The Strathroy Royals Senior Men’s Baseball team finished their season as the second best team in the nation. Following a strong outing at the Ontario Senior Eliminations that saw them finish one win away from the provincial title, the Royals joined the Tecumseh Thunder at the Baseball Canada National Championship in Fredericton, NB.
Strathroy started the round robin portion with big wins over Nova Scotia, 10-2, and the host team, Fredericton, 10-3. The Royals then took a 5-1 win into the final game of the round robin where they fell to Team Quebec, 6-3.
In the medal round, the Royals won the Quarter-Final, 7-5, against Alberta, and then won their Semi-Final against Fredericton, 1-0.
In the Gold Medal game, the two Ontario teams found themselves once again battling it out for top honours. Tecumseh jumped out to a 2-run lead after the first inning, and both pitchers were strong, shutting down the offense for most of the game. The Thunder added a third run in the bottom of the 5th.
The Royals scored 3 runs in the top of the 6th inning after Mitch Roy and Cam Graham scored on an AJ Reed single. Reed would later score as well.
Tecumseh answered back and scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 6th to put them up 4-3 and the Thunder shut down the Royals in the 7th inning to win the gold medal.
“We are very proud of the Strathroy Royals,” LDBA Vice President Justin Snively said. “They represented the LDBA and Ontario very well and came away with a silver medal.”
Badgers win Bronze medal at 13U Nationals
For the third straight year, the London Badger 13U team finished with a Bronze medal at the DQ Baseball Canada 13U National Championship in London.
After rain washed out their first game, the Badgers played three games on Friday and suffered a loss to Saskatchewan, 4-2, but bounced back with wins over Barrie, 10-9, and Rive-Sud, 6-5.
The Badgers followed that up with a huge victory over Team Atlantic, 20-10, to finish the round robin 3-1, setting up a Semi-Final matchup against the Ontario Champions from Brampton. The Badgers lost a hard-fought battle against Brampton, 4-3, sending London to the Bronze Medal game where they would get revenge on the only team to beat them during the round robin, Saskatchewan.
In the Bronze Medal Game, Brett Harrison picked up the win for the Badgers, throwing 4 and 2/3 innings allowing just six hits and striking out three. Harrison helped his own cause by scoring twice and adding 2 RBIs en route to an 8-5 win over Saskatchewan to secure the Bronze Medal.
“The goal for any team is to win their last game of the season, and the Badgers were able to do that this year,” LDBA President and Co-Tournament Chair Derek Brooks said. “This is the third straight bronze medal for the Badgers, and that kind of consistency is amazing for these kids.”
LDBA Playoff Championships
Minor Rookie – London West Tincaps (Champions), Sarnia Braves (Finalists)
Rookie – St. Thomas Cardinals (Champions), London Tecumsehs (Finalists)
Minor Mosquito – Sarnia Braves (Champions), London West Tincaps (Finalists)
Mosquito – London Tecumsehs (Champions), Sarnia Braves (Finalists)
Minor Peewee – Strathroy Royals (Champions), London Tecumsehs (Finalists)
Peewee – North London Nationals (Champions), Wyoming Wranglers (Finalists)
Bantam – London Badgers (Champions), Exeter (Finalists)
Midget – London Tecumsehs (Champions), St. Thomas Cardinals (Finalists)
Ontario Championships (OBA’s):
London West Tincaps – Minor Rookie AA Champions
St. Thomas Cardinals – Rookie AA Champions
London Tecumsehs – Rookie A Finalists
London Tecumsehs – Minor Peewee A Finalists
London Badgers – Peewee AAA Champions
London Tecumsehs – Minor Bantam A Finalists
Ilderton Athletics – Minor Midget A Finalists
London Tecumsehs – Midget A Finalists
St. Thomas Tomcats – Junior AAA Finalists
London Tecumsehs – Junior AA Finalists
Strathroy Royals – Senior AAA Finalists
Submitted by LDBA Baseball
