The U11 North Bay Panthers competed in the Junior Voyageurs Summer Classic over the weekend in Sudbury and came home with a silver medal.
The team faced some tough competition on Friday Night against the U11 Voyageurs where they were defeated 16-7. Owen Marson and Cole Roussy both scored two runs each for the Panthers while Merrick McMillan had the lone hit of the game. Vincent Muratore started the game and allowed 6 hits, 5 runs and 1 walk against the tough Voyageurs. Emmett Beattie came in relief allowing 11 runs on 9 hits with 3 strikeouts.
Game two saw the Panthers face off against the U10 Voyageurs. Sullivan O'Reilly, Ryder Sprague and Deacon Prytula combined for six strikeouts over four innings but it wasn't enough to beat the strong U10 squad. Chase Boudreault's single got the Panthers on the base paths in the bottom of the second but the team couldn't cash him in. The Panthers would get on the board in the 3rd inning as Griffin Silverthorn and Ryder Sprague would walk. Marson would hit a single to cash in Silverthorn. Sprague would come in on a ground out by Lawson Whitmell for North Bay's second run. The Panthers put up four runs in the final frame with singles by Merrick McMillan, Cole Roussy and Ryerson Davis as well as a walk from Vincent Muratore. It wasn't enough though as the game was called due to time restrictions.
In the third game, the North Bay Panthers took on the Orillia Royals and were handed a 16-7 loss. McMillan, Marson, Roussy, and Davis combined for only three strikeouts and gave up 11 hits to the powerhouse Royals. Silverthorn and McMillan led the team's offence going 2-2. McMillan had two doubles and two RBIs in the game. Ken Leggett would have a hit and an RBI while Lawson Whitmell would come in to score a run in the game.
Sunday morning the team had to win or go home against the Brampton Royals. The teams played in treacherous conditions but got through four innings. The Panthers upset the Royals 10-9 with a walk off in the bottom of the fourth as Deacon Prytula came in to score. Prytula pitched a gem with 7 strikeouts through 3 innings only allowing 2 runs for the Panthers. Roussy, Marson and Prytula led the Panthers with two hits each. McMillan added an inside the park home run in the fourth to tie the game up at four after the first inning of play. The Brampton Royals would add three more in the second before the game was stalled due to rain. Up 7-4, the Panthers would answer back with three runs of their own when the game resumed tying things up at 7. Prytula, Silas Lebel and Davis all came in to score. Brampton answered back with two runs to take the lead 9-7 after the top of the fourth inning. Bottom four now, Roussy and Marson would both single to get on base. The next two batters would fly out. Down to their last out, Prytula would single, scoring Roussy on the play. The Panthers would load the bases after Whitmell was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch would score Marson from third to tie the game up at 9. Another wild pitch would score Prytula from third and the Panthers took the game 10-9 in a walk off sending them to the "B" Finals against the Muskoka Hornets.
The Panthers bats were hot coming into the game and they would out hit the Hornets 9-4 but would come up short losing the game 6-5 and taking home the silver medal. The Muskoka Hornets would put up four runs in the first inning and one more in the second before being shut down by Sullivan O'Reilly who only gave up two hits over 4.2 innings and striking out 6. The Panthers offense was led by Cole Roussy and Ryerson Davis who each put up two hits in the game. McMillan led the team with two RBIs while Lebel and Davis also cashed in a run each. The hard-throwing Hornets starter struck out 13 through 4.2 innings. Emmett Beattie stole home to tie the game up at 5 in the top of the 7th but the Panthers would strand a runner on third as the Hornets would turn two on the next play. Headed into the bottom of the 7th inning the Muskoka Hornets would score one run with a walk-off single to win the game.
The weekend was seen as a success for the Panthers who are improving each game. Merrick McMillan led all Panthers with 7 hits, 6 RBI and a .875 batting average while Cole Roussy led the team in Runs Scored with 7 and a .750 batting average through 5 games. Davis added four singles while Marson, Prytula and Silverthorn each had 3 hits. The team's pitching was led by Sullivan O'Reilly and Deacon Prytula who had 9 k's each. The team used 9 pitchers throughout the weekend and combined for 29 strikeouts.
