the 5th. Greer and Graham both walked to start the inning. A flyout and strikeout made it look as though the Blitz might escape the inning unscathed. A clutch two-out base hit from Luke Young added a couple insurance runs, and Young ended up at 3rd base when the ball was misplayed by the centrefielder. Blakely gave way to Derrick Bulley, who proceeded to get out of the inning with a strikeout.

Quyon added one more in the 6th. The Flyers loaded the bases with one out after base hits from Jordan Kearns, Tim Craig, and a walk to Greer. Bulley then induced a grounder from Graham for the 4-2 fielders choice before walking Nick Armitage and scoring the final run of the game.

Greer took over the pitching duties from Graham in the 7th and maintained the shutout. For his perfect game at the plate and one inning of pitching, Greer earns the Caveman’s Choice player of the game.

Quyon Pitching
Joran Graham WP 6IP 2H 2BB 11K
Matt Greer 1IP 0H BB

Quyon Hitting
Matt Greer 2/2, RBI, 2R, 2BB
Shawn Laframboise 1/3, 2RBI, BB
Luke Young 1/4, 2RBI
Jordan Kearns 1/4, BB
Tim Craig 1/1, R

Blitz Pitching
Jamie Blakely LP 4.2IP 5R 5ER 4H 6BB 8K
Derrick Bulley 2.1IP 1R 1ER 2H 2BB 3K

Blitz Hitting
Jamie Blakely 1/3
Russ Mitchell 1/2

Fitzroy Harbour Men's League finals

The eight team Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League playoffs wrapped up on Wednesday night in the Harbour. Playoffs were a doubleknockout tournament stretched over 4 weeks.

League champions are the Black team, sponsored by Shawn Clouthier Custom Carpentry and led by captain Richie Caldwell and pitcher Jason "Birdy" Armstrong.

Runners-up were the the Yellow team, sponsored by the Harbour Store and captained by Ryan Conners. Brian Wallace, Don Gauvreau and Jon Daley (who had to miss the finals due to a GOFL game) throw for this golden team. Jeff Cavanagh of WC Electric is also on the team.

Congrats to all Harbour Ballers on a great season.

GOFL Final Weekend now set

With all three series wrapping up, the final weekend tournament in Manotick is now set.

Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric defeated Carp I4C Victory in game 5 of their series by a score of 4-3. Andy Barber got the win, while Neil Cooke took the loss. Charlie Ross had a homer for Fitzroy.

Stittsville 56ers beat Barrhaven Broadway Blues 4-1 in game 5 of that match up to advance. Darren Featherstone had the win, Paul Ceppi took the loss and had relief from Jason Smith.

Quyon Combat Flyers won their series 3 games to 1 over Ottawa Taylor's Blitz with a 6-0 victory. Joran Graham had the win, with Matt Greer throwing an inning in relief. Jamie Blakely earned the loss and had help from Derick Bulley.

The three winners join Kars Aces, with the schedule as follows. There will be a BBQ and beer gardens on hand a the Manotick diamond.:

Friday Sept 14

G1 7pm Quyon vs Stittsville
G2 9pm Kars vs Fitzroy

Saturday Sept 15
G3 11am WG1 vs WG2
G4 1pm LG1 vs LG2 (loser eliminated)
G5 3pm LG3 vs WG4 (loser eliminated)
G6 5pm FINAL
G7 7pm IF NECESSARY GAME

Fall Ball Classic

from Derek Martin

Fall Ball Classic


The past 4 years a group of guys from Orleans have organized "Fall Ball" for 5 weeks in September/October. This year there was not enough interest in the 5 week season so "Fall Ball" has be born into the "Fall Ball Classic". The tournament will be held the weekend of October 19th-21st in Orleans. We are hoping to get 8 teams, all players are welcome. The cost is $250 per team. Prize money will depend on number of teams.

If interested please email Derek Martin, derek.t.martin@hotmail.com

..

Glen Cairn league playoff update

from Mike Vandenberg

Round 1 Game 2 Broadway Bar & Grill Stittsville (Sept 10)


Broadway's took the early lead in the top of the 1st inning with a double from Adam Purdy and driven in by Neil Cooke. Laurysen quickly tied it up in the bottom of the 1st when Araon Amo walked and was driven in by Monty Davis. Broadway's went ahead again in the top of the fifth when Travis Emery lead off with a triple and scored when Adam Purdy reached on an error. Laurysen threaten with runners on 2nd and 3rd with one out in the bottom of the 6th but the 3rd out of the inning was throw out at the plate and no runs were scored. Laurysen leads off the 7th with a double by Aaron Amo who was driving in by Tony MacDonald who hit a double off the center field fence. Corey Laurysen drove Tony in with a single.

Adam Purdy for Broadways and Duane Bromley for Laurysen both threw great games who both just gave up just 5 hits through 7 innings.

Round 1 Game 3 Laurysen Kitchens @ Broadway Bar & Grill Stittsville (Sept 11)

Ltook the early lead in the top of the first inning on a single by Aaron Amo and was driven in by Tony MacDonald. Broadways answered in the bottom of the 1st inning quickly putting the first 2 batters on base with a single by Adam Purdy and a perfect bunt by Tyler Nystedt. Travis Emery drove both runners in with a triple but was picked off on 3rd base to end the inning. Laurysen tied it up in the top of the third inning when Tom Wark was hit by a pitch to lead the inning off and was later driven in by Tony MacDonald. The game remained 2-2 through regulation with both teams make great defensive plays. The international tie breaker rule in extra innings was used which allows both teams to start with a runner on second. Laurysen capitalized with a double by Aaron Amo down the 3rd base line scoring Tom Wark from second. Corey Laurysen was able to advance the runner to 3rd base as well as reach 1st base. Tony MacDonald drove in his 3rd RBI of the game with on a fielders choice. Broadways had there chance in the bottom of the 8th inning when the first batter drove in the runner from second after an error from the second baseman. The next 2 batters were retired with a strikeout and a flyout to short stop. The final out came by a strike out after an intentional walk to put the force back on each base. Laurysen won 4-3 in 8 innings as well as taking the series 2-1.

Neil Cooke threw for Broadways and Duane Bromley threw for Laurysen Kitchens

The schedule for the semi-finals is as follows:

Monday September 17 Laurysen @ Taggart's 6:30

Monday September 17 ASAP @ Mattamy 8:30 pm

Wednesday September 19 Mattamy @ ASAP 6:30

Wednesday September 19 Taggart's @ Laurysen 8:30 pm

Monday Sept 24 Round 2 Game 3 6:30 & 8:30 pm (if necessary)

Big night in GOFL playoffs

It is a big Wednesday night in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoffs to see which teams advance to the Final Weekend in Manotick on September 14 & 15.

Carp I4C Victory and Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric play at 8:30pm in the deciding game 5 of the series.

Barrhaven Broadway Blues and Stittsville 56ers will play at 9pm in Manotick also in game 5 of their series.

Quyon Combat Flyers and Ottawa Taylor's Blitz will also be in Manotick, on the other diamond at 9pm in game 4 of their series with Quyon leading 2 games to 1.

Trend Arlington League finals

from Ivan Taylor

The Trend Arlington Men's Fastball League will start their best of five playoffs finals tomorrow night (Wednesday, 12 Sep) between That's How We Roll, the regular season first place finisher and Vipond Fire Protection, the regular season third place finisher. That;s How We Roll beat AC Automotive two games to none in the semifinals. Vipond Fire Protection defeated PJ Quigleys Bar and Grill two games to one in the other semifinals series. The first game will be played at Trend Arlington diamond, 50 Bellman Drive, Nepean at 7:00 pm.

Carp comes back to win Game 4 in Fitzroy - with details

Carp I4C came back in the top of the seventh to beat West Carleton Electric 9-4 in game 4 of their GOFL playoffs series in Fitzroy.

Neil Cooke had the win for Carp, while Steve Cavanagh took the loss with relief from Andy Barber.

West Carleton opened the scoring in the first. Andy Barber walked, and Jon Daley bunted for a single. Jeff Barber's sac bunt moved the runners over sixty feet. After a strikeout, Troy Wilson's single drove in two to make 2-0.

Carp scored in the fifth. Dan Loney walked with two out and was driven in by Shawn Simzer's triple.

Fitzroy answered back with a solo homer by Jeff Barber in bottom of five.

I4C loaded the bases in the sixth with one out on singles by Matt Medaglia and Adam Purdy and a misplayed grounder for Adam Fleming. However Cavanagh got out of the jam with a ground ball out at the plate and a strike out.

WC scored another the in the sixth. Trevor Barton reached on an error, was bunted to second by Matt Bowman and scored on Dave Bahm's RBI single. After back to back singles by Andy Barber and Daley, the bases were loaded, but Cooke also got out of the jam with a strikeout and a ground out.

Taking a 4-1 lead into the top of the seventh, Carp had their top of the order up and made the best of it. Victory batted eleven men, scoring eight runs to win 9-4.  RBIs credited to Kevin McGuire (2), Al Read, Matt Medaglia, Adam Purdy, Cooke, Ryan Clare and Loney.
With the series tied 2-2, game 5 will be Wednesday night in Carp.

The Caveman's Choice for player of the game with his night at the plate and defensive plays is Adam Purdy.

Carp
Neil Cooke WP 7IP 4R  3ER 11H 1BB 7K

Dan Loney 2-4, BB, 2R, RBI, 2B
Shawn Simzer 1-5, 3B, RBI
Kevin McGuire 2-3, BB, R, 2RBI
Al Read 1-4, RBI, R
Matt Medaglia 2-4, 2B, RBI
Adam Purdy 2-3, BB, R, RBI
Neil Cooke 1-4, RBI, R
Ryan Clare 1-3, BB

Fitzroy
Steve Cavanagh LP 6IP 8R 7ER 11H 4BB 5K
Andy Barber 1IP 0R 1H 1K 0BB

Andy Barber 2-3, BB, R
Jon Daley 2-4, R
Jeff Barber 1-3, HR, RBI, R, Sac
Neil Murphy 1-4
Troy Wilson 2-4, 2RBI
Derek Barber 1-4
Dave Bahm 2-3, RBI

Quyon takes Game 3 over Blitz

The Quyon Combat Flyers won Game 3 in Quyon on Monday night, 7-0 in five innings. Joran Graham threw five innings of no-hit ball, while Derick Bulley took the loss with relief from Shannon Borho.

The Flyers had homers from Matt Greer, Dennis McCleary, Joe McCleary and Graham.

For his no-hitter and homer, Joran Graham gets the Caveman's Choice as player of the game.
Game 4 will be in Manotick on Wednesday at 9pm.

Note that the Stittsville - Barrhaven Game 5 will also be in Manotick at 9pm. Both diamonds will be in use.

GOFL Playoffs this week

A busy week of GOFL playoffs leading up to the Final Weekend tournament on September 14 & 15 in Manotick.

Carp I4C Victory vs Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric (WC leads 2-1)
Game 4: Monday September 10 at 9pm in Fitzroy Harbour
Game 5: Wednesday September 12 in Carp (if necessary)

Barrhaven Broadway Blues vs Stittsville 56ers (series tied 2-2)
Game 5: Wednesday September 12 at 9pm in Manotick

Quyon Combat Flyers vs Ottawa Taylor's Blitz (series tied 1-1)
Game 3: Monday September 10 at 8pm in Quyon
Game 4: Wednesday September 12 at 7pm in Manotick
Game 5: Thursday September 13 in Quyon (if necessary)

Blitz even series with Quyon - game story

from Shawn Laframboise

Ottawa Taylor's Blitz evened their best-of-five series with the Quyon Combat Flyers at one game apiece in GOFL playoff action in Quebec on Thursday night with a 3-2 win.


Derrick Bulley took the mound for the Blitz while Quyon countered with Joran Graham.


Both pitchers were dealing early on, striking out the side in the 1st inning.

Blitz threatened in the 2nd. Shannon Borho hit a one out single and advanced to 2nd on a Jon Ferguson walk. Graham would get out of the inning with two strike outs. The Flyers got a leadoff walk from Graham in the bottom of two. Joe McCleary had a sac bunt to advance Graham to 2nd. After a Nick Armitage walk, Bulley got out of the inning with a strikeout and a ground out.

Ottawa got on the board first with a run in the 3rd. After a one-out walk, Bulley hit a line-drive double down the 1st baseline to score the runner all the way from 1st.

Blitz added one more in the 4th. Ferguson walked with one out and advanced to 2nd on a passed ball. After being replaced by Russ Mitchell due to the two-out catcher rule, Adam Grier singled to centrefield, scoring Mitchell, and advancing all the way to 3rd on the error to the Quyon centrefielder.

Quyon tied it up in the bottom of the 4th. Matt Greer lead off with a solo homerun to deep right-centre. Graham followed suit on the very next pitch, knocking one out of the park to deep left.

The winning run crossed the plate in the top of the 6th. Tony Searle lead off with a single, advanced to 2nd on a botched fielder's choice, and took 3rd on a wild pitch. He would then score on a passed ball that took a wild bounce up the 3rd base line.

Bulley gets the Caveman's Choice as player of the game with a complete game three hitter and an RBI.


The best-of-five series is now tied at one game apiece, with game three going Monday night in Quyon at 8pm. Game four will be Wednesday night in Manotick and game five, if necessary, will be Thursday back in Quyon.

Carp wins 6-4 over West Carleton Electric

Carp I4C Victory won 6-4 over Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric in Carp on Thursday night to make their GOFL best-of-five series two games to one for WC.

Cody Price went the distance for the win for Carp, while Andy Barber took the loss and had relief from Steve Cavanagh.

Fitzroy scored two in the second as Steve Cavanagh's double drove in Derek Barber (who was running on the two out catcher for Dave Bahm who had walked) and Charlie Ross who had also walked.

Carp had a big inning in the third as all nine men went to the plate. Adam Fleming led off with a single, his first of three on the night. After a pop out bunt, Dan Loney singled and Shawn Simzer walked to load the bases. Kevin McGuire cleared the bases with a double. He later moved to third and scored on two passed balls.

I4C stretched the lead to 5-2 in the fifth. McGuire lead off with a double and scored on Matt Medaglia's RBI single.

WC got a run back in the sixth on Jeff Barber's solo homer. But Carp answered back in their half of the inning when Fleming singled, took second on a wild pitch and scored when he was taking third on a ball the the screen and the throw attempting to get him went into left field.

Hoping for another three run comeback, Fitzroy lead off the seventh with back to back singles by Trevor Barton and Neil Murphy. A fielder's choice put Troy Wilson on and scored Barton from third. A walk to Jeff Barber put the go ahead run at the plate, but Price got out of the inning with two straight Ks.

West Carleton Electric left ten men on in the game.

Kevin McGuire gets the Caveman's Choice as player of the game for an all around solid performance.

Next game will be Monday in Fitzroy Harbour at 9pm.

Carp
Cody Price WP 7IP 4R 4ER 6H 12K 6BB

Dan Loney 2-3, R, HBP
Shawn Simzer BB, R
Kevin McGuire 2-3, 2B x 2, 2R, 3RBI
Matt Medaglia 1-3, RBI
Adam Purdy 1-2, 3B, BB
Adam Fleming 3-3, 2R

Fitzroy
Andy Barber LP 5IP 5R 4ER 8H 0K 2BB 1HBP
Steve Cavanagh 1IP 1R 0ER 1H 2K 0BB

Trevor Barton 1-4, R
Neil Murphy 1-3, BB
Jeff Barber 1-3, HR, RBI, BB
Dave Bahm BB, R
Charlie Ross 2BB, R
Steve Cavanagh 3-3, 2RBI, 2B

Blitz even series with Quyon

Ottawa Taylor's Blitz evened their best-of-five series with the Quyon Combat Flyers at one game apiece in GOFL playoff action in Quebec on Thursday night with a 3-2 win.

Derick Bulley had the win for the Blitz while Joran Graham took the loss. Matt Greer and Graham both had homers for Quyon.

Bulley gets the Caveman's Choice as player of the game with a complete game three hitter and an RBI.

Game 3 with be Monday at 8pm in Quyon.

more to follow

Softball Canada announces additions to Men's National Team

Congratulations to the two players added to the Men's National team that will be playing in Colombia later this month.

Paul Koert from the Toronto area played a game in the GOFL this season, throwing for Carp I4C Victory in a 2-1 win over West Carleton Electric.

Mathieu Roy from Quebec City is familiar to local players as the extremely skilled centre-fielder (and occasional pitcher!) for Donnacona Blue Sox / Quebec Seniors.

Story about the ISC Legends in Cornwall paper

Legends of the game By Tony Muma, Cornwall Standard Freeholder

Brian O’Neill and Jim Martell, both from Cornwall, are savouring their most recent fastball conquest but have their aspirations set even bigger and better next season.

Both O’Neill and Martell —who play in the Cornwall District Men’s Fastball League — helped the Cobourg Force Legends win it all at the 2012 International Softball Congress Legends (ISC) Men’s 50-plus fastpitch tournament in Midland, Michigan.

The ISC’s featured teams competing in under-21, over 21 and 50-plus age categories from Argentina, The Czech Republic, Colombia, Venezuela and all over the US.

“It was very high-level baseball,” said O’Neill.

“It was a world-class tournament, it was amazing,” added Martell.

Martell was a utility player on first base while O’Neill played centrefield.

Martell was even fortunate enough to score the game-winning run in the semifinals.

Both O’Neill and Martell fondly recalled details from the semifinal game against the Ohio Battery.

The game went a full nine innings and there was redemption involved.

“Ohio had beaten us last year in the worlds, they had two of the best pitchers in the world,” O’Neill said.

“It was a great game. Those guys went head to head with our pitcher, Darren Zack. It was just great baseball.”

Martell scored what would eventually become the winning run when all was said and done, as the Force Legends walked away with a 2-0 win and moved on to the final. Martell even cracked his expensive new aluminum bat at the handle in the process. [Note: I am thinking if it is aluminum it probably isn't that new!]

The championship game pitted the Force Legends against a California-based team and was a back and forth affair, according to both men.

”The championship game went seven innings,” O’Neill said.

”We eventually won 3-2 but we didn’t come back in that game until the seventh inning. It was just real good ball,” Martell added.

While winning was sweet, the men have their sights set on participating in the World Masters Games — an international multi-sport event not unlike the Olympics but for athletes that are age 35 and over.

Since the Masters Games and ISC will be held at the same time, the men said their choice is tough but obvious.

”There’s all sports represented there, from 35-year-old baseball players to 80-year-old javelin throwers,” O’Neill said.

”It’s advertised as the largest sporting event in the world, bar none,” Martell added.

O’Neill and Martell hope to field a squad for the Masters Games that includes six players from Cornwall and six from Toronto, including standout players Darren Zack and Wayne Wells.

Stittsville wins game 4 - the game story

Stittsville 9 Barrhaven 4

from John Craig

The Alexander Grove was the site for game 4 of the Stittsville 56ers vs. Broadway Blues series which took place last night.

In the top of the first Kevin Shonfield ripped a line drive single to centre and moved up to second on a Donny Cox walk. Steve ‘Edgy’ Edgerton then drove a two out triple to the gap in left centre scoring two and Barrhaven took a quick 2-0 lead after the first.


The 56ers answered in the second with a big inning starting with a Scott (Sr) Jessiman walk where he moved to second a single from Tyler Nystedt. In an attempt to have the ‘Sr’ handle ripped from his nametag, Scott stole 3rd on a delay after the ball was returned to the mound - possibly his first steal since the turn of the millennium. Singles then from Trevor Scott, Darren Ladouceur, John Craig, Ryan Bond and a double from Dan (Jr) Jessiman put the 56ers up 6-2 after the second.

Barrhaven picked one up in the top of the 4th when Calvin Medynski hit a double and later scored on a 56ers error.

In the bottom of the inning a walk and a single to Craig and Jr set the table for Bond’s 3 run shot to left giving the 56ers a 9-3 lead.

The Blues picked up another in the 5th in a Cox single and a Trevor Power double but that was all they could manage.

Darren Feather-Stalone picked up the win and Trevor Lahey had the loss, with relief from Paul Ceppi.

Notables:

Barrhaven
Cox: 2H, BB, 2R
Edgy: 4 for 4, triple, 2 RBI

Stittsville
Bond: HR, 3 RBI
Craig: 2H, BB, 2R, RBI

One memory of Elkland

I am working on the full "Memories of Elkland" post, but I thought I would provide one story to start, since people have been asking.

Going to Elkland means seeing some great players. Several of the guys there this year are former, current or future National team members. Players like Gregg Garrity, Paul Algar, Sean Kelly, Ty McKinney, Doug Gillis, Josh Johnson, Bill Hillhouse, Steve Price and so on.

You might face a top level thrower who has ISC or even ISF experience. Or you might face a decent Intermediate pitcher. It might be a young guy just starting out, or a guy in his prime, or a guy nearing the end of his run, but that still has some good stuff.

Or, you might face "The Lip".

In West Carleton Electric's second game against a local team J.A. Transportation, as we were warming up, I look across the diamond to see a group of mostly younger guys, wearing their black shirts with tiny numbers on the back.

At the plate meeting, I look down at the lineup card and see that their starting pitcher is listed as "Lip". Everyone else on the card has a first name and last name, except "Lip".

Game starts, their arm comes out to the circle and everyone on West Carleton Electric drops what they are doing and stares.

The Lip is in his 60s and apparently likes throwing in a cut-off white muscle shirt, cleats from the 80s, pin stripe pants, handle-bar moustache and to top it off a do-rag. Also wears a watch - perhaps someone needs him back in after a certain time?  Anyway, pictorial evidence below.

Turns out he actually wasn't that bad, I guess he used to pitch back in the day and while we hit the ball very hard, he limited our runs over the five innings he threw. And I chatted aferward with him, he seemed like a nice guy. He claimed he hadn't pitched in five years....except for last year. (The new math I suppose.)

Anyway, if you ever get to Elkland, keep an eye out for "The Lip"!

Stittsville forces game 5 against Barrhaven

from John Craig

The Stittsville 56ers won game 4 of their best-of-five against the Barrhaven Broadway Blues to force a deciding game 5 in their GOFL playoff series.

Tonight's score was 9-4, with Darren Featherstone getting the win. Trevor Lahey and Paul Ceppi threw for Barrhaven. Ryan Bond had a three run homer for Stittsville.

Scott Jessiman gets the nod as Caveman's Choice as player of the game, highlighted by his delayed steal of third with a head first slide.

more to follow

GOFL Playoff game tonight in Stittsville

The GOFL playoff game tonight (Weds), Game 4 between Barrhaven Broadway Blues and Stittsville 56ers, will be played at the Grove in Stittsville at 8:30pm.

Barrhaven leads the best of five series 2-1.

Tomorrow night will see the Quyon Combat Flyers host the Ottawa Taylor's Blitz at 8:30pm in Game 2 of their series, while Carp I4C Victory hosts Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric at 9pm in their Game 3 match up [updated time].

Softball Ontario seeks members for Coaching Committee

Softball Ontario's Coaching Committee is pleased to announce three (3) openings on the Coaching Committee. Coaching Committee Volunteers are an essential part in the delivery of Softball Ontario's National Coaching Certification Program including Learn to Coach; Keep Coaching; Competition-Introduction, Softball; Level III Technical Softball and Minor Development clinics. Successful candidates will take a leadership role in the development of the Coaching Program in Ontario and will assist the Coaching Committee Chairman in setting program goals and objectives, representing the Coaching Program and working to provide Coach Education in the Province of Ontario.

Coaching Committee members will be expected to attend all committee meetings (approximately two (2) per year) as well as facilitate two (2) National Coaching Certification Program clinics. Ideally, a Coaching Committee Member will have experience coaching softball in addition to the following qualifications:

- Keen interest in Coaching Development and Education
- Strong Communication and Administrative Skills
- Willingness to complete tasks assigned by the Chairman
- Coaching Experience is a definite asset

The Coaching Committee is currently involved in the following programs, with more projects underway:

- The National Coaching Certification Program for Softball in the Province of Ontario at the Community Sport and Competitive Stream
- International Coaching Symposium with Softball Canada

How to Apply

All interested candidates are asked to apply in writing, expressing your interest along with a detailed resume outlining your softball and coaching background and qualifications for this position. Applications should be sent no later than October 5, 2012. If you have applied in the past for a position or held a position on the Coaching Committee, Softball Ontario asks that you re-submit your resume.

Email your resume to Stephanie Sutton at ssutton@softballontario.ca for consideration.

Cornwall League update

from the Cornwall Standard-Freeholder

Game 5 Tuesday night

The Cornwall Navy Club Men’s Fastball League final series will come down to one game.

Decisive Game 5 in the series will be played tonight (7 p.m.) at King George Park, with Jonathan’s Convenience and BMO Nesbitt Burns tied at two games apiece.

The series was tied 1-1 when BMO moved in front with a 3-2 victory. But upstart Jonathan’s — which surprised top-ranked Cornwall Cruising in the semifinals — pulled even again in the final, winning Game 4 on Thursday night by a score of 8-2.

Pitcher Chris Nichol was outstanding for Jonathan’s, limiting his opponents to one earned run in Game 4.

At the plate, Nichol went 3-4.

GOFL Playoff games rained out

The playoff games in Quyon and Stittsville were cancelled tonight due to the rain.

GOFL Playoffs this week

Here is the slate of GOFL playoffs games scheduled for this week.

Carp I4C Victory vs. Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric (WC leads 2-0)
Game 3: Thursday September 6 at 9pm in Carp
Game 4: Monday September 10 in Fitzroy Harbour

Barrhaven Broadway Blues vs Stittsville 56ers (Barrhaven leads 2-1)
Game 4: Tuesday September 4 at 8:30pm in Stittsville
Game 5: Wednesday September 5 in Manotick

Quyon Combat Flyers vs Ottawa Taylor's Blitz (Quyon leads 1-0)
Game 2: Tuesday September 4 at 7:30pm in Quyon
Game 3: Thursday September 6 at 8:30pm in Quyon

Winners of each series meet the Kars Aces for a double knockout tournament to determine the GOFL Playoff champs. It will be held Friday September 14 and Saturday September 15 in Manotick.

Matt Greer named All Star at Men's Nationals

Congratulations to Matt Greer, of the GOFL's Quyon Combat Flyers, playing for Team Quebec Seniors at the Softball Canada nationals in Fredericton, NB last week for being named to the tournament All-Star team as a third baseman.

The men's nationals were won by one of the Newfoundland teams. Quebec finished tied for seventh.

Improvement at the Durk Sherman Complex in Elkland

After a trip up to the Gil Read Memorial in Carp this past July, the Elkland Thunderbellys corrected the one minor flaw in the ESA Durk Sherman Complex.

To see the new addition, look second from the top!

Photo credit: The Murph Dog.

Elkland Labour Day Durk Sherman Classic results

The Elkland Labour Day Durk Sherman Classic hosted 18 teams at the Elkland Softball Association complex in Pennsylvania this past long weekend.

Great times, great ball, excellent hosts and beautiful weather. More on that later, but here is some information on the results:

South Lebanon, PA, who had Josh Johnson from Circle Tap ISC team were the winners of the event. They went 5-0 and beat the Kars, ON Aces in the final 14-6.

Kars only lost two games in finishing second: one to South Lebanon in the undefeated game, then to them again in the final. Kars had Steve Price, Brad Porter and Cory Alkerton to pitch. They won four games along the way.

Probably the biggest surprise of the weekend were the Greenbush, ON Generals who finished third with a 4-2 record. Both losses were to Kars. They had Doug Hoffman to pitch.

The host ESA Thunderbellys ended in fourth place, getting beat out by Greenbush on Monday after defeating Shaggy Dog earlier in the day. ESA had regular pitchers Bill Sherman and Dan Cevette for Friday night, and added Paul Algar, Ty McKinney and Gregg Garrity to their line up later in the tourney.

The two teams that were beat out early Monday finished tied for fifth. Perennial champions Shaggy Dog from Erie, PA were not as stacked this year and lost to the host team. They had Marty Humphries throwing.

The Orleans, ON Rebels had a very good run, let on the slab by Ty Sebastian, Jamie Blakely, Andy Barber and Jeff Barber. They opened up with a loss against ESA but pulled off four straight wins before losing a heartbreaker in the seventh to Greenbush on Monday morning.

Other local teams competing were Fitzroy Harbour, ON West Carleton Electric who finished 2-2, losing to Knoxville/Ontario in the opener (Cody Price & Craig Hollingsworth), beating JA Transportation (local team) and Erie Lost Dogs (Bill Hillhouse) before losing to the Cortland, NY Bombers (Ryan Nichols & Sean Kelly). WC Electric had Doug Gillis from Michigan pitching along with Darren Featherstone and Paul Ceppi.

Carp, ON I4C Victory also finished 2-2. They beat Jersey Shore, PA Generals, lost to Shaggy Dog, beat Williamsport, PA Dick's Diner and lost to Orleans. Carp had the "owner" Neil Cooke throwing as well as Kyle Crawford.

More to follow, just give me some time to rest up......