The North Bay Stingers baseball team won their second consecutive Vaughan Vikings Midget Tournament last weekend.
The Stingers swept their round robin games without giving up a single run as Cody Sutcliffe and Connor Lacelle pitched complete games and Jacob Brown combined with Jon Kortshaga to shutout each of Kitchener-Waterloo, West Hill and Guelph.
Stingers coach Chad Lacelle was pleased with the pitching and tight defense as the offense was struggling to get on track early in the weekend.
“The tournament scheduling was stacked against us because it was probable that all three teams in our division would finish with perfect records and that runs allowed would determine whether you made the playoffs or had to head home early," said Lacelle in a team release.
"We made very few defensive errors and our outfielders, Kyle Wilkinson, Steven Antler and Ben Olmstead simply ran down any ball hit to the outfield."
In the semi-finals, Stingers’ starter, Ben Bosselle was locked into a scoreless tie through three innings with the Mississauga Tigers’ ace.
In the fourth, the Stingers offense finally got on track and the team pounded out a season high 8 runs leading to a 12-2 victory.
The Finals pitted the Stingers against a strong offensive team from Midland.
However, Sutcliffe continued to dominate and the hitters continued to swing hot bats leading to an 11-1 mercy in the pouring rain.
Kurtis Winrow, Ty Backer, Brown, Kortshaga and Olmstead all hit over .400 for the weekend to pace the Stingers attack.
Lacelle was thrilled with the outcome a few short weeks before North Bay hosts the Midget Provincial Championships.
“These kids really understand that the game is about being mentally sharp on every pitch and not letting the pressure of the situation affect performance," said Lacelle.
"Our goal is to win Provincials and the field of entrants should be very deep when everyone comes to North Bay at the end of August.”
The Stingers would like to thank their sponsors, Assante, Skater’s Edge and Rexall for their contributions to the success of the team.
