TEN VERSUS TEN! From left to right: Iain (10) of the Lizzies faces off against Parsa (10) of the Cubs in the fourth inning at Bickford South.

It was raining runs at Christie Pits and Bickford Park as regular season play continued on three diamonds in the Mosquito Division.

The Cubs outslugged the Lizzies 15-9 in four innings of play at Bickford South. The Cubs pitching staff neutralized the potent Lizzies batting order during the course of the game when it mattered the most. Also, the Cubs batters were able to convert the vast majority of their scoring opportunities to take an eight run lead into the bottom of the fouth inning. It was a lead that the Lizzies were unable to rally from.

Please click on the CUBS or LIZZIES to view more pictures from this Peewee Division game.

Ciaran (9) of the Pirates.

In a thriller on Diamond # 3, the Pirates edged the Dodgers 9-8 in three innings of play.

With the bases loaded and the score tied 8-8, Ciaran (9) of the Pirates stole home with the winning run with two outs in the bottom of the third.

Our TP Cub Reporter twittered that the exciting play by Ciaran brought his teammates and the fans in attendance to their feet in jubilation.  

On Diamond # 2, the Cardinals defeated the Giants 11-8 in three innings of play. 

Players and Coaches from the Hawks and Owls congratulate each other on a great game.

Cassius (8) of the Hawks delivers a powerful hit in the top of the first inning.

On a picture perfect summer day at Bickford Park, two vaunted Tee Ball Division teams took to the field of dreams for a wonderful game of baseball.

After the dust had finally settled on the basepaths, the official scorekeeper had determined that the Hawks and Owls had played to a draw. It was fitting result to a game that was well played by both teams.

Our TP Cub Reporter twittered that a splendid time was had by all in attendance.

Please click on the Hawks or Owls to view more pictures from this Tee Ball Division game.

Kieran (4) of the Jays.

The City of Toronto has approved the removal of the fences at Diamond # 3 where the new grass sod was planted after the completion of the water pipe repair project.

With the reopening of Diamond # 3 after the Civic Holiday long weekend, all scheduled Peewee Division games will start again at 6:00 p.m. There will  no more nightcap games until the time of the TP Baseball Tournament (a.k.a. 'September Madness').

Here is the Peewee schedule for Tuesday, August 3:

Game 1       6:00 pm            Christie Pits #2             Yankees at Lizzies

Game 2       6:00 pm            Christie Pits #3             Red Sox at Jays

The TP Baseball Committee wishes to thank all the parents, players and coaches in our Peewee Division for their enormous patience and understanding during the schedule revision process.

Kingslee (9) of the Ravens.

The Toronto Playgrounds Tee Ball Division was featured on CITY TV's weekly  "T-Ball Tuesday" broadcast yesterday.

CITY TV Sportscaster Kathryn Humphreys did a live sports broadcast for the 6 p.m. CITY NEWS  from Bickford Park using our beloved Tee Ball players as the background setting.  Humphreys also had the opportunity to do a live interview with the players on the Loons when she received a loonie surprise.

On the 11 p.m. CITY NEWS, edited video footage of the Eagles and Loons game was featured (along with a powerful Ruthian hit by Kingslee (9) of the Ravens in her game against the Falcons).

For those who missed the action and drama from the Bickford North diamond, please click on the link below to access the "T-Ball Tuesday" segment:

http://citynews.video.citytv.com/video/290779432001/TBall-Tuesdays/

Kane (1) of the Jays strikes out three Lizzies and allows only one run in the bottom of the first inning.

It was a warm summer evening down at Christie Pits as the Peewee Division played a doubleheader at Diamond # 2.

The Lizzies edged the Jays 7-5 in four innings of play in a hard fought game by both teams. Stellar pitching and defense by each side dominated the game throughout. Eventually the game was called off due to time limit rules.

Please click here to view more pictures from the Jays and Lizzies game.

Morgan (9) of the Yankees strikes out two Red Sox batters and allows only one run in the bottom of the first inning.

In the nightcap, the Yankees used a brew of strong pitching and offensive muscle to defeat the Red Sox 10-4 in four innings of play.

Kudos to the the Yankees pitching staff of Morgan (9); Agostino (2); Lucio (6) and Brandon (8). The four pitchers combined over four innings to strike out nine Red Sox batters and limited their opponent to only four runs scored.

Clutch hits were delivered by Lucio, Jackson (12) and Agostino (who had three runs batted in). 

Please click here to view more pictures from this Red Sox and Yankees game.

Simon (14) of the Jaguars connects for a hit in the top of the first inning.

It was a picture perfect summer evening down at the Bickford South diamond as two traditional Rookie Ball rivals took to the field of dreams.

When the dust had finally settled, the Bobcats and Jaguars had clawed and gnashed their way to a tie game.

Our TP Cub Reporter twittered that a splendid time was had by all in attendance.

Please click BOBCATS or JAGUARS to view more pictures from this Rookie Ball Division game.

This is a friendly reminder to all players and parents in our Mosquito Division that the practices scheduled for tomorrow (Monday, July 26) will take place at Christie Pits Diamond # 2 instead of the Bickford North diamond.

The timing of the Mosquito Division practices will be:

5:45 pm - Cardinals; 6:15 pm - Lizzies; 6:45 pm - Pirates.

The Bantam Division practice scheduled for Tuesday, July 27 involving the A's and White Sox has been canceled. A Peewee Division doubleheader has been scheduled on Tuesday at Diamond # 2 because the fencing is still in place on Diamond # 3 as a result of the pipe repair work.

Since the decision regarding when to remove the fences from the right field area of Diamond # 3 (where new grass sod is taking root) will not be made until sometime next Monday, July 26, the TP Baseball Committee feels that it's best to let everyone in the Peewee Division know today what the situation is for next Tuesday. This way players, parents and coaches in our Peewee Division can plan ahead and we can organize umpires in a timely fashion. Since we're not sure that we'll be able to use diamond 3 for a peewee game Tuesday, the revised schedule for Tuesday July 27th will be:

Game 1                   6:00 pm          Christie Pits # 2           Jays at Lizzies;

Game 2                   8:00 pm          Christie Pits # 2           Yankees at Red Sox

The TP Baseball Committee thanks the players, parents and coaches in our Peewee Division for their continuing patience and understanding.

An Important Message to Tee Ball and Rookie Ball Players, Parents, and Coaches.

I just wanted to give everyone a heads-up regarding a change of location for the Tee Ball and Rookie Ball Celebration Day, which will take place Saturday, August 21.

Since the schedule was printed, arrangements have been made for Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball Committee to host the Mosquito Select West Loop playoff tournament, which will be taking place at Christie Pits from Friday, August 20 to Sunday, August 22.

Therefore, the Tee Ball Celebration Day games will be taking place at the Bickford North tee ball diamond in Bickford Park instead of the Christie Pits # 3 diamond.

And, the Rookie Ball Celebration Day games will be taking place at the Bickford South diamond instead of the Christie Pits # 2 diamond.

As well, we'd like to ask for some to parents in our Tee Ball and Rookie Ball Divisions to volunteer to help in planning the food for the day. As you may or may not know, all of the players and coaches in our Tee Ball and Rookie Ball Divisions will receive a free lunch on Celebration Day, consisting  either of a hot dog or veggie dog; a bag of chips or nachos and a drink.

To help the TP Baseball Committee in our logistical efforts to purchase food and drinks for the Celebration Day event, I'm asking the coaches in our Tee Ball and Rookie Ball divisions to please get a fairly accurate idea of how many of your players and coaches would like a vegetarian hot dog, and how many would like a meat hot dog. The sooner that we can obtain this valuable information from you will allow the committee more flexibility to process our order with Fiesta Farms so we can ensure that everyone will receive the lunch they desire on Celebration Day.

In addition, if there is anyone who lives close to Bickford Park who wouldn't mind bringing their barbecue to the park for us to use that day, that would be great. We'll supply the propane!

However, the other thing we'll need is some volunteers to staff the barbecue and cook the hot dogs and veggie dogs. Of course, we don't expect you to do that while your child or children is/are playing, so we'll send out a sheet over the next few weeks with the appropriate times indicated for volunteers from each team.

If you're interested in either volunteering or supplying the barbecue on Celebration Day, please email us at tpbaseball@gmail.com as soon as you can so we can plan as many things in advance as possible.

The TP Baseball thanks all our parents and players in our Tee Ball and Rookie Ball Divisions for their patience and understanding with the change of locale for our Celebration Day. We hope that you enjoy the rest of the exciting Tee Ball and Rookie Ball baseball season!

Steve Smith
Coordinator, Toronto Playgrounds House League Baseball

From left to right: Jesse (1) of the Cubs; Bennett (5) of the Giants and Simon (5) of the Pirates.

Barnburner is the best word to use to describe the action and excitement in all three Mosquito Division games played today underneath warm and sunny skies at Christie Pits and Bickford Park.

In a rock 'em and sock 'em battle royale on Diamond # 2, the Cardinals rallied from a three run deficit to edge the Lizzies 11-10 in four innings of play.

The Dodgers staged an incredible rally in the bottom of the third and final inning to overtake the Cubs 9-8 at Diamond # 3. Down 8-4, the Dodgers chipped away at the four run deficit to score five runs for the victory. Our TP Cub Reporter twittered that the comeback was sparked by an amazin' two-run home run by Michael S. (6) of the Dodgers.

In a thrilling barnburner at Bickford South, the Pirates swashbuckled their way to a 10-7 win over the Giants in four innings of play.