Congratulations to the London Tecumsehs Major Mosquito (11U) team, who completed an epic LDBA playoff run this year. The Tecumsehs opened the championship weekend in St. Thomas with an extremely well-pitched game, besting the London West TinCaps 12-1. The top-notch pitching continued the following morning during a 9-0 win over the London Badgers.
Mother Nature had other plans for Tecumseh’s third game, against the Sarnia Braves, who had accomplished a rare undefeated regular season (22-0) in 2016. But despite the postponement to Sunday morning, the Tecumseh bats remained hot, as the team jumped out to an early 7-0 lead. The Braves, who clearly had no quit in them, battled back through the middle innings and pulled within a couple of runs. But the Tecumsehs pulled away for good with some timely hitting late in the game to secure a 16-8 victory.
The Wyoming Wranglers and their stacked offense were up next, and though the game featured a back-and-forth battle, the Tecumsehs managed to prevail, 7-6. That set up a showdown final featuring a rematch against the Sarnia Braves. Tied 1-1 in the middle innings, the Tecumsehs received a spark on the base paths from Eric Picken, who hurdled his way over an infielder on a tag play at second base to reach base safely. Energized, the Tecumsehs pulled ahead 3-1. The teams then exchanged offensive blows, and the Tecumsehs held an 8-5 lead heading into the bottom of the 7th inning. The Braves rallied with some hits and walks, but with the bases loaded (and with players and fans cheering and screaming at the top of their lungs) pitcher Jayden Valle reared back and delivered the final strike to clinch a Tecumsehs win!
Many thanks goes out to all the parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, and fans who helped build this team and supported them through a long, hard season. But most importantly, thank you to the group of young athletes that we, the coaches, had the pleasure of sharing the field with … Eric, Blake, Nigel, Jayden, Logan, Brady, Landyn, Leland, Luke, Tyler, Lucas, and Jonny.
Submitted by the London Tecumsehs
