The Inside Pitch
The heat wasn't able to cool down last week's action
By Lee-Ann Brinovec

To say it was a hot week to play baseball would be an understatement.

The beginning of last week saw humidex values reach into the low 40Cs, and without any significant rainfall, the diamonds in and around King resembled deserts.

All this could not deter the young ball players as they came ready to play, despite the heat, spurned on most probably by the promise cold treats at the conclusion of their games.

Tile Source traveled to Aurora for a match up against a friendly Summers & Smith team, with threatening weather on the horizon and dark clouds. The thunderstorms never materialized, but the light rain seemed to contribute to Kings problems at the plate. Even through this troublesome time, Rory Paric, Emily Brinovec, Nicholas Lauriola, and Lucas Critelli all had a perfect night at the plate. Although not able to join the ranks of those batting 1.000, Jordan Chantiam and Gregory Long both made solid contact and belted out stand-up doubles. Providing some exciting base running was Paric when he was caught between second and third base. Refusing to face defeat, he raced to third base and executed a perfect slide under the tag, arriving safely in a cloud of dust.

To make up for their lack of offence, the Tile Source team concentrated on great defence. Chantiam started the game in right field and found himself quite busy as the Aurora batters send hit after hit his way. He did his job in holding the Aurora runners to singles. Completing the outfield line-up was Jake Hansen and Kurtis Lewandowski, who teamed up to make a great play as they relayed a long hit back to the infield. Hansen did equally well when moved to third base later in the game as he snagged two sharply hit ground balls, and made two unassisted outs. Critelli was a natural at short, using his quick glove to ensure he let nothing past him and using his strong throwing arm to make the long toss across the diamond.

Player of the game for Tile Source was Jordan Chantiam for his great double and his ability to use his speed in the outfield tracking down the long fly balls.

Schomberg IGA played two games last week, both against teams from Aurora.

They were led offensively by Brock Walters who went a combined three-for-six with his first two-game hit streak of the season. It seems that Brock is getting it together at the plate and is turning into quite the heavy hitter. Serene Falzone continued to be consistent, going a perfect six-for-six over the two games. The "big bat" awards go to Tyler Radell and Christian Leone, who took turns in the back-toback games, hitting threefor three where every hit resulted in a home run. Luca Ferrari, Luke Joseph, Nicholas Dicks and Magnus Krever also had perfect plate appearances.

Player of the game for Schomberg IGA was Tyler Radell who has been a very reliable hitter, bringing in an enormous amount of RBIs.

Monday night the TVS Development Corp. senior rookie (K1) team scored a season high 29 runs as they downed the Aurora Diggers by a score of 29-10.

Adam Cacchione led the way with his first home run of the season. Matthew Lancaster was five-for-five at the plate, stroking out three singles and a pair of doubles. Zachary Long brought in numerous RBIs with his single, double and triple. Adam Cipollone added to his team-leading home run total with a towering drive into the outfield.

It was not all about offense and when Aurora had their chances at the plate, great defensive plays by King stopped them in their tracks. Daniel Pignataro had a tremendous night in the field with an unprecedented four assisted outs, including a strong throw from short to third and two consecutive throws from the pitcher's mound to first.

Player of the game was Daniel Pignataro.

The Rona Cashway senior rookie team (K2) got off to great start last Monday against LH Lind Realty, bringing in five runs in their half of the first inning. Lending their bats to the cause were Sam Hoare, Matthew Iannucci, Kyle Venberg, Alexander Topp, Rachel Price, Thomas Beckley, Cassidy Tomlinson, Zoë and Julien Cristante. The second inning the King team continued to cash in, with a two-run homer by Sam Hoare, bringing in Connor Harris who had reached base on a single. With the bases loaded, Julien Cristante stepped up to the plate and smashed out a grand slam, and once again Rona Cashway recorded the maximum five runs. The bats were not quite so active in the third, but they did manage to get on the board with Beckley crossing home plate on a double by Harris. That was it for offense, and although the bats were impressive, they fell just short in the 15-11 loss.

The mosquito team sponsored by Armstrong Petroleums lost a close game last Tuesday to BMO Searles in Aurora by a score of 10-8.

The game started with great promise for the King 1 team, scoring five runs when they came up to bat in the top of the first inning. Mathew Ardizzi recorded two of those runs on a solid double. In the second inning, they managed to score an additional three runs, but unfortunately their bats remained silent for the remainder of the game.

Taking to the mound for the first time was Kayla Blackbird, who showed some promise for the future. Armstrong held BMO scoreless in the fourth on the strength of pitcher Joshua Hollings, who was not only throwing strikes, but also completed a double play by catching and infield pop-fly and then tagging out the runner who was running to third. The tie game lasted until the bottom of the fifth, when the home team, scored the two go ahead runs.

Player of the game for Armstrong Petroleums was Joshua Hollings.

King City Auto Mosquito's played to an exciting 6-5 come-frombehind win over Royal LePage last Wednesday.

They were down 5-0 after the first two innings when the King batters decided they were ready to play. J.P. Capella led the way with a monster hit, deep into the outfield, cashing in a pair of runs. This was followed by Austin Larsh bringing in two more on his solid double. The King City Auto team was down by one run when they came to bat in the bottom of the fourth, and Connor Brunt started the inning off with a double to bring in Cameron Wells and Noah Tortollo, giving the home team a one-run lead and the victory.

Sponsor of the Week

The King Township Baseball Association (KTBA) Sponsor of the Week is Filebank Records. They have generously sponsored one of our junior rookie teams. Thank- you for your continued support of minor baseball in King.

Player of the Week

The KTBA Player of the Week award goes most deservedly to Will Maclachlan from the Harris and Harris sponsored mosquito team. In addition to being an outstanding player in his own age group, this past week he was a welcomed addition as a call-up to the Royal LePage peewee team, coached by Stan Simons. He played two games last week with Royal LePage. In the first game, Monday, he came to the plate in a 10-10 tie against Glen Hulse Plumbing (K1) with two out and two men on, and hit the game-winning RBI over the second baseman's head. He did so well that he played with Royal LePage Wednesday when they found themselves short-handed again. He came to the plate three times in the game and walked, singled and tripled, combining for two RBIs and stealing home to score himself. To say he had a tremendous week on the diamond would be an understatement. Congratulations Will.

Tournament

King Township is hosting a senior rookie select tournament this Friday and Saturday. Games will be played at both the Nobleton and King City Diamonds beginning at 4 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. Saturday. Come out and support minor baseball and cheer on some of our youngest players.