The annual WOBA Mosquito Championship took place on the
weekend of August 12, 13th and 14th in Mitchell,
Ontario. The Walkerton Capitals (Team
Hope) would play in the Division 2 Championship series. In between rains, heavy
at times the boys would play solid baseball in the hopes that they would make
it through to Sundays championship game.
The first game Friday evening was against the Goderich Seahawks Grey team the game would feature some strong pitching and defensive play insuring a low scoring game. Walkerton’s Ethan Rogers would walk and then promptly steal second and third base and come home on a Connor McIntosh single for the first run of the game. Goderich would threaten with runners at third and second with one out but neither runner would advance further as pitcher Talan Hope would strike out the next two batters.
Walkerton would send four batters to plate in the second inning but Carson Filsinger would be the only player to reach base with a hard single down the line. He would steal second but be stranded there as a third out was recorded. The Seahawks would score a run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 1.
The top of the third inning and again Walkerton would threaten. Colin Clarke would walk and then steal second base. Ethan Rogers would also walk but unfortunately both runners would again be stranded as the inning again came to a conclusion. Not to be left out a Goderich player would be stranded at third and again no runs scored by either side.
The Capitals would have a three up three down inning in the fourth as each batter would strike out. In the bottom of the inning Goderich would respond by scoring three runs to take a 4-1 lead.
Walkerton would come to bat in the fifth inning with Matthew McNaughton hitting a single down the third base line. He would promptly steal second base, the next batter Logan Bradley would walk and both runners would advance on a double steal after a pass ball. The bases would be loaded when Colin Clarke was issued a walk. Matthew would be called out as he attempted to slide under the tag at home plate after a pass ball. After a pop fly resulted in the second out but the Capitals were still threatening when Ethan Rogers walked to again load the bases. The inning and the threat would come to an end as the last batter hit into a fielders choice play. In the bottom of the inning pitching duties would be shared between Talan and AJ Wells who would have a three up three down inning.
The top of the sixth and the first two batters would each ground out, down but not out the Capitals would make it interesting. Jake Wells, Carson Filsinger, Matthew McNaughton and Logan Bradley would all walk to bring in a run. The rally would end however when the final out was recorded with the bases loaded. The Capitals would drop game one 4-2.
Saturday morning and the Capitals would face the Kincardine Cardinals #1 team. The weather would become a factor throughout the game but in the end the game would be decided by fine hitting and some exceptional heads up baseball.
The Capitals would score four runs in the first inning. Carson Baglole and Ethan would both walk to start things off. With one out Connor would be hit by a pitch to load the bases. Carson F. would then double to bring in two runs. Jake would then single to bring in another two runs before he would steal second. Matthew would walk but both runners would be left stranded as a third out was recorded.
The rain would fall hard throughout the second and third innings but defensive play from both sides would be outstanding. As the Capitals came to bat in the second Colin would lead off with a single. The top of the order would then drive a ball straight back to the pitcher who would then throw back to first to double off the runner there. Ethan would walk but be stranded as a third out was recorded with a pop fly. Defensively the Capitals shone during the third inning when heads up ball became front and centre. AJ Wells had a perfect throw from home plate to catch a Kincardine runner attempting to steal third base. The infield were able to control a wet ball and muddy playing surface to keep the game exciting for the fans watching from under umbrellas. Connor would single to start the third off and prompting steal second and third base and be brought home when Carson F. hit a hard single. The runner would be stranded on base as the next three batters would hit into a pop fly (1) and ground outs to the first baseman (2).
The game would be close throughout and would come down to the final play to decide a winner. Logan would walk and Colin single to lead off the fourth. Ethan would then walk with 1 out to load the bases. Talan would hit a single to shallow outfield to bring home two runners. Ethan would then come home on a pass ball. The Capitals would win game two 8-6 and still had some life in their search for a trip to the final four.
The third game of the round robin would be against the Clinton Mustangs and would be the deciding game as to whether the Capitals continued onto play on Sunday. The game started well for Walkerton with Carson hitting a single and then stealing second. Ethan would double but unfortunately Carson would be tagged out at home as the Clinton throw was right on the money. Ethan would steal third and come home on a fields choice play to score the first run. The next three batters Connor, Carson F. and AJ would each walk and Connor would come home on a ball that got away from the Clinton catcher before the third out was recorded. In the bottom half of the inning Clinton would record a single run to cut into the Walkerton lead.
The second and third innings would be three up three down for the Capitals as the Clinton fielders put on a clinic and made several great throws to catch the speedy Walkerton runners. Clinton would respond with three runs in the second inning and the maximum six runs in the third inning to take a commanding lead.
The Capitals would start the fourth inning off with two strike outs before AJ would double unfortunately the Clinton pitcher would then strike out the next batter for his third strike out of the inning. The Mustangs would not need to take their final at bat because of time restraints. Clinton would advance to the final four and Walkerton would be eliminated after losing 10-2.
While not the result the boys were looking for they all played well and hard throughout the weekend series. When they look back on their year they won’t remember scores, wins or loses but they will remember the new friends and the great times they experienced over the season. A special thanks must be given to the coaching staff Nigel Hope (Head Coach), Jason Rogers (Assistant Coach) and Tim Wells for your hard work and commitment to the team throughout the season. Thanks for the memories.