The Inside Pitch
LePage mosquitoes are hot entering playoffs
By Lee-Ann Brinovec Junior rookie

The weather was not very cooperative with our junior rookie teams this week, and as a result they were unable to play their first playoff games.

Let's hope that the sun will shine this week, and these young players can get back out on the diamond doing what they do best, play some ball.

Mosquito

The RCR Royal LePage team ended their regular season on a winning note, and started their playoffs the same way.

Last Monday, they played host to Bradford's Flex n' Gate team, and came away with a close 8-6 victory.

Patrick Price pitched two scoreless innings and contributed to the offence with a pair of doubles. Andrew Cipollone connected for a triple in the first inning, cashing in two RBIs, and Jonathan Mele continued his dominance at the plate going two-for-two.

Last Wednesday night, the two King Cobra mosquito teams met in Nobleton to kick off the 2006 playoffs.

It was an up and down night for the LePage pitchers. After shutting down Rona Cashway in the first inning, they allowed five runs in the second. Giancarlo Povegliano came to the mound in the third and sent three of the batters he faced back to the bench with strikeouts. Matthew Arduzzi hit a double in the inning, but was left stranded at second. Rona Cashway reached base numerous times on walks, as the pitchers for Royal LePage had trouble finding the strike zone, and connected for three hits in the game from the bats of Jesse Schneider with a single, Zachary Schofield with a double, and the double by Arduzzi.

Royal Lepage had their share of walks to reach base, but they also had 10 hits in the game. Andrew Cipollone was two-for-two with a single and a double, Patrick Price had a double, Travis Brinovec was two-for-three with a pair of singles, and J.P Capella was three-for-three with a walk and two singles.

Going into the bottom of the fourth inning with LePage having already scored three runs, and the bases loaded with none out, Patrick Price stepped to the plate but before he could swing his bat, threatening skies and lightening halted the game. Reverting back to the last complete inning had the RCR Royal Lepage team coming away with a close 65 victory.

Peewee

Phil's Motors K2 and Rhind Electric K3 met for the second time this season with Rhind Electric having won the first match up back in June 12-6. It was a different story in King City last Monday night, with the K2 team handing the K3 team a 15-5 defeat.

The pitching of the Phil's Motors' team made the difference in the game, with Brady Boccia pitching three scoreless innings with the help of some great team defense. Twice Brady picked off wandering base runners. With a base runner trying to steal second, Brady stepped off the mound and fired a perfect strike to shortstop

Steven LaVerde who tagged the runner, and again in the second inning when he threw the ball to Danton Brinovec at third to pick off another base runner who had strayed too far from the bag.

The batters for Phil's Motors supported their pitchers with Steven LaVerde going three-for-four with a triple, a double and a walk, driving in four RBIs. Brady Boccia hit a triple in the third inning, cashing in three RBIs.

Rhind Electric got their bats working in the fifth inning, scoring three runs on back-to-back singles by Brandon and Christian Shorthill, after Aidan Romerill had walked to load the bases.

Player of the game for Phil's Motors was Matthew Maloney, who hit a long double in the third inning to bring in two runs and for his game-ending third-out catch of a hard hit fly ball into centre field. Player of the game for Rhind Electric was Connor McCauley, who held the opposition to two runs in the two innings he pitched.

Peewee select

The peewee select team, sponsored by CDC Insurance Services Ltd., are riding a hot streak as the playoffs approach.

In their last seven games, the Cobras have recorded four wins, two ties and a single loss.

July 23, they played their last games of the regular season, as they faced the Whitby Chiefs in an exhibition double-header in Nobleton. With the temperature and humidex well into the 40s, the players fought for a tie in the first game and handed Whitby their first loss of the season in the second.

The first game was a closely-fought contest, with skillful pitching by both teams. Brady Boccia relied on some great infield support to limit the opposition to a single run in the first inning and two in the third. The Cobra offence could not seem to get their bats on the ball as almost the entire batting order went down in sequence.

Boccia handed the game over to Steven LaVerde with King trailing 3-0. LaVerde pitched the next three innings flawlessly, completely frustrating the Whitby hitters. He allowed a single walk and a single base hit as he faced eleven batters over the three innings he was on the mound.

Cobra pitching finally got some run support in the third inning. With two outs, Taylor Joseph drew a walk and was sent across the plate when Josh Lipscombe crushed a triple past the Whitby outfielders. The Cobra offense suddenly seemed inspired, as

the next two batters, Ryan Forletta and Daniel Lisi, contributed with hits that tied the game at 3-3.

The score remained tied through the fifth and sixth innings and LaVerde, having pitched his nine outs, handed the ball over to Ryan Forletta at the top of the seventh. After sending the first two Whitby batters back to the bench, he struggled with his control, walking two and allowing two base hits.

The King team found themselves two runs behind as they came to bat in the bottom of the seventh. Lead off batter Taylor Joseph reached first on a single and was once again brought home by Josh Lipscombe's second triple of the game. If not for the brisk wind blowing in from the outfield the ball would have easily cleared the fence and given Josh his first over the fence home run. Ryan Foletta brought Josh home on a sacrifice hit, but unfortunately the King rally had come to an end. The game ended in a 5-5 tie.

It was a closely contested match between two fine teams, characterized by outstanding pitching performances from all the players who took to the mound. King Cobra hurler Steven LaVerde had a particularly impressive outing throwing three innings of shutout ball, amply demonstrating why he has the lowest "runs against" average on the team.

The second game of the double header was a different contest entirely.

From the opening pitch the King team was aggressive and productive, dominating the opposition with unhittable pitching and undeniable hitters. The

Cobra's offense struck early with two runs at the top of the first allowing Josh Lipscombe to take to the mound with a 2-0 lead. He pitched extremely well over the next three innings shutting down the Chiefs' hitters.

When the fourth inning started, the Cobras were leading 4-0. Following an opening strikeout, five consecutive Cobra batters made their way onto the bases. Six crossed the plate as they smashed out five base hits and walked twice to put the game out of Whitby's reach.

At the end of four innings, the Cobras were leading 10-0. King put another two runners across the pate in the sixth and won the game with a final score of 12-3.

Not only were their bats working, the King team played a magnificent defensive game, allowing the fewest runs of any outing this season. In the two games, Josh Lipscombe was five-for-six with three triples and two singles, Taylor Joseph four-for-six, Connor McAuley four-forsix and Daniel Lisi threefor six.

The CDC Insurance Cobras had a slow start to the season, but have since matured and developed into a solid baseball team, playing with skill and mounting confidence with each game.

The road to a berth in the SOBA Provincial Championships in September begins this

Thursday (Aug. 10) as they play their first playoff game in Nobleton at 7 p.m. against Aurora.

Player of the Week

The Shoeless Joe's Player of the Week award goes to Jesse Schneider from the Rona Cashway mosquito team. Jesse showed in last Wednesday night's contest that he is a leader for his team both on and off the field. Congratulations Jesse, keep up the good work.

The King Township Baseball Association sponsor of the week is FileBank Records. They are the current sponsors of the peewee 1 team. Thank you for your generosity.

King Township Baseball Association would like to wish the three teams participating in the Intact House League Provincial Championship tournament, taking place Aug 11 to 13, the best of luck as they face house league teams from across Ontario. Representing the mosquito division is RCR Royal LePage, coached by Dan Price. Representing the peewees are Filebank Records, coached by Steve Lipscombe, and Phil's Motors, coached by Bart Burman.

We hope that all three teams have a successful weekend and represent KTBA in a way that will make everyone proud.