The Bantam Selects required 2 extra innings but were able to defeat a stubborn Riverside team 5-4, in the Championship Game of the Eager Beaver Baseball Association tournament in London Ontario. The Soo team won all 4 of their games on the weekend to come out on top of the 15-team field. This past weekend saw the ELKS 341 Bantam Selects travel to London Ontario to play in a Major/Minor Bantam baseball tournament that attracted fourteen other teams from across southern Ontario.
On Saturday the Soo team won their two round robin games to advance to the Championship Round. Both games were highlighted by some fantastic pitching. In the morning game the ELKS defeated the Kingsway Cardinals of Toronto 6-1, J.J. Bergamin pitched the first 4 innings, racking up 11 strikeouts en route to the win. Kyle Leonard pitched the final 3 innings and only gave up 1 run to earn the save. Ryan Gaines had a double and Joey Lesage and John Nolan contributed singles, while Jamie Weldon drove in the first 3 runs of the game to set the pace.
The afternoon game was a route as the Soo handled the Leamington entry 9-0 in 6 innings. Tyler Binkley with 4 innings and Kyle Sayers with 2 innings pitched, doled out 9 strikeouts and held the opposing batters hitless for the game. Anthony Bumbaco had 2 doubles and a single, while Leonard hit an inside-the-park homerun to lead the offense.
On Sunday morning the hometown London Eager Beavers fell 3-0 to a solid defensive effort by the Soo. Binkley pitched the entire 7-inning game giving up only 2 hits while striking out 8. Kyle Diotte played a solid game at short recording 6 outs. Reid Raslack hit 2 singles and Weldon drove in 2 runs.
The Soo faced Riverside in the final. The Windsor area team battled back from a 3-0 deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the 5th inning, and had to score another run in the bottom of the 7th to force extra innings. Bergamin pitched 9 full innings to collect the win; he also scored the winning run in the 9th on a Diotte triple that, at roughly 360 ft., would have been over the fence in most ballparks.
Congratulations to the Soo coaches and players on a very impressive weekend.