Special fundraising GOFL game in Douglas on Sunday

from Jamey Mick

The Douglas Recreation Complex will be the site of a special Greater Ottawa Fastball League game on Sunday August 2 at 4 pm.

The Ottawa Valley As will be playing the Micksburg Twins in a regular season GOFL game to benefit a local youth who is battling cancer.

There is also a kids' ball hockey tournament earlier in the day as part of the event.

Fans are welcome to attend and help raise funds for this worthy cause.

The village of Douglas is on Highway 60, between Renfrew and Eganville. The recreation complex is behind St Michael's Catholic School.

Twins over As 7-1

from Paul Griffith

On Thursday night the Valley A's made their first trip up to Micksburg to take on the Twins in front of a good crowd.

The Twins sent Joran Graham to the hill as the As countered with Adam Rueckwald. 

The home side got things going in the home half of the first by sending nine batters to the plate. Lead off batter drew a walk, followed by a Kyle Jackson single advancing the runner to third. After the next batter walked Jamey Mick came to the plate and singled home both runners. Chad Costello then hit a 3-run shot to left center giving the home side a 5-0 lead.

The A's got on the board in the second as lead off batter Ryley Burns hit a single then advancing to second on a passed ball and third on a ground out. Then the A's scored the runner via single cutting the Twins lead to 5-1. Both pitchers then settled through the next three innings as both teams were held off the scoreboard.

The Twins added to their lead in the fifth as their first two batters reached via error and walk bringing hot swinging Mick to the plate who hit a line drive to the fence scoring Jackson from second. With one out Andrew Mcyntyre hit a through the right side scoring another Twins runner. With the 7-1 lead Graham was able to retire the side in the remaining two innings giving the home side the win.

Win-Joran Graham 7ip 2H 8K

Loss- Adam Rueckwald 

Thursday results from the GOFL

Quyon Flyers 8 I4C Victory 0
The Flyers beat Victory on the Quebec side Thursday night, as Derick Bulley threw a two-hitter and hit a home run to help his cause. Neil Cooke took the loss. Mike Money had both hits for the visitors.

Micksburg Twins 7 Ottawa Valley As 1
Joran Graham got the win for the home team and Adam Rueckwald took the loss. Chad Costello hit a homer for the 'Burg.

Stittsville beats I4C, Kars tops WC Electric

Wednesday night results in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League.

Stittsville 56ers 8 I4C Victory 1
The 56ers won at home in a run-rule shortened game over I4C Victory. Darren Featherstone earned the win on the slab while Shane McNish took the loss. Dan Bradley hit a dinger for the home team.

Kars Aces 3 West Carleton Electric 1
Brad Porter threw a 5-hitter to lead the Kars Aces to a 3-1 win over West Carleton Electric. Steve Cavanagh took the loss and had relief from Andy Barber. Nick Ellis and Matt Alkerton had solo homers for the Aces.

Valley As defeat the Flyers 12-6 in Quyon

The Ottawa Valley As won on the road in Quyon on Tuesday night, defeating the Flyers 12-6 in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play.

Adam Rueckwald had the win with some relief from Todd Wilson. Matt Greer took the loss.

Wilson hit a grand slam for Valley As, and Lindsay Medynski had a three run shot. Ryley Burns also had a home run for the visitors. Responding with home runs for Quyon were Joe McCleary with a solo bomb and Steve McCord with a two run dinger.

North Leeds Men's Fastball League standings

Standings in the North Leeds Men's Fastball League with one week to go, courtesy of Hugh Murray:


Lyn...............................................23
Lyn u18.......................................20
Easton Corners A's. ...................20
Westport. ...................................16
Athens u21.................................13
Seeley's Bay....................................12
Greenbush....................................11
Athens. ........................................10
Eastons Corners Haymakers......2

Stittsville doubles WC Electric 10-5 - WITH DETAILS

Stittsville 56ers beat West Carleton Electric 10-5 in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play in Fitzroy on Monday night.

In what was a rain out make up game, there was a rain delay, but the game was completed with all seven being played.

Darren Featherstone took the complete game win, while Andy Barber got the loss with Steve Cavanagh throwing 5 2/3 in relief.

The 56ers scored three runs on two two home runs in the first. Dan Jessiman hit a two run shot that scored Tyler Nystedt who had walked. Scott Jessiman hit a solo shot later in the inning.

Stittsville added on another four runs in the second. The 56ers loaded the bases on two walks and a bunt single. A timely unassisted double play to third base (tag, touch third) looked like it might help get the Trics out of the inning. However, Featherstone tripled to score two, followed by Scott Jessiman's second homer of the night to make it 7-0 after an inning and a half.

West Carleton got on the board in the fourth. Jeff Cavanagh reached on an error, then scored on Jeff Barber's home run. Later in the inning, Dave Bahm hit a solo shot to make it 7-3.

Ryan Bond drove in Kyle Olsen, who had reached on a fielder's choice in the fifth to put the 56ers up by five runs.

The Trics had an opportunity in the sixth, loading the bases with none out on three consecutive singles. But Feathers got out of the jam with a ground out which erased the run at home, a strike out and a fly out.

The visitors got another two runs in the top of seven. Adam Smith singled and scored when Olsen's single was misplayed in the outfield. Olsen later scored when a throw attempting to catch him stealing third was offline.

Trailing 10-3 going into the final frame the Electric got two back on Shawn Rebertz home run with Jeff Barber on base who had tripled. But that was all the scoring and the 56ers held on for the 10-5 win.

Stittsville
Darren Featherstone WIN 7IP 5R 3ER 10H 8K 2BB

Ryan Bond 2-5, RBI
Tyler Nystedt 1-2, 2BB, 2R, 2B
Dan Jessiman 1-4, 2R, HR, 2RBI
Darren Featherstone 1-4, 3B, 2RBI, R
Scott Jessiman 2-4, 2xHR, 2R, 3RBI
Dan Bradley 1-4, 2B
Adam Smith 2-3, BB, R
Kyle Olsen 1-4, 2R, RBI
Mike Barrett 2BB

Fitzroy
Andy Barber LOSS 1.2IP 7R 7ER 6H 0K 3BB
Steve Cavanagh 5.1IP 3R 2ER 5H 6K 2BB

Mike Cavanagh 1-4, 2B
Jeff Barber 3-3, HR, 3B, 2R, 2RBI, BB
Shawn Rebertz 2-3, HR, 2RBI, R
Dave Bahm 2-4, HR, R, RBI
Kevin Shonfield 2-3

West Carleton mites go 2-2 at OASA qualifier, featuring an example of good coaching

This past weekend, the West Carleton mite boys team (U10) went two and two at the Eastern qualifier in Stirling. This was an Ontario Amateur Softball Association tournament to determine seeding for the provincials in August.

The Caveman was part of this team, along with five other sons of GOFL players. Given this was our first ever OASA event, the first time a West Carleton team had played at this level since the 90s, I thought it went very well.

In the final game of the event late Sunday afternoon, it was approximately 32C. The Caveman had the ball for West Carleton and Rivor Taylor was pitching for Curve Lake Trappers. It was quite a game, going the full seven innings, which is very rare given the 90 minute time limit in mites softball. Final score was a very low 5-3. It was a pitching duel, with the Curve Lake chucker tossing 18 Ks and allowing only two hits, and the Caveman getting 17 Ks and giving up five hits. It was quite a remarkable display by both pitchers.

About the sixth inning, the Caveman was hot, tired and getting cranky. But he was still pitching very well. After a Trappers player hit a nice one to the outfield, the Curve Lake bench started, for the first time in the game, to start with some "songs". If you are involved with youth softball, you may have heard this before, especially in girls' softball. The kids have these rhyming chants about getting hits, having a good eye, etc. It was all positive cheering, nothing against our team or pitcher.

However, the Caveman was NOT pleased. When he was young, long time blog readers may recall he could sometimes get into a rage when frustrated and revert to "Caveman-mode", hence his nickname. It doesn't happen much anymore, but when it does......

Anyway, when the songs started, he looked to me at the third base bench with an exasperated look. Tears started leaking, he started muttering under his breath, paced around the circle a couple of times, stopped his feet, threw a couple of pitches up the screen, then called time and waved me out. At the best of times, he finds the singing bothersome, but given the four game weekend in which he pitched almost all of it, the heat, the stress, he wasn't too happy.

"I NEED TO CONCENTRATE, I CAN'T STAND THIS SINGING!" he raged to me. It was a close game, and he was pitching well, but he was losing focus. I told him just to block it out and do his best, but I was worried that what had been a great game so far by both teams would not end well.

As I walked back to our bench, the Curve Lake third base coach called time himself, and walked over to his kids on the first base side.  After a quick chat with his team, the singing and chanting stopped, and never started again.

The Caveman wiped away his tears and started chucking strikes again.

After the game was over, and we had lost, the Caveman was not pleased because he desperately wanted to win the game to earn the second place spot. But he did make a point of going over to the Curve Lake coach and said "thanks".

I think we all know there are coaches out there who in a tight game would have done nothing. Or worse, gone over and encouraged their team to continue with the singing and chanting.

But it was nice to see that the Curve Lake coach embraced the spirit of minor sports and helped out in that way. So, next time I hear some horror story of some wacko youth coach, I'm going to think of this guy. Sorry I don't know his name, but to the head coach of the Curve Lake U10 boys, thanks.

GOFL Week #12

Week 12 of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League has six games on tap for the week.

A rare Monday night feature sees the Stittsville 56ers (5-11) in for a rain out make up game in Fitzroy Harbour at 8 pm against West Carleton Electric (6-8-1).

On Tuesday night there is another make up game, with Ottawa Valley As (4-11) in to play the Quyon Flyers (7-6-1) at 8:30 pm.

Wednesday night in Manotick at 8 pm has WC Electric into face the Kars Aces (11-4-2). Also that night, I4C Victory (7-4-2) is to play the 56ers at the Grove at 8:30 pm.

On Thursday night, the Valley As travel to Micksburg to play the Twins (9-5) at 8:30 pm. Another make up game is scheduled that night in Quyon, with I4C Victory to play the Flyers at 8 pm.

Kars defeats Valley As 12-0 (from Thursday)

from Chad Milne

Kars Aces moved back into first place in the GOFL standings with a convincing 12-0 win over the Ottawa Valley A’s on Thursday night. Cory Alkerton earned the shutout win for the Aces. Todd Wilson took the loss for the A’s.


In a scoreless top of the 1st inning, Kars had two hits but Wilson struck out the side. It was a different story in the 2nd inning as Kars sent 12 batters to the plate, scoring seven times including a large grand slam homerun off the bat of Cory Alkerton. Eric Colvin, making his Kars debut, also tripled and scored in the inning and Brad Porter, who got the start in right field, scorched an rbi single up the middle and later scored.

Kars looked to add to their lead in the 3rd inning, loading the bases against Adam Rueckwald, who had entered the game in relief of Wilson in the 2nd inning, but Rueckwald was able to get out of it by inducing a pop up and a ground out. Again, it was a different story for the A’s in the 4th inning as Kars sent 11 batters to the plate, scoring 5 times. The inning was highlighted by Porter’s second rbi single of the game and by Cory Morrison’s rbi single, his fourth hit of the game.

Alkerton set the A’s down in order in the 5th inning, ending the game due to the mercy rule.

Quyon wins 5-4 in Micksburg

from Shawn Laframboise
The Flyers continued their road trip and travelled to Micksburg Thursday night for a Greater Ottawa Fastball League tilt with the Twins that was televised on Cogeco TV.  The Flyers prevailed by a score of 5-4.  Matt Greer earned the complete game win for the visitors.  Jason Smith took the loss for the Twins and had relief from Corey Costello.

Quyon took the early lead, putting two across in the 1st inning.  Dave Hobbs led off with a single and was sacrificed to second by Shawn Laframboise.  Hobbs advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on Greer’s groundout to third base.  Joe McCleary then doubled and scored on a double from brother Dennis.

Micksburg answered back with 1 in the bottom half of the inning.  With two out, Joran Graham tripled to right field and scored on a single from Costello.

The Twins would take the lead 3-2 in the 3rd inning.  Matt McIntyre led off with a walk and scored on a Jamey Mick homerun to right field.

The Flyers took the lead again in the top of the 5th.  Hobbs doubled and Greer reached on an error to the third baseman.  Both runners would score on Joe McCleary’s second double of the game.

Micksburg then tied things up at 4.

Quyon took the lead again in the top of the 7th.  Hobbs tripled to lead off for his third hit of the night and 8th in two days.  This prompted a pitching change and Costello came on in relief.  Laframboise then reached base safely when the third strike got by the catcher, putting runners on the corners.  Greer then lifted a sac fly to left field to score the speedy Hobbs from third.

Micksburg threatened in the bottom half of the inning.  After two ground outs, Graham and Costello each walked after lengthy battles at the plate and multiple long foul balls.  Greer was then able to get a strike out to preserve the victory.

Quyon and Kars both win a game on Wednesday - WITH DETAILS

The Quyon Flyers and Kars Aces both won a game at their doubleheader on Wednesday night in Greater Ottawa Fastball League action in Manotick.

In the opener, Kars prevailed 8-7, thanks to a walk off two-run homer by Matt Alkerton. Cory Alkerton got the win, while Trevor Lahey took the loss.

The late match saw the Flyers shutout the Aces 7-0 thanks to a pitching performance by Matt Greer. Brad Porter took the loss, with relief from Luke Severson. Dave Hobbs had a homer for Quyon.

info from Shawn Laframboise


Game 1: Kars 8 Quyon 7
Kars took game 1 of the Wednesday night double header by a score of 8-7.  Cory Alkerton had the complete game win for Kars while Trevor Lahey took the loss for the visiting team.

Quyon opened the scoring in the top of the 1st inning.  With two out, Matt Greer and Dennis McCleary reached on a single and walk respectively, and scored on Steve McCord’s double to the gap in left-centre.  McCord then scored on Randy Peck’s RBI single.

The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the 4th.  Alkerton reached on an error to lead off the inning and scored on a double from brother Matt.  Matt Alkerton then scored on a Jordan Adams double.  Lahey would get out of the inning without any further damage, 3-2 Flyers.

The Flyers added one in the top of the 5th.  Chris Hobbs singled and advanced to second on a Lahey ground out.  He then scored on a single from cousin David.  In the bottom of the 5th, Kars added three to take their first lead of the game 5-4.

The Aces added another in the 6th to take a 6-4 lead.  Nick Ellis tripled with 1 out and scored on Cory Morrison’s sac fly to centre field.

The Flyers weren’t done yet as they answered back with three runs in the 7th.  Curtis Daley walked to lead off the inning and stole second.  After two strikeouts, Dave Hobbs singled to score Daley to bring the Flyers within one. Shawn Laframboise then hit a grounder to short that was misplayed to put the go ahead runner on base.  Matt Greer then tripled to score both runners and give Quyon the lead 7-6.

The home side answered back in the bottom half of the frame.  With one out and Chad Milne on base, Matt Alkerton hit a no-doubter to left-centre field for the walk-off HR.

Game 2: Quyon 7 Kars 0
The Flyers earned the split by taking game 2 of the double header by a score of 7-0.  Greer had the complete game shut-out for Quyon while Brad Porter took the loss for the Aces and had relief from Luke Severson.

Once again the Flyers jumped out to a quick lead in the top of the 1st inning.  Dave Hobbs doubled and scored on a single from Greer.  Greer stole second and scored on a Dennis McCleary single to make it 2-0 after 1.

Quyon added two more in 3rd.  Greer led off with a triple.  After a fly-out, McCord walked and took second on a passed ball.  Both runners scored on a Randy Peck single to make it 4-0 after three innings.

The Flyers added three more to close out the game.  Dave Hobbs homered in the 6th.

In the 7th, Greer reached on an error to the left fielder.  Dennis McCleary then walked and McCord singled to score Greer.  McCleary would later score on a Daley sac fly.

GOFL Thursday night round up

Thursday night results in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League:

Quyon Flyers 5 Micksburg Twins 4
Matt Greer had the win while Jason Smith took the loss with relief from Corey Costello. Jamey Mick had a home run for the Twins.

Ottawa Valley As 4 Stittsville 56ers 1
In the first of a double header in Carp, Adam Rueckwald had his first career GOFL win, while Darren Featherstone took the loss.

Kars Aces 12 Ottawa Valley As 0
Cory Alkerton earned the win in this match. Todd Wilson took the loss with relief from Rueckwald and Ian King. Alkerton hit a grand slam for the Aces. Brad Porter showed his batting skills for Kars, with two hits and two runs batted in.

Gil Read Memorial Tournament media coverage

Some excellent media coverage of the Gil Read Memorial Men's Fastball tournament held in Carp this past weekend in the West Carleton Review.


Kanata team storms to Gil Read championship
By Jeff Maguire
They weren’t among the pre-tournament favourites, but Kanata Storm certainly made believers out of everyone who attended the eighth annual Gil Read Memorial Fastpitch Tournament in Carp on the weekend.

On a day when thunderstorms were in the forecast, it was the appropriately named Kanata team that created all the action at Carp Fairgrounds. Storm blew past Elmira (Ontario) Expos 7-0 Sunday afternoon to complete an impressive showing in the three-day event.

Kanata posted a tournament best 5-1 record, going 3-1 in the preliminary round to qualify for the semi-finals played earlier Sunday.

In their opening playoff contest, Storm doubled Oswego (New York) CPI Classics 8-4. The other semi-final saw Elmira (from the Kitchener area) edge Kingston Axemen 5-4 to qualify for the title game.

Veteran Ottawa-area fastball player Corey Costello of the Storm was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. He is the first winner of the new Joel Langford Memorial Trophy. Costello led a four-man Kanata pitching rotation that dominated the 10-team competition.

Storm’s only stumble came in their opening game in Pool B. They lost a tight 1-0 decision to Kingston Axemen in a contest that began Friday night but was halted in the seventh inning due to downpours. That game resumed early Saturday with Kingston holding on to their advantage.

Following that prolonged outing Kanata was unstoppable.

They defeated Broker4 Tickets, another Ottawa team, 4-2 Saturday morning. In their third game Saturday afternoon they shut out another tournament newcomer, Elkland (Pennsylvania) Merchants, by a 7-0 count.

Saturday night Storm outlasted the Quebec Juniors tournament team in a 14-12 thriller. That match-up was the highest scoring game of the weekend.

Meanwhile, Kingston went 3-0-1 in the round-robin to finish atop the Pool B standings (ties are allowed in the competition due to time constraints). Kanata at 3-1 was a close second and rounding out the pool were Broker4 Tickets 2-1-1, Quebec Juniors 1-3 while Elkland were 0-4 in their tournament debut.

In Pool A, Oswego, a pre-tournament favourite, finished on top with a solid 3-1 mark. Elmira (from the Kitchener area) was runner-up at 2-1-1. Oshawa missed the playoffs finishing 2-2 while local favourites Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric went 1-2-1. Rounding out Pool A were tournament regulars Napanee (Ontario) Shoeless Joe’s Express Juniors who recorded just one win in four outings.

LOCAL ENTRY

Fitzroy/WC, which plays in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League, opened the tournament with an impressive 9-4 victory over Napanee. That game started Friday night but play was suspended due to rain in the fourth inning with Electric holding a 7-4 lead. The teams completed the contest early Saturday.

The West Carleton club tied Elmira 5-5 in their second outing to remain in playoff contention. However, they fell 7-2 to Oshawa later the same day and Sunday morning Electric was doubled 6-3 by Oswego to fall out of the hunt.

Despite a rainy opening night and the threat of thunderstorms Sunday, the eighth annual event has been judged a success.

Chris Read, who along with his cousin Al Read, Adam Brown and Cory Morrison comprises the four-member organizing committee, said Monday this year’s tournament featured the strongest field ever.

“The quality of the fastball was truly unbelievable,” he enthused. “It was the best ever even though the final ended on the mercy rule.

“But the round-robin games Sunday morning were win and you’re in (the playoffs) and that’s the way you want your tournament to go,” he stressed.

Rain hurt attendance Friday, but Chris says that except for the heat there were no weather problems the rest of the weekend.

“After Friday’s rain we didn’t have another drop. The (predicted) storms went around us. So no complaints, overall things went very well,” he added.

All proceeds from the tournament go to the Gil Read Memorial Foundation. The organization assists underprivileged youngsters who wish to play organized sports, but otherwise would not have the funds necessary to take part.

Since the tournament moved to Carp six years ago, the organizing committee has been able to increase the amount of proceeds donated to the foundation in each successive year.

The tournament is held in memory of Chris Read’s father Gil, a long-time men’s fastball coach who died tragically in 2007.

This year’s MVP award was presented in memory of Joel Langford, a highly skilled Ottawa fastball player who died unexpectedly on June 2 at the tender age of 26. The host committee has now instituted the trophy in his memory.

“Joel competed in the tournament every year. We wanted to do this for his family, friends, teammates and coaches,” Chris explained.

Kanata, the tournament winner, pocketed $1,500 while the runners-up from Elmira took home $700. The losing semi-finalists, Kingston and Oswego, each received $250.

Chris Read thanked all of the sponsors who signed on for this year, noting that many of them have been assisting the tournament and the foundation since its inception in 2008. “We really appreciate their loyalty and their ongoing support,” he added.

Anyone interested in the tournament or those wishing to make a donation to this worthwhile cause can reach Chris Read by telephone at 613-292-7379 or contact him by email at chris@canadiandad.com.

For additional information on the tournament and the Gil Read Memorial Foundation, visit the tournament website.

Electric defeat 56ers 6-1

West Carleton Electric defeated Stittsville 56ers 6-1 at the Grove in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play on Wednesday night.

Andy Barber went the distance for WC to take the win, while Kyle Olsen took the loss.

The Electric scored two runs in each of the first, second and third innings.

Kevin Shonfield lead off with a single in the first, stole second, and took third on a wild pitch. After a strike out, he attempted to take home on Jeff Cavanagh's grounder, but 56er's shortstop Adam Smith made a nice play to erase him at the plate. Derek Barber then reached on a misplayed ground to put two on base. Steve Cavanagh's single scored both men to make it 2-0.

The Electric plated another two in the second. Shawn Rebertz hit a solo homer as the first hitter of the frame. Adam Brown reached on an error, advanced to second on Andy Barber's bunt single, and scored on Jeff Cavanagh's RBI single.

West Carleton pushed the lead to 6-0 in the third when Rebertz homered again, scoring Neil Murphy who had doubled.

Stittsville's only run came in the bottom of the fifth on a Mike Barrett solo shot.

West Carleton
Andy Barber WIN 7IP 1R 1ER 4H 14K 3BB

Kevin Shonfield 1-4
Jeff Cavanagh 2-4, R, 2B, RBI
Steve Cavanagh 1-4, 2RBI
Neil Murphy 1-4, 2B, R
Shawn Rebertz 2-3, 2xHR, 3RBI, 2R
Andy Barber 2-3

Stittsville
Kyle Olsen LOSS 7IP 6R 3ER 9H 6K 0BB

Kyle Olsen 2-3
Darren Ladouceur 1-3
Mike Barrett 1-3, HR, RBI, R

West Carleton Electric and I4C Victory split doubleheader

West Carleton Electric and I4C Victory split a doubleheader in Greater Ottawa Fastball League action on Tuesday night in Fitzroy Harbour.

West Carleton Electric 6 I4C Victory 3
In the opener, WC Electric won 6-3, with Steve Cavanagh picking up the win and Neil Cooke taking the loss.

Andy Barber had a solo homer for WC in the first. The home scored three in the fourth after a series of errors. Jeff Cavanagh doubled and scored on another error in the fifth. JCav had an RBI in the sixth, scoring Mike Cavanagh who had singled.

Joe Allan scored in the first. He had reached on a single and eventually scored when WC elected to throw out a runner stealing second when Allan was on third base. Ryan Clare had a two RBI home run in the fifth for I4C.

Cooke allowed seven hits, walking two and striking out four. SCav gave up six hits, walked one and struck out nine.

I4C Victory 21 West Carleton 15
The second game was a wild affair, with I4C Victory wining it 21-15 just as the lights went off in the sixth. Shane McNish earned the win, with relief from Neil Cooke. Jeff Barber took the loss in relief of Steve Cavanagh, who also relieved Barber later in the game.

I4C ensured the win by scoring 11 runs in the top of the sixth.

Kevin McGuire was 4 for 5, with a walk, five runs scored, three home runs and six RBIs for I4C. Curtis Scurr and Ty McNish also had home runs for the visitors.

Derek Barber had a grand slam for Fitzroy.

GOFL Week #11

As the Greater Ottawa Fastball League season gets closer to its conclusion, there are eight games this week.

Tuesday night in Fitzroy Harbour sees I4C Victory (6-3-2) in for a doubleheader at 7 pm and 9 pm against West Carleton Electric (4-7-1).

The Wednesday night doubleheader in Manotick has Quyon Flyers (5-5-1) in for two games against the Kars Aces (9-3-2) at 7 pm and 9 pm. There is also a rainout make up game in Stittsville at 8:30 pm, with the  56ers (5-9) hosting WC Electric.

Thursday in Carp the Ottawa Valley As (3-10) will host two games, with Stittsville at 7 pm and Kars at 9 pm. Also that night will see Micksburg Twins (9-4) hosting Quyon at 8:30 pm.

Stittsville Midget Girls win bronze in Niagara

July 3rd-5th the Stittsville 56er’s Midget Girls team started their tournament play off with winning the bronze medal at the 2015 Niagara Teddy Bear Tournament.  The girls finished the round robin with a 3 and 1 record.  After a nail biter in the quarter finals losing to Kitchener, the girls pulled out a commanding win against a team from Buffalo, to take 3rd place winning the bronze medal.

The team travels to Port Perry this coming weekend, July 24th-26th for the Provincial Qualifier, good luck girls!

With the regular season winding down in the Ottawa Valley Women’s Fastball League, upcoming games are, Monday, July 20th, Carp diamond vs Quyon; Wednesday, July 22nd, vs Kars (7:30pm); Monday, July 27th, Carp diamond vs Auckland; Wednesday, July 29th, Carp diamond vs Vars; Monday, August 17th, Carp diamond vs Ottawa.  All games in Carp are a 8:30pm start.

A special thank-you to the following for their support, C&M Electric, Orr Motors, EllisDon Corporation and Middle Atlantic Products.

Back row: Al Read (head coach), Peter Read (Assistant Coach), Jesse Duckett, Erika Geoffrion, Sara Entwhistle, Katie Wolf, Jenna Bjornson, Shaylyn James, Haley Aiken, Dale Aiken (Assistant Coach)
Middle row: Kylie Phanenhour, Rachel Ross, Emily Craig, Jenny David, Ryan Seiler
Front row: Savannah Desrosier and Alex Demers

Kanata Storm win the 8th Annual Gil Read Memorial Tournament

The Kanata Storm (ISC # 22) won the 8th Annual Gil Read Memorial men's fastball tournament in Carp, ON this past weekend, defeating Elmira Expos (ISC #14) in the championship game.

Semi-finalists were Oswego CPI (ISC #29) and Kingston Axemen (ISC #31).

The new Joel Langford Memorial Trophy for most valuable player was awarded to Corey Costello of the Kanata Storm.

Pool A

West Carleton Electric 9 Napanee Shoeless Joe's Express Juniors 4
WP: Trevor Lahey in relief of Andy Barber
LP: Cole Bolton

Elmira Expos 5 West Carleton Electric 5
P (Expos): Casey Halstead, Dan Martin
P (Electric): Andy Barber

Oswego CPI 3 Napanee Shoeless Joe's Express 0
WP; Kyle Crawford
LP: Kyle Ainslie

Elmira Expos 11 Napanee Shoeless Joe's Express 5
WP: Dan Martin
LP: Cole Bolton

Oswego CPI 12 Oshawa Rebels 0
WP: Gregg Garrity
LP: Brian Mathers

Elmira Expos 4 Oswego CPI 2
WP: Dan Martin
LP: Kyle Crawford

Napanee Shoeless Joe's Express Juniors 7 Oshawa Rebels 4
WP: Eric Morgan
LP: Ben Hodgins

Oshawa Rebels 7 West Carleton Electric 2
WP: Ben Hodgins
LP: Trevor Lahey

Oshawa Rebels 11 Elmira Expos 1
WP: Matt Davis
LP: Casey Halstead, relief Dan Martin

Oswego CPI 6 West Carleton Electric 3
WP: Kyle Crawford
LP: Andy Barber with relief from Steve Cavanagh

Pool B

Broker4Tickets 7 Elkland Merchants 0
WP: Andrew Putnam
LP: Brad Porter, relief Matt McIntyre, Adam Smith

Kingston Axemen 1 Kanata Storm 0
WP: Mitch Hardy
LP: Corey Costello

Kanata Storm 4 Broker4Tickets 2
WP: Cory Alkerton
LP: Luke Severson, relief Andrew Putnam

Kingston Axemen 12 Quebec Juniors 4
WP: Jordan Macdonald
LP: Kirk Santala

Kingston Axemen 6 Elkland Merchants 4
WP: Ian Wallwork
LP: Brad Porter

Kanata Storm 7 Elkland Merchants 0
WP: Corey Costello (no hitter)
LP: Bill Sherman, relief Matt McIntyre

Broker4Tickets 4 Quebec Juniors 1
WP: Andrew Putnam
LP: Marc-Andre Villeneuve

Kanata Storm 14 Quebec Juniors 12
WP: Corey Costello in relief of Jason Smith, Cory Alkerton
LP: Marc-AndreVilleneuve in relief of Donovan Whisky Chan, Kirk Santala

Broker4Tickets 6 Kingston Axemen 6
P (B4T): Andrew Putnam, Neil Cooke
P (King): Ian Wallwork, Jordan Macdonald, Mitch Hardy

Quebec Juniors 12 Elkland Merchants 4
WP: Kirk Santala, relief Marc-Andre Villeneuve
LP: Bill Sherman, relief Adam Smith

Pool play standings

Pool A
Oswego, NY CPI 3-1
Elmira, ON Expos 2-1-1
Oshawa, ON Rebels 2-2
Fitzroy Harbour, ON West Carleton Electric 1-2-1
Napanee, ON  Shoeless Joe's Express Juniors 1-3

Pool B
Kingston, ON Axemen 3-0-1
Kanata, ON Storm 3-1
Ottawa, ON Broker4Tickets 2-1-1
Quebec, QC Juniors 1-3
Elkland, PA Merchants 0-4

Semi Finals
Elmira Expos 5 Kingston Axemen 4
WP: Casey Halstead
LP: Mitch Hardy

Kanata Storm 8 Oswego CPI 4
WP: Corey Costello
LP: Kyle Crawford, relief Gregg Garrity

Championship
Kanata Storm 7 Elmira Expos 0
WP: Joran Graham
LP: Casey Halstead, relief Dan Martin

Final order of finish:
1. Kanata Storm 5-1
2, Elmira Expos 3-2-1
T3. Kingston Axemen 3-1-1
T3. Oswego CPI 3-2
5. Broker4Tickets 2-1-1
6. Oshawa Rebels 2-2
7. West Carleton Electric 1-2-1
T8. Napanee Juniors 1-3
T8. Quebec Juniors 1-3
10. Elkland Merchants 0-4

Friday night at the Gil Read Memorial tournament

There were three games scheduled for the Gil Read Memorial tournament in Carp on Friday night. All three were started - but none were finished.

West Carleton Electric 7 Napanee Shoeless Joe's Express 4 (halted in the fourth)

Trevor Lahey was pitching for the Electric and Cole Bolton for Napanee when this one was stopped. It will resume at 8 am on Saturday morning.

Ottawa Broker4Tickets 1 Elkland Merchants 0 (halted in the third)

When this game was paused, Andrew Putnam had the ball for Broker while Brad Porter was throwing for Elkland. The plan is to finish this game on Sunday morning, time TBD.

Kingston Axemen 1 Kanata Storm 0 (halted in the seventh)
This one was right down to the wire when the rain started pounding and the game had to be suspended. Corey Costello was pitching for Kanata while Mitch Hardy had the ball for Kingston. When the game was stopped, it was the bottom of the seventh, Kanata had the bases loaded and two out, with Kyle Ezekiel at the plate. This one will be finished after the completion of Kingston's 1 pm game tomorrow.

Gil Read Memorial Tournament schedule

The schedule for the ten-team men's fastball tournament in Carp, ON on July 17 - 19, 2015.

Pool A

Fitzroy Harbour, ON West Carleton Electric 

Napanee, ON Express Juniors (Canadian Junior National Championship hosts)

Oshawa, ON Rebels

Oswego, NY CPI Classics (ISC #29)

Elmira, ON Expos (ISC #14)

Pool B

Kanata, ON Storm (ISC #22)

Kingston, ON  Axemen (ISC #31)

Ottawa, ON Broker4Tickets 

Elkland, PA Merchants 

Quebec, QC Juniors (Provincial representatives to Junior Nationals)

Friday

Diamond 1

7:00 PM D1 West Carleton Electric vs Napanee Juniors

9:00 PM D1 Broker4Tickets vs Elkland Merchants

Diamond 2

8:00 PM D2 Kanata Storm vs Kingston Axemen

Saturday

Diamond 1

9:00 AM Elmira Expos vst West Carleton Electric

11:00 AM Napanee Juniors vs CPI Classics

1:00 PM Quebec Juniors vs Kingston Axemen

3:00 PM Napanee Juniors vs Elmira Expos

5:00 PM Kingston Axemen vs Elkland Merchants

7:00 PM Elmira Expos vs CPI Classics

9:00 PM Napanee Juniors vs Oshawa Rebels

Diamond 2

10:00 AM Kanata Storm vs Broker4Tickets

12:00 PM Elkland Merchants vs Kanata Storm

2:00 PM Oshawa Rebels vs CPI Classics

4:00 PM Quebec Juniors vs Broker4Tickets

6:00 PM West Carleton Electric vs Oshawa Rebels

8:00 PM Quebec Juniors vs Kanata Storm

Sunday

Diamond 1

9:00 AM Broker4Tickets vs Kingston Axemen

11:00 AM Quebec Juniors vs Elkland Merchants

Diamond 2

9:00 AM Oshawa Rebels vs Elmira Expos

11:00 AM CPI Classics vs West Carleton Electric

Playoff Round

1:00 PM 1st Pool B vs 2nd Pool A

1:00 PM 1st Pool A vs 2nd Pool B

Final

3:30 PM

Steve Price feature

Check out Al's Fastball for a feature on Steve Price, a former GOFLer with Team Easton.

Twins beat Flyers 6-4

from Scott Conroy

The Micksburg Twins defeated the Quyon Flyers in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play by a final of 6-4 on Wednesday night in Micksburg. Joran Graham came in as relief of Corey Costello to earn the win. Trevor Lahey took the loss after coming in as relief of Matt Greer.

The Twins hit the ball early. In the bottom of the first, Joran Graham took the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field for a solo shot. Two pitches later Jamey Mick did the same thing to put the Twins up 2-0.

Micksburg’s bats were still hot in the second inning. Matt McIntyre lead off with a single before Quinton Rook did the same. McIntyre’s heads up base running allowed him to slide into home safely to make it 3 on the board for the Twins.

Jamey Mick kept his hot stick going in the third as he hit his second homerun of the game.

Micksburg pulled ahead in the bottom of the sixth. With the game tied 4-4 Chad Costello hit a one out single. McIntyre then laid a sacrifice bunt to put Costello in scoring position, setting the stage for Quinton Rooks’ RBI triple. Rook would score on a Kyle Jackson single.

Corey Costello 4 IP. Joran Graham 3 IP.

Twins Hitting:

Joran Graham 2-3 HR, 1B, RBI
Jamey Mick 2-3 2HR, 2 RBI
Chad Costello 1-3 1B, run
Matt Mcintyre 1-2 1B, Sac, run
Quinton Rook 2-3 3B, 1B, 2 RBI
Kyle Jackson 1-3 1B, RBI

Kars defeats Stittsville 5-2

from Chad Milne

Kars Aces hosted Stittsville for the second game of the 56ers’ Greater Ottawa Fastball League doubleheader in Manotick on Wednesday night. Cory Alkerton pitched for Kars while Dan Konkle got the start for Stittsville.

Kars took a 3-0 lead in the 1^st inning. Leading off, Nick Ellis reached base on a passed ball third strike and one out later Kristian Knapp singled. Both runners were brought home when Cory Alkerton absolutely destroyed a pitch, blasting a 3-run homerun to straightaway centre field. Chad Milne followed with a walk, but Konkle was able to get out of the inning by striking out the next two batters.

Kars added to their lead in the 2^nd. Jordan Adams doubled to deep left to start the inning and later scored on a one out triple by Ellis. Shawn Forbes scored Ellis when he drilled a ball off the knee of Konkle, who then left the game due to injury. Kyle Olsen came on in relief and walked Knapp, but got the next two Kars’ batters.

Stittsville got on the board in the 3^rd. Trevor Scott singled and later moved to second. With one out, the Stittsville batter grounded a ball to shortstop and was thrown out at first. On the play Scott tried to advance to third and an errant throw by the Kars’ first baseman allowed Scott to score. Olsen kept the game close for Stittsville, retiring 14 Kars’ batters in a row after walking the first batter he faced when entering the game. Stittsville scored another run in the 7^th, courtesy of an rbi double off the bat of Adam Smith, but Alkerton finished strong to secure the 5-2 Kars’ win.

Coverage of the Gil Read Tournament

Some publicity for the Gil Read Memorial tournament this weekend, in the West Carleton Review.

Wednesday night GOFL round up

Results for the Greater Ottawa Fastball League games on Wednesday night:

Micksburg 6 Quyon 4
The Twins won at home against the Flyers. Joran Graham earned the win, in relief of Corey Costello. Trevor Lahey took the loss in relief of Matt Greer. Jamey Mick had two homers for the Twins and Graham also hit one. Curtis Daley hit a home run for Quyon.

Stittsville 12 I4CVictory 4
The 56ers picked up a win in the first of the Manotick doubleheader header. Darren Featherstone took the win, while Matt McNish was tagged with the loss.

Kars 5 Stittsville 2
In the late game in Manotick, the Aces pulled out a win. Cory Alkerton had the pitching win and also hit a monster shot. Dan Konkle took the loss with relief from Kyle Olsen.

ISC rankings released for July 15, tournament draw announced

The July 15 rankings for the International Softball Congress have been released.

The Kanata Storm are ranked #22 and the Kingston Axemen are ranked #31. Also of interest are two other teams at the Gil Read Memorial Tournament this weekend: #14 Elmira Expos and #29 Oswego CPI.

Hill United remains the unanimous #1 ranked team.

The tournament draw schedule for the ISC World Tournament in South Bend, Indiana has also been announced for the 42 teams competing from August 9 to August 15. 

Valley As at Quyon postponed

The Ottawa Valley As at Quyon Flyers game on Tuesday night was postponed due to thunderstorms in the area.

GOFL Week #10

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League week #10 has five games on tap.

Monday saw West Carleton Electric (3-7-1) travel to Pakenham to play the Ottawa Valley As (3-9). WC won that one 12-4.

Tuesday night has the Valley As into Quyon to play the Flyers (5-4-1) at 8:30 pm.

The Wednesday night doubleheader in Manotick has the Stittsville 56ers (4-8) in for two games against I4C Victory (6-2-2) at 7 pm and the Kars Aces (8-3-2) at 9 pm. Also on Wednesday, the Micksburg Twins (8-4) host the Quyon Flyers at 8:30 pm.

The game originally scheduled on Thursday night in Micksburg (Twins vs WC Electric) has been postponed to later in the month.

Quyon wins on the road in Pakenham over Ottawa Valley - WITH DETAILS (from last week)

The Quyon Flyers were winners over the Ottawa Valley As by a score of 4-0 in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play in Pakenham on Wednesday night.

Trevor Lahey had the complete game shut out, allowing only two hits. Todd Wilson took the loss.

This game was tight, with a 1-0 score through five, until the Flyers scored three in the sixth.

from Shawn Laframboise

The Quyon Flyers travelled to Pakenham on Wednesday for a matchup with the Ottawa Valley A’s.  Trevor Lahey got the start for Quyon while the OVA’s countered with Todd Wilson. Both pitchers went the distance for their respective clubs.

In the top of the 1st, Dave Hobbs led off with a bloop single to right field and advanced to 2nd when the fielder was slow to the ball.  Hobbs then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt from Shawn Laframboise.  After a walk to Matt Greer, Wilson got out of the inning with a pop up and a strike out.  The A’s went down in order in the bottom of the 1st with two strikeouts and a ground out.

Quyon took the lead in the 2nd.  Curtis Daley was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and stole 2nd base.  After a strike out, Daley advanced to third on Jordan Kearns’ pop up that was misplayed by the 1st baseman.  Mike Baker then hit a ground ball to 2nd base, scoring Daley from third while beating out the attempted double play.

The game remained 1-0 for the visitors until the top of the 6th inning.  Greer walked for the second time in the game.  With two out and the steal on, Steve McCord hit a hard line drive single to left field, scoring Greer from first when the throw to the cut-off was offline.  The Flyers added two more in the inning when Daley and Lahey each hit RBI doubles to make it 4-0.

The A’s threatened in the bottom half of the 6th when two hitters reached on errors.  Lahey managed to keep them off the scoresheet and secured the shutout victory.

Pitching

Trevor Lahey (W) 7IP, 0R, 2H, 15 K
Todd Wilson (L) 7IP, 4ER, 6H, 2BB, HBP, 4K

Quyon Hitting
M. Greer 1-2, R, 2BB
C. Daley 1-2, RBI, R, 2B, HBP
T. Lahey 1-3, RBI, 2B
S. McCord 1-3, RBI, R, 2B
D. Hobbs 1-4
S. Laframboise 1-3, SAC

West Carleton defeats the Otrawa Valley As 12-4

West Carleton Electric defeated the Ottawa Valley As 12-4 in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play on Monday night.

Fitzroy used all their arms as Steve Cavanagh started, Jeff Barber came in on relief, and Andy Barber finished. Todd Wilson had the start for the As and Ryley Burns worked in relief.

Jon Daley, Jeff Cavanagh and Andy Barber all had homers for West Carleton.

Au Sable Forks 53rd Annual Tournament schedule

There are no eastern Ontario teams entered this year in the Au Sable Forks tournament, but there will be several GOFL players in attendance. Here is the schedule.

Quyon defeats West Carleton 6-1 - WITH DETAILS

The Quyon Flyers won 6-1 over West Carleton Electric at the annual "Harbour Days" game in Fitzroy Harbour on Thursday night Greater Ottawa Fastball League play.

Trevor Lahey had the win, allowing only two hits. Andy Barber took the loss.

The Flyers got on the board in the top of the first - Matt Greer singled and Joe McCleary hit a shot to make it 2-0.

West Carleton responded in the bottom of the first with a solo homer by Barton. However, following that Lahey threw an excellent game, allowing only an infield hit in the next six innings.

The Flyers other runs were scored on a Greer solo homer in the third, a misplayed fly ball in the fifth that scored Greer who had singled earlier in the inning, and a two run shot by McCleary in the seventh.

Quyon
Trevor Lahey WIN 7IP 1R 1ER 2H 10K 1BB

Dennis McCleary 1-4, R
Matt Greer 3-3, HR, 2RBI, 3R, sac bunt
Joe McCleary 2-3 2xHR, 4RBI, 2R,
Steve McCord 1-2, BB, 2B

Fitzroy
Andy Barber LOSS 7IP 6R 5ER 7H 13K 3BB

Trevor Barton 1-3 HR RBI R
Neil Murphy 1-1 BB

North Leeds Men's Fastball League standings

Standings for North Leeds league as of Tuesday:

Lyn...............................................17
Lyn u18.......................................15
Easton corners A's. ...................12
Athens u21.................................11
Westport. ...................................10
Athens. ........................................8
Seelys bay....................................8
Greenbush....................................7
Eastons Corners Haymakers......2

Micksburg wins 4-0 in Stittsville

from Paul Griffiths
Micksburg 4 Stittsville 0

The Micksburg Twins traveled to the Grove on Wednesday night to take on the 56ers.

Corey Costello took the slab for Micksburg as Stittsville countered with Darren Featherstone. 

The game remained scoreless until the third when the visitors got things going with a lead of single by Connor Moss which was followed up with a walk from Joran Graham. After a fielder's choice with one out, Jamey Mick hit a single up the middle scoring Graham from second. Next up Chad Costello followed suit with a single up the middle scoring Corey Costello from second making it 2-0 for the Twins. 

In the bottom half of the third the home team got two runners on with one out however the Twins managed to get out of troubles when Chad Coz made a good pick off throw to first getting the runner and then Corey Coz fanned the batter ending the inning. 

The Ttwins added to their lead with some insurance runs in the seventh. Graham hit a one out double to the right centre gap, then Mick followed up hitting one to the left centre gap for a double scoring Graham. Chad Costello kept the line moving hitting the Twins 3rd straight double scoring Mick making it 4-0 going into the bottom half of the 7th.

The home side were not able to get get anything going as Costello struck out two final batters of the game collecting the complete game shutout. 

Win Corey Costello 

Loss Darren Featherstone

Micksburg Hitting

Joran Graham 3-3 dbl BB 2R

Jamey Mick 2-4 dbl 2Rbi

Chad Costello 2-3 dbl BB 2 Rbi 

Connor Moss 1-4

Paul Griffith 1-2 

Scott Conroy 1-3 

I4C Victory edges Kars 4-3

I4C Victory won 4-3 over Kars Aces in a close game on Wednesday night in Manotick.

Andrew Putnam had the win for I4C Victory with relief from Neil Cooke. Luke Severson took the loss for the Aces with relief from Brad Porter.

Stittsville - West Carleton game postponed

With the on again, off again rain showers and storms in the area, tonight's game between West Carleton Electric and the Stittsville 56ers has been postponed to a later date.

Fenelon Falls Tournament - August 28-30

Fenelon Falls is hosting an open tournament on Aug. 28-30 as a fundraiser for their league.

Looking for 12 teams. Entry fee is $450 guaranteed 4 games.

Prize money to be determined.

Contact: davidlembke10@hotmail.com

(Note, Fenelon Falls is also hosting the OASA Men's Intermediate B Provincial tournament the weekend of August 21-23, as a separate event.)

OASA Eliminations wrap up

The Ontario Amateur Softball Association held elimination tournaments over the past few weeks to see which teams qualify for Softball Canada national tournaments at various age levels:

Junior Men U21
The New Hamburg Cubs went through the ten team Junior Elims in Owen Sound this past week undefeated to take the title. The Napanee Shoeless Joe's Express, the host for nationals, finished second. Also of note, the Napanee #2 Express team finished fourth and qualified for the Canadians, due to no small part because of the pitching of Luke Severson who plays for Kars Aces of the GOFL and the hitting of the McNish twins (Ty and Shane) who play for I4C Victory in the GOFL.

Midget Boys U18
New Hamburg also won the midget eliminations which had fourteen teams in Tavistock in a tournament plagued by rain, but did get finished about about 12:30 am on Monday morning (June 29). Also qualifying for the nationals in New Brunswick are Campbellford and Hickson.

Bantam Boys U16
Chepstow hosted the seventeen team elimination event this past weekend and won the title to qualify for the nationals in Saskatchewan. Glencoe Home Run Sports finished second and Napanee finished third. Of note, an eastern Ontario team, the Lyn Lightning finished fourth and received a berth to the Eastern Canadian championship (see previous article).

Peewee Boys U14
The Peewee boys eliminations got rained out on June 28, and will resume this weekend in Innerkip.

Lyn U16 Fastball Team Catches “Lightning” in a Bottle in Chepstow

by Dave Kelly

Former Brooklyn Dodger Manager Leo “the Lip” Durocher once said beating the New York Yankees powerhouse of the 1940’s was “like trying to catch lightning in a bottle.”  Since then, the phrase often appears in sports reporting to describe a team that wins against difficult odds – perhaps bordering on the impossible.  No phrase more aptly describes the feat that the Lyn Lightning U16 Bantam Boys fastball team accomplished at the OASA Eliminations in Chepstow (near Walkerton) over the past weekend.

The tournament, called “The Battle of the Bantams” featured 17 of the best bantam-aged fastball teams from the province in a double knockout format played over three days.  Lyn, having never previously entered a team at this level of competition arrived at the tournament as the lone representative of the province east of Napanee.  Although participation in fastball has shown a decline in the past few decades here, it still remains a huge attraction in the rural communities of western Ontario.  This meant most of the opposition had little knowledge (or fear) of Lyn’s neophyte squad.  Their underestimation would prove to be a humbling mistake for the Lightning challengers.

In their first match on Friday night, the Lightning faced a team from the community of Hopeville.   Lyn showed little in the way of intimidation as they quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning.  They later tacked on two more runs to build the lead to 3-0 by the end of the third, and because of the domination of formidable pitcher Michael Shane and some impeccable defense behind him, the shocked Hopeville team struggled to get a runner to first base.  In the end, the Lightning cruised to a 7-4 victory and set up a match against the potent Napanee Express on Saturday morning.

Napanee has gained a reputation for fastball preponderancy in Ontario.  Players far from the town of Napanee will travel vast distances for an opportunity to play on their squad.  Thus, most in attendance expected the Express to roll over the Lightning and easily advance to the next round of the tournament.  All in attendance except Napanee - these two teams had split four exhibition matches against each other earlier in the season.  The game proved to be one for the ages.

In every athlete’s life there are certain memories that are periodically relived with teammates for decades after the event.  Being an underdog in an event often helps to ascend these situations to otherworldly proportions.  For two innings, neither team was able to draw first blood.  As has often proven to be the case in high tension games like this, a misplay by the Express would result in the first Lightning run.  Right fielder, Matt Berry hit a sharp ground ball that skipped off the glove of the Napanee second basemen to lead off the top of the third inning.  He would later come around to score on a key two out single by shortstop James Martell.  The Express managed to push a run across to tie the match in the bottom of the sixth to set up the dramatic final seventh inning.  Lyn second basemen, Austin Blanchard dropped down a perfectly placed bunt to lead off and he would then advance to second base when pinch hitter Logan Baynham walked (he was replaced by pinch runner Austin Johnson).  Both Lyn base runners would advance on a passed ball, and it seemed that the Lightning were sitting in the driver’s seat.  The Express pitcher bared down striking out the next two Lyn batters and it momentarily appeared that the Express would escape the threat unscathed.  The next batter, Lightning catcher Connor Kelly, worked a full count fouling off several difficult pitches until he finally found one he liked and smashed it back up the middle to score both runners providing the go-ahead runs.  The Lightning bench and team supporters exploded, however the Express still had one opportunity left to mount a comeback.  As was the case all game, the Lightning closed the door on any rally recording three key putouts at first – one being a crucial scoop out of the dirt by first basemen Jack Wilson on an erratic throw.  This startling upset moved the Lightning deep into the winner’s bracket of the tournament and meant they only needed one final victory to secure a spot in the top four and an opportunity to move on to the Eastern Canadian Championships in Nova Scotia.

The final game on Saturday was against the Glencoe Home Run Force (near St. Thomas).  This crew was characterized as “the Dream Team” by informed coaches as they had assembled a team of All Stars from western Ontario with the sole purpose of playing for the Canadian National Championships in Saskatchewan next month.  Living up to their reputation, they had decimated their first two opponents in the tournament 18-1 and 17-1. The Lightning, comprised completely of players from the local area, put up a consolidated battle, but suffered their first loss of the competition 8-0. The highlight of the game for Lyn (and perhaps for the tournament) was a fully extended diving catch by centerfielder Tommy Smith who robbed a Glencoe batter of a for sure hit.  The loss placed Lyn in a must-win situation against the Elmvale Expos (near Georgian Bay) on Sunday morning.

Elmvale, who had suffered an early loss in the tournament had valiantly battled their way back to a top six placing by winning several come from behind games on Saturday, peaking with a three run rally in the bottom of the seventh in the Saturday night game to set up the Sunday morning decisive match against Lyn.  Both teams played cautiously in the early going, however Lyn was able to exploit a lead-off walk to Kelly in the first inning.  After stealing second base, third basemen Ethan Jackson stroked a sharp single that scored the first run of the game.  From that point on, despite many balls being put into play, neither team could string enough hits together to gain any momentum.  At the end of four innings, the Lightning continued to hold a narrow 1 run lead.  The Lightning expanded their lead to 3 in the fifth when right fielder Tom Hanna beat out a throw to first on a bunt and scored when Martell crushed an inside-the-park homerun to the gap in right center field.  With the momentum clearly on their side, the Lightning would tack on 4 additional runs in the top of the sixth and closed out the game with a 7-0 victory.

With this victory, the Lyn Lightning team earned the opportunity to be one of only two representatives of the province of Ontario in the Eastern Canadian Championships in St. Croix, Nova Scotia (August 27th-30th).  This tournament will include the best representative fastball teams from Quebec , Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.  What at the beginning of the weekend seemed improbable to most of the OASA (Ontario Amateur Softball Association) officials and the western Ontario rep teams has now become a reality.

Lightning is one of the most powerful natural forces on the Earth.  This is why it has proven to be so difficult to capture.  This past weekend, in the small rural community of Chepstow, the Lyn Lightning proved that they are likewise one of the most powerful fastball teams in Ontario.

The Lyn Lightning Bantam Boy’s Fastball Team would like to graciously thank the team sponsors who believed enough in them to generously support their cause this weekend.   Anyone else who would be interested in supporting the team as they represent our area in the Ontario Provincial Championships in Grafton (August 1st-2nd) and our province in the Eastern Canadian Championships in St. Croix, Nova Scotia (August 27th-30th) are asked to please contact one of the coaches:

Mark Blanchard (marshell@explornet.com)

Dave Kelly (akelly12@bell.net)

Tim Wilson (twilson66@bell.net)

Kars wins Friday Night Fastball in Micksburg - WITH DETAILS

The Kars Aces beat the Micksburg Twins in GOFL "Friday Night Fastball" by a score of 4-3.

Brad Porter had the win on the slab for the Aces, while Joran Graham took the loss.

some details from Lukas Kamps

Kars Aces 4, Micksburg Twins 3

Micksburg took the lead 1-0 in the 3rd on a Joran Graham RBI triple and 2-1 in the 5th on a Chad Costello triple.  However, Kars responded each time by scoring in the next half-inning.

Leading off the 4th inning, Cory Morrison singled to left field.  Kristian Knapp then walked and with one out Lukas Kamps hit a triple into the right field corner to score two.

Similarly, leading off the 6th inning, Morrison doubled down the left field line and Knapp walked again. Shawn Forbes then hit one to third, leading to an interference call and the bases loaded.  Jordan Shipclark singled to drive in two and put Kars back in front 4-3.

Micksburg pitching: Joran Graham 7IP, 4H, 2BB, 1HBP, 13K

Kars hitters:

Cory Morrison 2-4, 2B, 2R

Kristian Knapp 0-2, 2BB, 2R

Lukas Kamps 1-2, 3B, SAC, K, 2RBI

Jordan Shipclark 1-3, 2K, 2RBI

Canada wins Men's Worlds in Saskatoon

Canada won the World Baseball Softball Confederation (formerly International Softball Federation) men's world championship in Saskatoon on Sunday, with a 10-5 win over New Zealand. Venezuela finished third.

A good recap of the final game here from the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix.

GOFL Week #9

There are five games scheduled in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play this week.

On Tuesday, the Stittsville 56ers (4-7) will visit Fitzroy Harbour to play West Carleton Electric (3-6-1) at 8:30 pm.

Wednesday night see Kars Aces (8-2-2) facing I4C Victory (5-2-2) in Manotick at 8 pm. Also that night, the 56ers will host the Micksburg Twins (7-4) at the Grove at 8:30 pm. The Ottawa Valley As (3-8) will be playing a home game as well in Pakenham, with the Quyon Flyers (3-4-1) in town for 8:30 pm.

Thursday night is the annual "Harbour Days" game at the Fitzroy summer festival, with Quyon coming into play West Carleton Electric at 8:30 pm.

West Carleton Minor softball article

An article in West Carleton Review this week with information on West Carleton minor softball.

Media coverage in the Stittsville News

Stittsville, I4C Victory win in Carp - with some details

Stittsville 5 Ottawa Valley As 2

Stittsville 56ers won the early game in the doubleheader in Carp, with a 5-2 victory over the Ottawa Valley As. Darren Featherstone earned the win, while Todd Wilson took the loss.


In the first inning, the 56ers' Ryan Bond continued his hot hitting streak and nailed a triple, followed by a John Craig home run.

Stittsville scored one more in the third inning to make it 3-0.

In the top of the seventh, Tim Maisonneuve reached on an error and Bond hit a two run homer.

The A's came back with two in the bottom of the seventh, final score 5-2.


I4C Victory 6 Ottawa Valley As 1

In the night cap, I4C Victory won 6-1 over the Valley As behind a strong no-hit performance by Andrew Putnam. Ryley Burns took the loss and had relief from Wilson and Adam Rueckwald.

Quyon and West Carleton tie at 3

The Quyon Flyers and West Carleton Electric tied 3-3 in Greater Ottawa Fastball League play on Thursday night in Quyon.

Trevor Lahey went the distance for Quyon, while Jeff Barber had the start and had relief from brother Andy for West Carleton.

The home team put the first run across in the bottom of the first inning. Dennis McCleary singled to lead off. He took second on a wild pitch and was bunted to third by Shawn Laframboise. Matt Greer's infield single score the speed McCleary to make it 1-0.

The Flyers scored another in the third on Greer's solo home run.

Quyon added a third run in the fifth inning. Laframboise doubled to start the inning, and made it to third on a wild pitch. He was driven in by Joe McCleary to make it 3-0.

Lahey had a no hitter through five, but West Carleton finally got some hits in the sixth. Steve Cavanagh hit a double to right-centre with one out. Trevor Barton's infield single put runners on the corners. After a strike out, Mike Cavanagh came to the plate and hit a three run shot to tie things up at three.

Andy Barber came in on relief in the sixth for WC and struck out the side in both innings he worked.

The Electric couldn't get any base runners in the seventh, with a high light reel play by Matt Greer at shortstop stealing a hit from Shawn Rebertz.

Quyon
Trevor Lahey 7IP 3R 3ER 3H 9K 1BB

Dennis McCleary 1-4 R
Shawn Laframboise 1-3, 2B, R, sac bunt
Matt Greer 1-4, HR, 2RBI
Joe McCleary 1-2, BB, RBI
Curtis Daley 1-3

Fitzroy
Jeff Barber 5IP 3R 3ER 5H 2K 2BB
Andy Barber 2IP 0R 0H 6K 0BB

Trevor Barton 1-3, R
Mike Cavanagh 1-3, HR, 3RBI, R
Steve Cavanagh 1-2, 2B, R

Quyon beats West Carleton Electric on walk off homer - WITH DETAILS

In a well-attended Greater Ottawa Fastball League game on Tuesday night in Quyon, the home town Flyers prevailed 8-5 over Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric.

Trevor Lahey earned the win on the slab, in relief of Matt Greer. Steve Cavanagh went the distance for West Carleton Electric.

It was a night with several lead changes and where the long ball was king, as twelve of the thirteen runs scored were on home runs.

The Electric got on the board first in the opening frame, scoring a run off Flyers starter Greer. Jon Daley walked, was bunted over to second by Neil Murphy, took third on a wild pitch and scored on Derek Barber's sacrifice fly to left field.

West Carleton got another run in the fourth when Barber hit a solo shot.

Quyon rallied to score three in the bottom of the fourth. Dennis McCleary started off with a walk. Randy Peck then singled. Steve McCord launched a homer to give the Flyers the 3-2 lead.

The Trics regained the lead in the top of the fifth. With two out, Kevin Shonfield doubled, and moved to third when the throw from the outfield was errant. Mitch Taylor's homer scored Shonfield and the Electric were back up 4-3.

Not to be outdone, the home team got a two run shot of their own in the bottom of the fifth. Joe McCleary walked with two out and brother Dennis nailed a 3-2 pitch out of the park to regain a Flyers lead at 5-4.

Derek Barber, in his first game back from Alberta, continued his hot night at the plate, smashing another solo homer in the top of the sixth off reliever Lahey to tie things up at 5.

The Flyers won the game in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the seventh. Shawn Laframboise had an excellent at bat to start, fouling off several pitches before getting the one he wanted and lacing a double to the fence. With Greer coming to bat, West Carleton elected to intentionally walk him to put the force on. This brought Joe McCleary to the plate, who promptly whacked the first pitch he saw out of the park for a line drive walk off home run.

Quyon
Matt Greer 5IP 4R 4ER 3H 4K 1BB
Trevor Lahey WIN 2IP 1R 1ER 2H 1K 0BB

Shawn Laframboise 1-4, 2B, R
Matt Greer 1-3, IBB, R
Joe McCleary 1-3, BB, HR, 3RBI, 2R
Dennis McCleary 1-2, BB, HR, 2RBI, 2R
Randy Peck 2-2, BB, R
Steve McCord 1-3, HR, 3RBI, R

Fitzroy
Steve Cavanagh LOSS 6IP 8R 8ER 8H 3K 3BB 1IBB

Jon Daley BB, R
Derek Barber 2-2, 2HR, 3RBI, 2R, Sac Fly
Jeff Barber 1-3
Kevin Shonfield 1-3, 2B, R
Mitch Taylor 1-3, HR, 2RBI