The Inside Pitch
LePage mosquitoes administer a thumping in Bradford
By Lee-Ann Brinovec

The weather played a major part in this week's baseball schedule.

The junior rookie 1 team, sponsored by TVS Development Corp., arrived at the diamond in Pottageville last Tuesday to continue their winning ways, only to have Mother Nature rain on their parade. The young players were disappointed and hope that next week the sun will be shinning.

Mosquito

The RCR Royal LePage mosquito team traveled to Bradford last Tuesday and, after a short rain delay, were able to get in their game against the Flex n' Gate team.

It was a somewhat onesided affair, with the mosquito 1 team leaving with a 207 victory. Patrick Price continued his dominance at the plate, smashing out two home runs and cashing in multiple RBIs. Andrew Cipollone contributed with a long double in the top of the fourth that helped his team score nine runs. The pitchers for LePage were as reliable as they have been all year with their closer Giancarlo Povegliano coming to the mound in the bottom of the fourth and not allowing a Bradford run to cross the plate.

Peewee

Last Monday night, it was a one game show down between Phil's Motors and Filebank Records as the two teams took to the field in King City.

They were not only playing for bragging rights, but also to determine who would represent King Township Baseball at the Intact House League Tournament in August. The hard fought game would result in no decision, as the teams ended the night in a 12-12 tie at the end of six innings of play.

At the end of the first inning Phil's Motors had jumped out to a 5-1 lead as the peewee 2 team welcomed back pitcher Steven LaVerde after four weeks on the disabled list. Steven started the inning with two strikeouts, allowing only one run. In the second inning, Filebank Records tied the score at 6-6. It was a close game, that saw each team put their bats on the ball numerous times with Filebank connecting for 11 hits, and Phil's with 10. At the top of the fifth, the score stood at 10-7 in favor of Filebank . Phil's stormed back in a big fifth inning that saw them score five additional runs. Unfortunately for Phil's side, they could not hold the tworun lead as Filebank responded with one run in the fifth and another at the top of the sixth to pull even, at 12 runs apiece.

A dramatic moment seemed to cloud Filebank's chances at the bottom of the sixth, when catcher Max Whicher was hit with a foul tip and had to leave the game. It left the peewee 1 team with only eight players on the field and they looked to their pitcher Josh Lipscombe to get them out of the inning with the tie in place. He did just that, as he struck out all three batters he faced to end the inning and the game.

Hitters made the difference in the game. For Filebank, Ryan Moore continued his streak at the plate going two-for-four with a double and a triple, while Josh Lipscombe and Daniel Velocci added to the run count with their multiple base hits. The bats for the Phil's Motors were just as busy as Stewart Burman, Matthew Maloney and Brady Boccia each had two singles and Danton Brinovec was three-for-three at the plate with a pair of singles and a triple.

With no conclusive outcome from last Monday's game, there is a winner takes all match scheduled for Aug. 3 to decide who will represent King Township in the Provincial Championship later that month.

Bantam

Under uncertain skies, including a brief rain delay, the Armstrong Petroleums team steam rolled over their opposition, Wait's Bathroom Plus from Newmarket, in a 15-2 victory.

First time pitcher Dean Orr made the most of his start, keeping the Newmarket 1 team off the scoreboard in the first inning with the help of some strong team defense. The stellar pitching continued for the next two innings, as Mateo Perrone took to the mound. Fine defensive plays helped out the effective pitching performance with Chris Zuzek in left field chasing down fly balls, and a double play turned by Dean Sterman at shortstop and Ryan Forletta at first base in the fourth inning. Player of the game for the Armstrong team was Dean Sterman for his aggressive base running and his defense in the fourth inning.

Baseball skills will be the highlight of the Diamond Dreams Baseball Camp being held for the next two weeks at the Nobleton diamonds. King Township Baseball is fortunate to have the players learn their skills from some very impressive instructors, which will certainly benefit our young players as they continue throughout their seasons.

Sponsor of the Week

The King Township sponsor of the week is our long

time friend Armstrong Petroleums, our bantam team sponsor. Thank you for your continued support.

Player of the Week

The Shoeless Joe's Player of the week award goes to Courtney Barton of the Guardian Drugs junior rookie team. Courtney showed her defensive skills as she made a double play catching the ball at first base tagging the runner heading to second and stepping on the bag to get the hitter out. Well done Courtney and congratulations.