King Cobra baseball season off to decent start
By Lee-Ann Brinovec

The Ontario Cobras junior elite 19 and under team opened their season in the Canadian Showcase Baseball League this weekend.

Saturday they played two games against the Ontario Prospects and Ontario Tigers. As this was their first weekend of game play, and having only been together to practice for the last month, things did not go well. With 10-2 and a 10-1 losses, the team had a lot of work to do.

Sunday was a different day, and a different story. With the team's tenacity and their will to win, they came back and won 8-2 and tied 4-4 against the same teams as the day before.

The first game against the Ontario Prospects was an 8- 2 victory, with Warren Icyk pitching a complete game. Jay Miller led the way with a single, double and a walk.

In the second game, Lucas Sharpe pitched five great innings and Sean Decory from Schomberg pitched two innings of relief. Top hitter for the second game was Duane Ryan with three hits.

The coaching staff are very happy with this weekend's results. There was a very noticeable improvement through all the games, ending in winning results.

The next game for the Cobras is Friday at 7 p.m. This will be the opener for the Barrie Tournament. We wish the entire team success.

The Cobras played an exhibition game last Sunday in Nobleton as they were gearing up for the start of their season. It was an exciting game that saw the hometown Cobras rally back from a 7-2 deficit to tie the Ontario Tigers 11-11.

Meanwhile, our other rep team, the OBA-based minor bantam Cobras, completed a two-game exhibition tilt with their older cousins, the bantam house league team, and certain realities are beginning to appear.

In the first place, this team will be a work in progress for the foreseeable future. It is impossible to expect house league players to step up to the rep level and master the greater distances, faster pace and higher expectations of play immediately. Hopefully, with the coaching staff that has been assembled, and the boys' desire to improve, it won't be too long before we will see some positive results.

The first opportunity for them to put these lessons learned into practice, under real game conditions, is this coming Sunday (May 13), when the Cobras travel to the Vaughan Grove complex in Woodbridge for their league opener. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.

The second fact that the team will be faced with all year is the need to be very committed to play. With only 11 players, plus the opportunity to call up some peewee members from time to time, there is little margin for error if players miss a game.

On the bright side, several players are beginning to show that the coaches will be able to depend on them to provide offensive spark and better than average defensive play. Christian Shortill, Steven Leonard, Ryan Forletta and Danton Brinovec have been very pleasant surprises so far this spring and give everyone hope that the learning curve for this team will not be too steep.

Every team has now had a chance to assemble for a practice, meet their coach, get the rust off their bats and warm up their throwing arms.

Thanks goes to the parks and recreation department for the all the work they have done to ready the diamonds in King for the upcoming season, as well as to the big Nobleton diamond to get it up to standards for rep play by our minor bantam and junior teams.

The King Township Baseball Association (KTBA) would like to acknowledge the many volunteers who have taken on the task of coaching the young up-and-coming ball players in our community. Without their commitment and knowledge, we would not be able to field as many teams as we have this season. If you are interested in coaching, or volunteering your time to help out your son or daughter's team, please contact KTBA president David Long.

Key to every baseball game is the sharp eye of the umpires, and KTBA would like to welcome four new additions to the crew this season. George Logue made his debut at last Sunday's bantam rep exhibition game and should be commended for a job well done. Mateo Perone and Dean Orr, two bantam players, and Rob Martel, a bantam rep coach, are also going to take the field this season as umpires.

The season gets under way with the senior rookies playing in Pottageville and the peewees in King City May 14. the following day will see the junior rookies begin in Pottageville and the mosquitoes play their home opener in Nobleton.

Here's hoping that Mother Nature co-operates and we see clear skies and sunshine for our opening nights.

Sponsor

of the Week

Today we shine our spotlight on our first Sponsor of the Week. King City Auto Service came on board this spring and has provided their support to Pat Larsh's mosquito 2 team. We thank this sponsor very much.

Player

of the Week

The KTBA Player of the Week is Jay Miller, an allround player for the Northern Air junior King Cobras. Jay played superbly at DH, catcher and outfield for the juniors this past weekend as they opened their season. Congratulations Jay.