As the 2017 season has closed, and the diamonds will be silent for another offseason, it’s time to look back on what was a very successful year for London District Baseball Association (LDBA) teams, who competed both provincially and nationally.
The 18u London Badgers captured gold at the Baseball Canada 18u National Championships, which was hosted right here in the Forest City. The Badgers went undefeated in the tournament, beating the Tecumseh Thunder (Team Ontario) in what was one of the most entertaining midget baseball games Labatt Park has ever seen.
In addition to the Badgers’ success, the St. Thomas Tomcats represented the LDBA by competing at the 21u National Championships in Quebec (the Tomcats competed as Ontario 2, while Windsor was Ontario 1). After a tough round robin, the Tomcats battled hard to earn their way into the medal round. They competed well and captured bronze. St. Thomas earned its way to Quebec by winning silver at the Ontario Elimination Championships in Oshawa (they came up just short of gold by losing Windsor in extra innings).
LDBA organizations competed across the province in OBA Championships this year. Two of those events were hosted in London, as North London hosted the Minor Mosquito A Division Championships, and the London West Tincaps hosted the Minor Peewee A Championships. The host Tincaps went on to win their championship event. Both organizations hosted first-class events, which showcased the top-notch fields and volunteers that each group has.
In all, there were 12 gold or silver medal-winning LDBA teams (see the accompanying list on this page). Congratulations to these teams for the success in 2017!
It’s never too early to start thinking about the 2018 season. Registrations for most Associations will begin early in 2018. Information can be found on the LDBA website at www.ldbabaseball.ca. There, you can access links to all local Association websites to help with registering for the coming season.
In 2018, the St. Thomas Cardinals and LDBA will be hosting the TD 21u Baseball Canada National Championships at Cardinal Field and Emslie Field. A home run derby will kick off the championship on Wednesday, August 15, with games being held from Thursday, August 16 through Sunday, August 19. This will be the first time that the 21u national event has been hosted in St. Thomas (the Tomcats will be the host team). There are volunteer opportunities available for the event. Visit www.stthomasminorbaseball.com for more information.
OBA Championship gold and silver medalists
(2017 LDBA teams)
St. Thomas Cardinals – Major Rookie B Champions
London West Tincaps – Minor Mosquito A Champions
London Tecumsehs – Major Mosquito AA Champions
Dorchester Diamondbacks – Major Mosquito C Finalists
Ilderton Athletics – Major Mosquito D Finalists
London West Tincaps – Minor Peewee A Champions
St. Thomas Cardinals – Major Peewee B Champions
London Badgers – Minor Bantam AAA Champions
North London Nationals – Minor Bantam A Finalists
London Tecumsehs – Midget A Champions
St. Thomas Tomcats – Junior AAA Finalists
Oakridge London – Senior A Champions
Submitted by LDBA Baseball
