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)