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Cardinals remain alive for title
St. Thomas one of five teams still playing at 8U provincials
September 2, 2023
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - The St. Thomas Cardinals are one of five teams remaining at the Ontario Baseball Association 8U B championship.
St. Thomas held off the Dorchester Diamondbacks, 10-9, to advance to Sunday's action, joining undefeated Woodstock (4-0), along with Simcoe(3-1), Grimsby(2-1) and Leamington(3-1).
The 2-1 Cardinals face the Simcoe Giants in an elimination game Sunday 9 a.m. at the Tarry Complex.
"It's what we worked the whole season for, to get to this moment, to see them excel at the highest level at the end of the year. It's awesome," Cardinals' head coach Jason East said. "To be playing on Sunday is exactly where you want to be as a coach."
Earlier Saturday, the Cardinals mercied Welland, 20-5, in five innings. Ashton Millyard was named player of the game.
Leamington defeated St. Thomas, 13-7, on Friday evening after the Cardinals had a bye for the opening round of games.
"Our kids were flat," East said. "You could just tell we didn't have our stuff. The bats were quiet. We didn't play our game."
In the 10-9 win over Dorchester, Cardinals' Ashton Millyard, Noah Annett and Myles Tregenza, all batted three-for-four, while Tucker Taylor and Cooper Bale, were two-for three.
"The bats are just coming alive. We've got to win these games with our bats," said East. "We're usually pretty good at defense, but if our bats stay hot, we're going to have a good chance tomorrow."
Dorchester finishes at 2-2, with wins over Kingsville and Waterdown, but falling to Woodstock and St. Thomas.
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