TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS SET TO BATTLE ANCASTER DIAMONDBACKS IN SEMI-FINAL GAME AFTER COMPLETING ROUND ROBIN PHASE OF TOURNEY WITH A STELLAR 3-0 RECORD
Beneath a ceiling of warm and breezy summer skies, the Toronto Playgrounds Major Rookie Ball Selects won their two remaining round robin games today at Adams Park to advance to the West Hill Tournament Semi-Final round on Sunday.
After a nail biting and thrilling 6 ½ inning 14-13 marathon victory late Friday night over the Sudbury Shamrocks, TP had the wind in its sails this morning as they defeated the West Hill Blue Hawks 18-3 in 4 ½ innings to win its second round robin game at Adams Park Diamond 1.
Here is a brief recap of the TP-West Hill round robin proceeding courtesy of Anaud Ganpaul:
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West Hill got on the board with a run in the top of the first.
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TP responded with three runs in the bottom of the half of the first to take a 3-1 lead. After hits from Will (6) Troy (2) Duncan (14) juiced the bases, Dylan P. (9) came up and thumped a bases loaded triple to bring the three ducks home.
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The Blue Hawks got a run back in the top of the second to trim the deficit to one.
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However, TP answered back with two more runs in the bottom of the second to widen their lead to 5-2. Following hits from Charlie Z (8) and Momo (18), Cooper (3) stroked a 2 RBI double to bring them homeward.
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In the top of the third, the TP Defence shut down the West Hill offence and kept the Blue Hawks buried in their nest.
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The TP offence roared to life like a ’64 Ford Mustang in the bottom of the third as they used a fifteen hit barrage to score thirteen runs and expand their lead to 18-2.
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TP grounded the Blue Hawks in the top of the fifth to end the game.
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The TP MVP of the game was Dylan P. (9) as voted by West Hill.
TP capped off a wonderful Saturday by defeating the Whitby Chiefs 11-5 in 6 ½ frames Adams Park Diamond 1 late this afternoon to finish the round robin phase of the tournament with a perfect 3-0 record.
Here is a brief recap of the TP-Whitby round robin proceeding courtesy of Anaud Ganpaul:
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In the final game of the round robin at the West Hill tournament, the TP Major Rookie Ball Selects took on the Whitby Chiefs in a battle of the unbeaten teams to determine who would advance to the semi-final phase on Sunday morning.
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The TP players came to play as they knocked in eleven runs against the best defensive team in the tournament at that point. TP also held the Chiefs high scoring offence to only five runs.
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TP’s defence held the hard hitting Whitby offence to no runs in the first four innings.
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With the game still very tight early on, TP had to play solid fundamental baseball to slowly build up their lead.
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TP scored a run in the bottom of the first inning to take an early 1-0 lead, After a leadoff double by Cooper ( 3), Charlie C (11) knocked him home with a RBI double.
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In the bottom of the second, TP added a run to increase its lead to 2-0. Following hits from Arlo (32) Dylan S. (10), Will (6) delivered a RBI single.
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TP tallied another run in the bottom of the third. After respective hits from Charlie C. (11), Duncan (14). Dylan P (9) hit a RBI double.
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With the addition of two runs in the bottom of the fourth widened their lead to 5-0 on hits from Dylan S., Adam (20) and Troy (2).
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Refusing to wave the white flag, Whitby started a comeback in the top of the fifth as they notched a pair of runs to trim the shortfall to three.
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TP put the game out of reach by breaking out for four runs in the bottom of the fifth to take an 9-3 advantage on hits from Cooper, Momo (18), Duncan, Dylan P, Milo (5), Arlo and Dylan S.
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Whitby answered back with three runs in the top of the sixth to slice the margin to 9-5.
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In the bottom of the sixth, TP replied with two insurance runs. After loading the bases on hits by Troy, Cooper and Momo, Duncan came up and delivered a two RBI hit.
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TP shut them down the Chiefs in the top of the seventh with some stellar defensive play on three consecutive outs by shortstop Dylan P. to advance to the semi finals on Sunday morning.
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Great play from the entire team in a must-win game.
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Duncan was voted TP’s MVP by Whitby.
As a result, TP has qualified for the semi-final round phase of the tourney tomorrow (Sunday, June 25) with a ticket to the championship round on the line. TP will battle the Ancaster Diamondbacks in a semi-final showdown at Adams Park Diamond 1 at 9:30 a.m.
On a historic note, Toronto Playgrounds has an opportunity to defend the West Hill Tournament Championship that they won in 2016.
Additional updates to follow when available.
GO! TP! GO!