Mississauga North wins
National title
Wood-Jolivet delivers winning hit in the bottom of the seventh for a 6-5 win
rallying from down one to defeat Windsor in the 21U baseball gold medal game
Sunday August 19, 2018
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - Noah Wood Jolivet will go down in Mississauga sports forklore.
With one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, Wood-Jolivet punched out what is now his biggest hit of his career, a RBI single scoring Johnny Liu, to lift the Mississauga North Tigers over the Windsor Selects, 6-5, in the 21U men's National baseball championship gold medal game, at Emslie Field.
"The pitcher was throwing really hard so I knew I was getting a fastball. I just focused on hitting the ball hard on the ground and not popping up. We had a guy on second base so I was hoping to put it through a hole," said Wood-Jolivet, who faced a three-two count and fouled off two pitches.
"This is the biggest highlight of my baseball career. We won the championships in B.C. for my school, but to hit the walk-off is just incredible. I'll remember this forever."
Mississauga North trailed 5-4 heading into the home half of the seventh inning, of a game that their defence committed seven errors.
Tyrell Schofield-Sam tied the game, on a one out single that scored Ryan Kula, who ignited the rally and moved Johnny Liu to second base.
"Through the tournament we were a solid defensive team, but errors are going to happen," said Wood-Jolivet. "The best thing we do well is hitting baseballs."
Errors contributed to Windsor having a 5-3 advantage after five and half innings.
Lucas Parente delivered a two-out RBI single to pull Mississauga North to within a run and their defence held Windsor in the top half of the seventh.
"Seven errors were tough. The defence has been good all weekend. It wasn't there tonight, but it's never over until the out," Mississauga North head coach Gary Liddell said. "Baseball is a great game. No time limits. You keep going until you get the last out. Our guys kept plugging away and tonight we are successful."
Pitcher Ben Donnell gave Mississauga North six solid innings, allowing only three earned runs, on seven hits and two walks, while striking out three batters.
"As a pitcher you have to be mentally strong. That's not the first time I've had errors behind me. I make errors myself. I had to keep pitching my game," said Donnell, in his only appearance for Mississauga North. "(Windsor) left a lot of men on base. We were able to get out of a lot of jams, even with the errors. I'm really proud of the guys."
Donnell was picked up for the tournament, from the Burlington Bulls.
"It is awesome that we were all able to come together and win a National championship," Donnell said. "It's an experience that I never had before, joining a team and being able to play in a situation like this. It's my last year of junior. To be able to win a championship is unreal."
Mississauga North actually led 3-0, after three innings, thanks to a two double by Parente, in the second inning and a Schofield-Sam RBI single in the third.
Windsor found the scoreboard in the fourth inning, scoring twice and surged ahead, 5-3, in the fifth inning.
Colin Robinson, later named the tournament's top hitter, led off the top of the fourth, with a solo home run. Jeremy Orton singled and scored during a double steal, with Kyle Cattrysse swiping second base.
Until the sixth inning, Mississauga North escaped any damage due by errors. The defensive wheels came off in the sixth, with three errors. Windsor tied the game thanks to a missed ground ball, took a lead on a Justin Doran RBI single and made it 5-3, when Cattrysse was hit by a pitch with the bases full.
The Selects couldn't add to their lead and left two runners in scoring position in the sixth inning.
"We played a great game. Defence played well. My senior guys played well," Windsor head coach Alan Bernacchi said "My starting pitcher (Matt Stoddart), who is a relief pitcher went six innings. He battled and did a tremendous job."
Bernacchi may be second guessed for bringing in Brett Stenger, Windsor's hard throwing reliever.
"You make spur of a moment decisions based on what you're seeing during the game," said Bernacchi. "Mitch Zimmerman had been a good pitcher but had thrown a lot of innings. He got the one out and based on how Mississauga hit, I went with my closer. You take a chance, but they hit the ball where we weren't."
Silver still shines for Windsor, who went 1-3 during preliminary play, including blowing a 3-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning to Nova Scotia.
"We came out of the gate slow. We had rust to shake off. We weren't hitting the ball. Our defence made big mistakes in the first two games against St. Thomas and Quebec that cost us," Bernacchi said.
That forced Windsor to have to beat Saskatchewan by three runs, to advance to the playoff round on run differential tie-breaker. They pulled out a 5-1 win. Then Windsor upended Oshawa, the Ontario champs, 2-1, in a quarterfinal, before dethroning Quebec in the semis, 5-0, behind Dan Gore's complete game five hitter. Robinson went four for four with two RBI.
"We had new life. We didn't play well (preliminary games) but the door opened. We came out today and played as good as we have played all year. Three games is a long go, especially against great teams. We beat the number one team in Ontario (Oshawa) and then we take down Quebec who had beaten us four times in a row (over previous years). We battled. We were two outs from getting the (gold)," said Bernacchi. "There are lot of things to be proud of. I feel bad for my senior players who are graduating. In three years, they have a bronze, silver and they wanted the gold. They're upset about that."
At the Ontario Junior Elimination, Mississauga North lost in the championship game, in extra innings, to Oshawa. Windsor placed third.
BRONZE FOR NEW BRUNSWICK
New Brunswick, represented by the Metro Mudcats, out of Moncton, dumped Quebec, 7-2, to win the bronze medal, leaving the four time champions off the podium this year. New Brunswick had to regroup from injuries and being shelled by Mississauga North, 11-0, in the semifinals.
"The game before was interesting. We didn't pitch well. We had a guy get hurt and go to the hospital. My next pitcher came in and he got hurt," New Brunswick head coach Mike Donahoe said. "We knew we were playing for a medal. Yea, you do always want to play for gold, but we didn't want to lose the bronze."
Donahoe credits his coaching staff for keeping spirits up, motivating the team and having pitcher Nate Ronan start against Quebec.
Ronan tossed a four hitter over six innings, allowing just two earned runs.
New Brunswick scored two runs in each of the first two innings and led 5-0 after four innings. Kyle Jewell had four of New Brunswick's 13 total hits, with four singles in four plate appearances.
"It's the first time winning and I've been coaching since I was 16 years old. I turn 50 this year," Donahoe said. "I've won all kinds of tournaments, New Brunswick championships, Atlantic championships, but I never got one of these before (medal at Canadians). It's quite special. This group here, we started our program five years ago and we've won a medal four consecutive years, three at the midget level and one at juniors
New Brunswick eliminated the St. Thomas Tomcats in the quarterfinals, with a 7-3 victory.
TOURNAMENT AWARDS
Robinson batted .556 over the tournament, with an on base percentage of .600. He hit eight for 10, over Windsor's final three games, driving in four runs.
Nicholas LeBlanc, from team New Brunswick, is the catcher of the tournament, with a .967 fielding percentage.
Oshawa Legionnaire second baseman Jesse Elliott, is the fielder of the tournament, with a .929 fielding percentage and eight assists.
The 21U championship, returns to Gatineau, Quebec, in 2019.
rob@hometownplay.ca