Sep 06, 2023 | Brendan Magee | 45 views
U9T1 Legionnaires bring home silver at OBA C Championships!!!
The U9T1 Legionnaires traveled to Kingsville on the weekend moving up a division to compete for the OBA C Championships.
Friday night would see them square off with the Lakeshore Whitecaps in a matchup under the lights. The boys started great putting up 7 in the first and 3 in the second. But it would appear the teams bats were solar powered as when the sun went down they would struggle to put many more runs on the board eventually falling 14-13 in seven innings.
With the tournament being a double elimination it now became a true one and done scenario. An early start on Saturday vs the host Kingsville Knights would see the bats come alive and the boys jump out to an 19-0 lead through 4 innings on route to a 24-0 mercy mid way through the 5th inning. This would set up a meeting with the Tillsonburg Otters Saturday afternoon. Similar to the morning, the bats would stay hot and see the boys jump out to an early lead. They would again mercy their opponent picking up a 15-3 win after 5 innings and secure a berth in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
With only the top teams left in the tournament the rest of the games were sure to be close battles and tough tests. The boys in yellow would draw the Woodslee Orioles on Sunday morning. The Orioles would put up the first (and only) 7 run inning against Listowel with a huge 2nd inning that would see them with an 8-4 lead after two. Having been down in past tournament games, there was no quit in the group and they would rally with 5 runs in the 3rd inning to take a 9-8 lead into the latter innings. Insurance runs in the 5th, 6th and 7th innings would help as the young Legionnaires would hold on for a hard fought 16-10 victory and a trip to the semi final.
The semi final would see a matchup with the Beamsville Stingers would had gone 4-0 so far in the tournament. It would be a defensive battle with both teams making every play. After two innings of play the Stingers would cling to a 1-0 lead. Listowel would come alive in the 3rd picking up 3 runs, then add two in the 4th and 4 in the 6th taking a 9-2 lead into the final inning. The defense would come through again in the top of the frame only giving up 1 run leaving the final score Listowel 9 and Beamsville 3.
With three teams remaining with only one loss, Beamsville and Listowel would draw for the bye, the other facing off vs Pelham in the semi final. Listowel would see their name come out of the hat and a berth in the final. Now they would play the waiting game and watch the Stingers and Panthers play for the final spot. Beamsville would pull out the win by a 5-4 margin and set up a rematch with your Listowel Legionnaires.
The finals would start the way a lot of games have started for this team, a 3 up 3 down clean inning. They would get the leadoff runner on in the bottom of the first but would unfortunately fail to score leaving the teams knotted at zeros after the first, both teams playing great team defense. Beamsville would get on the board first with a run in the 2nd, it would have been more if not for a timely double play by Listowel. The Stingsers would add 3 more in the 3rd stretching the lead to 4 midway the third inning. The never say die Legionnaires would respond in their half of the 3rd with 2 and add another 2 in the 4th to tie the game again at 4's. Beamsville would add a run in the 5th, 4 in the 6th and 2 in the 7th taking a 11-4 into the bottom half of the final inning. The boys wouldn't quit but would only be able to pick up 1 run against a stingy Stinger defense, the final score Beamsville 11, Listowel 5.
Although it wasn't the colour they came for, the boys should be proud of their efforts winning silver amongst the very best teams in the province at a level up. We heard multiple times from opposing coaches and fans about how much they enjoyed playing this team win or lose as they played hard but they also did so with the utmost sportsmanship and respect for their opponents and umpires. Beamsville only lost 1 game in a tournament all season and it was to this group in the semi final.
As coaches we are very proud of the group and look forward to seeing them all grow as ball players and people over the coming years. We hope to see the the 2015's on the team Ryerson Glazema, Fin Long and Kane Downey lead next years U9 team to an OBA Championshpi. We will see the 2014's who played their last rookieball game next year when the move to U11. Cooper Frook, Maddox Birk, Ian Magee, Jaxson Stanley, Miles Good, Jase Berlett, Brandt Donaldson, Sullivan Meulensteen and Hunter Adamson will add to a strong 2013 group as they look to chase the elusive OBA Championship.
Thanks to all for a great season and good luck to all the boys this upcoming school/hockey season!!