Tile Source hitters couldn't be kept from reaching first
By Lee-Ann Brinovec Junior rookie
With several days passing without rain, Norm Weller Diamond in Aurora was more like a desert than an infield.

But despite the clouds of dust, the Tile Source (K1) team could not be distracted from the task at hand last week. The King batters hit single after single, finding the holes and allowing the base runners to advance with every hit.

Jake Hansen decided that singles were taking too long to score runs, so he let rip with a powerful swing and cleared the bases with a grand-slam home run in his first at bat and a triple in his second.

Posting perfect plate appearances at the plate were Jesse Becker, Ethan Fisher, Kurtis Lewandowski, Angelo Grande and of course the big hitter of the night Hansen.

Defensively, they followed up great offence by sacrificing their bodies to ensure that the Aurora team did not get extra bases. Becker at first and Fisher at pitcher were a lively duo, stopping hard hit grounders as if it were routine. Later in the game, the positions were juggled and it gave Jordan Chantiam a chance to shine at first base. Ending the game on a high note, Erin Becker made the final out of the game at home plate and allowed the King team to put another notch in the win column.

Player of the game for Tile Source was Erin Becker, who showed skill at the plate, advancing runners into scoring positions and was a very confident backcatcher.

Playing their second game of the week, again in Aurora at Confederation Park, Tile Source were introduced to live pitching due to the fact that the pitching machine was locked up tight and the Aurora team did not have a key. The teams would like to extend a warm thank-you to Danton Brinovec who volunteered to take to the mound and pitch for both teams. He did a superb job, trying not to strike them out, and it was evident as both the Aurora team, and the King team belted out hit after hit.

After spending the first inning running to the fence to retrieve balls hit over their heads, outfielders Gregory Long, Chantiam, Nicholas Lauriola and Austin Anderson proved to be quick studies and had the outfield covered much more effectively in the next inning.

The King team took full advantage at the plate, with some big hits. Our clean up hitter, Hansen, knocked out a beautiful grand-slam homer, Emily Brinovec seems to have her grove back as she was three-forthree with two home runs and a double. The middle section of the line-up proved to be just as talented, with Jessie Becker and Lewandowski each going three-for-three and Lauriola, who had a perfectly timed base hit that brought Chantiam and Lewandowski into score.

The team left the field feeling pretty good about themselves and were led in a rousing cheer by Assistant Coach Harry Lewandowski.

Filebank Records (K3) came up with their best performance of the season last Tuesday against Mastermind at Pottageville Park.

Ffion McKay, Nia McKay, David Rumboldt and Jonathon Brunato led the attack with three hits apiece. Defensively Ffion and Giselle Murphy made several excellent plays in the field to hold the Aurora bats in check. Cadence Opoka- Mullins and Guiliano Spizzirri were also a force in the field for a Filebank team that was not to be denied on this night.

Player of the game for Filebank Records was Ffion McKay who led her team at every opportunity.

Senior rookie The TVS Development Corp (K1) had an outstanding offensive game against Aurora's Trophy Sportswear, belting out five home runs in a 22-8 victory.

Matthew Pacitto led his team with three home runs, and Adam Cipollone connected for two of his own. Zachary Long and Myles Cook contributed multiple RBIs on their individual triples. They were not only hitting the long ball, they were also running the bases with speed and this was displayed by Adam Cacchione, who beat out the throw to first base on both his singles. Scott Cameron was a highlight reel of defense, as he made two strong individual plays throwing to second to record outs and making an incredible throw over the pitching machine to make get an out at first base.

Last Wednesday's game was the best played so far this season by Rona Cashway (K2) and it showed in the lopsided score, as they trounced Mastercut Property of Aurora 17-4.

Cassidy Tomlinson led her team offensively and was four-for-four at the plate and scored in each of the four innings. The difference in the game was the sevenrun fourth inning on hits by Rachel Price, Julien and Zoë Cristante, Alexander Topp, Andrew Smith, Connor Harris, Kyle Venberg, Sam Hoare and Thomas Beckley.

King limited Aurora's ability to score runs by making accurate throws to the bases and smart fielding.

Player of the game was Connor Harris, who had three RBI's and was one of those players who made great throws to record timely outs.

Mosquito

Nobleton diamond was the site of the showdown between two King teams, Armstrong Petroleums (K1) and Harris & Harris LLP (K3), that resulted in a close, evenly-matched contest.

Armstrong Petroleums made some defensive errors in the first inning and Harris & Harris capitalized on them, scoring a total of four runs. Tye Walters recorded his first RBI of the season, and strong base running and solid pitching from Will Maclachlan and Kamren Wallbank helped put their team in front. The King 1 team compounded those errors by not scoring any runs in the first two innings, but that changed in the third, when Alec Mulder showed patience and a keen eye reaching first on a walk and waited for his teammate Kyle Symonds to bring him around to score on an RBI double. Andrew Cippolone again showed his aggressive base running and managed to turn a single into a run. Joshua Hollings shut down King 2 in the fourth, striking out all three batters he faced. Going into the fifth, Armstrong Petroleums was down by eight runs, and by keeping cool at the plate, they rallied for the maximum five runs allowed. Harris & Harris held on to record an 11-8 victory. These two teams meet again tomorrow (Thursday), and that is sure to be an exciting rematch.

In Harris & Harris's second game of the week, they once again faced a rival King team. This time it was King City Auto (K2).

It was a battle that resulted in a 10-10 tie.

Gavin Datt, J.P. Cappella, and Daniel Quinteri shared pitching duties for King City Auto, and they were successful in keeping the batters for Harris & Harris in line. Nicolas Sully did manage a double that scored a run and Will MacLachlan smashed out a triple and was called safe as he slid into third and knocked the ball from the third baseman's glove. The King 2 team was missing four regular players, so senior rookies Adam Cipollone and Matthew Pacitto got the call. Cipollone made the most of his opportunity as he smashed a hit over second base to bring in a couple of runs. King City Auto had the early lead on the standup triple by Austin Larsh, but they were unable to hold onto it and had to rally in the fourth inning to tie the game. Bantam rep Cobras unable

to extend win streak

With an opportunity to put back-to-back wins together for the first time this season, the bantam rep Cobras literally dropped the ball against Newmarket last week and fell 12-0 to the visitors.

It was the same old story of the boys, playing very well against a superior opponent for six innings and then seeing it all come apart in the seventh.

Josh Lipscombe was outstanding on the mound for six innings and with his team only down 2-0, he turned the ball over to the bullpen and a close game was turned into a rout. On the plus side, Brandon Oukes had one of his best games of the season both at the plate and in left field. His catch and throw out at second base nearly got his teammates out of the disastrous seventh inning; however it was not to be as Newmarket poured on eight additional runs with two out before the third out was made.

Oukes executed a successful hit and run earlier in the game. This fact alone should not be cause for celebration, but the team learning curve includes memorizing coaches' signals and executing them. The boys are just starting to understand this phase of the game. Daniel Lisi continues to get better at the plate as he crushed a solid double to accompany a similar blast by second baseman Dylan Rochon for the team's only hits.

Player of the game for the Cobras was Brandon Oukes.

Sponsor of the Week

The King Township Sponsor of the week is Tile Source, who generously sponsors our junior rookie 1 team. Thank you for your continued support of minor baseball in King.

Player of the Week

The player of the week award goes to Adam Cipollone from the TVS Development Corp senior rookie team. He had an outstanding week playing for his own team and then as a call up with the King City Auto Mosquito #2 team. Pat Larsh the coach of the Mosquito team was quite please with the way Adam fit into their line-up and would welcome his help should his team find themselves shorthanded again in the future. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

This past weekend, a little more than 100 players and parents from the King Township Baseball Association attended a Blue Jays' game at the Rogers Centre as part of Ontario Baseball Association Day. Despite the disappointing loss by the home team, all those who went had a great time.