© 2024 Hometownplay.ca
Cardinals 16U 'A' provincial
champs
Rout Tecumseh, 17-7, in five innings, in the final at Emslie Field
September 4, 2024
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - The St. Thomas Cardinals are 16U provincial champions.
Austin Wright delivered a single with the bases loaded, as the Cardinals mercied the Tecumseh Rangers, 17-7, in five innings, in game two of Baseball Ontario's 16U A championship, Monday at Emslie Field.
Tecumseh delayed the celebration earlier in the afternoon, by handing St. Thomas its first loss of the tournament, 13-8, in game one of the final.
In game two, the Cardinals came out on fire, scoring seven runs in the opening inning and never looked back, building leads of 10-1 after three innings and 14-5 after four.
"Feels fantastic. It's been eight months of hard work we've put into this. We got the big W," Cardinals manager Ryan Morrison said. "We knew it wasn't going to be easy and they tested us. We looked a little shaky in game one. We knew, do or die, we still had the pitching to get us through."
Tecumseh jumped out to a 7-0 lead in game one, on just three hits, but capitalizing on three St. Thomas errors.
The Cardinals finished with five errors in game one. None in game two.
"You want to limit the errors. Limit the mental errors on the base paths, which we did not do in the first game," said Morrison. "We cleaned that up in the second game and really started to hit and run the bases like we we do and defended the way we can."
Wyatt Atchison pitched a complete five inning game, striking out three batters. He did have to work, throwing a season high 109 pitches.
"Wyatt has always been a big game performer in every tournament. That's why he's there at the end," said Morrison.
Atchison was the player of game.
"I had to throw a good game. I had to leave everything I had out there," Atchison said. "I threw mostly curve balls. I did overlay my fastball in there, but the pitch that worked for me today was definitely my curveball."
Wright, brought up from the Cardinals' U15 team, not only ended the game, but punched out a two-run single earlier in the game.
"I'm kind of speechless. Just feels good to win. We were up big, so it wasn't like it was the bottom of the seventh and we were down by one. I knew what I had to do. Put the ball in play and score a run," said Wright, who's heading into Grade 10 at St. Joe's high school. "It feels even better that I got called up. I didn't think I would get any playing time. But coach put me in and I guess I did my job."
Wright and Cam Morrison, both finished two-for-three, with three RBI. Mason Beechey batted three-for-four. Tyler Serratore had a RBI double.
"Our pitching was amazing, but our bats really came alive," Laliberte said. "Big guy Tyler Serratore was having a great weekend. The coaching staff is amazing and Ryan, our head coach, definitely knows how to run a team."
Moving on from the loss quickly was vital, added Laliberte, who made a splendid catch in right field, ending the Tecumseh second inning in game two.
"You have to have a short memory playing baseball. You have to do you best and kick all of the mistakes to the curb," said Laliberte, a grade 11 student at St. Joe's.
"Tecumseh put up a great battle in the first game. We blew them out of the water in the second game."
The Cardinals trailed 7-0 and 11-3 in game one, but after a forgettable first two innings, gained momentum over the remainder of the game.
Pitcher Matthew East, up from the 14U team, impressed his older teammates, entering the game while down 8-1, but throwing like the score was tied.
"He came in and performed phenomenally for a 14 year old," said Ryan Morrison. "I've never seen the locker room so pumped up after a tough loss. It was behind the performance of Matthew that kept the team energized. Just watching a player (his age) compete on the mound, pound the strike zone and make some huge plays defensively as well, was a major boost for us."
St. Thomas avoided a mercy and closed the deficit to within three runs in the sixth inning.
"We never give up. We've never given up in any single game," said Ryan Morrison. "We have so many big comebacks. We just keep plugging away and we usually find a way. After we got down big, we didn't really expect to win that game. So let's start playing the right way and it carried over (to game two) and we were on fire from the opening pitch."
St. Thomas returned to how they were playing all weekend and throughout the 2024 season, that includes a London District League title, won two weeks ago at Emslie Field.
"We attack on all three levels," said Morrison. "Pitching, teams struggle to match us. Defensively, we were fantastic. Only 38 runs allowed in 20 League games, not even two a game. Our hitting, when we're hot, we just smash the baseball all over the field."
In the semifinals Monday morning, Serratore was four-for-four, with two RBIs and Laliberte, three-for-three and scored twice, to lead St. Thomas over Port Lambton, 9-2. Pitcher Nathan Watson tossed a complete seven inning game, on 90 pitches, 70 counting as strikes, striking out seven batters and only walking one.
The Cardinals opened the 2024 season winning a tournament at Orillia, rallying to victory in the final.
"We were down I think 2-0, in the fourth or fifth inning and we came back to win that game," recalled Atchison. "It was a great feeling because it was the first tournament. I knew this team could do it."
Four players from this year's team won an Ontario title, at 9U - Cameron Morrison, Nathan Watson, Cooper Henderson and Luke Thomas.
St. Thomas finishes with a 41-8-1 overall record, 19-1 in league action.
Provincial recap
St. Thomas opened their 2024 provincial run, defeating Scarborough, 16-0, 10 runs coming in the seventh inning.
In game two, Gabe Laliberte struck out 10 batters, while allowing only three singles and three walks, in a 105-pitched game, a 3-2 squeaker over Hamilton Saturday.
Tied at two heading into the fifth inning, the Cardinals loaded the bases, before Nathan Watson bunted the ball down the third base line, scoring Mason Beechy for the go ahead run. Beechey led off the inning with a single, before Aaron Dyke and Tyler Serratore loaded the bases.
St. Thomas won twice on day three Sunday, defeating Caledonia, 10-7 and Grimsby, 13-10, to be the only undefeated team at the tournament, at 4-0.
Cameron Morrison got the win against Caledonia, going five and two-thirds innings, striking out nine and walking three. Aiden Ward came in relief for the save.
Beechey dropped two bunts, that took him to third base both times, due to throwing errors. Cooper Henderson had a pair of singles.
St. Thomas trailed Grimsby early, 2-0 and 3-1, before taking a 6-3 lead in the third inning.
Grimsby pulled back to within a run in the sixth, but Cardinals' centrefielder Beechy stopped the tying run, catching a fly ball, before gunning down a runner at home plate.
St. Thomas blew up in the top of the seventh and final inning, scoring seven runs. Grimsby mounted a comeback in the bottom half, scoring five times and bringing the potential tying run to the plate.
Around the nest
Both the 14U and 9U Cardinals teams advanced to semifinals, at their respective provincial tournaments.
More images on Instagram - hometownplay