TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS GROUND THE CARDINALS AT RAVINA GARDENS TO CONTINUE THEIR JOURNEY AT THE TOURNEY
Beneath a ceiling of warm and cloudy summer skies, the Toronto Playgrounds Minor Mosquito Selects defeated the Royal York (Boy) Cardinals 14-2 in four innings of Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) Mosquito Select Tournament action this afternoon at Ravina Gardens.
Here is a recap of the proceedings courtesy of Vincent Lynch:
- With the pedal on the metal, TP staked itself to an early 9-0 lead in the top half of the first inning…a lead that it would not surrender. After Liam (17) and Nikolas (72) led off the frame with respective singles to put two ducks on the pond, Liam stole third and home to score the opening run of the game. Following a walk by Jordan (1) that put two aboard, Desmond (3) stroked a two RBI single to bring Nikolas and Jordan home. After a walk by Sam (2) put two runners on base, Emmett (19) and Milo (21) followed with respective RBI singles to plate Desmond and Sam. With two mallards on the lake, Archie (9) powered a two RBI double to bring Emmett and Milo homeward. With two outs and a runner aboard, Rennick (4) stroked a RBI single to score Archie. After Rennick advanced to third on an error, Tommy (27) connected for a RBI single to bring him home.
- In the bottom of the first, Royal York replied with a pair to trim the deficit to seven. Calvin (3) and Michael (33) delivered RBI singles to bring Andrew (10) and Spencer (14) home.
- After a rocky beginning, TP starter Liam (17) would find the groove in the first and chalk up a fly out and a pair of groundouts to quell the Cardinals uprising.
- Taking no prisoners, TP added four more in the top of the second to widen its lead to 13-2. Following a leadoff walk by Liam, Nikolas powered a RBI triple to bring him home. After Jordan and Desmond drew a pair of one out walks to load the bases, Sam took one for the team when he was hit by pitch, forcing Nikolas to come home from third. With the bases still juiced to the gills, Milo delivered a clutch two out two RBI single that allowed Jordan and Desmond to come home to do the shimmy, shimmy, shake.
- The Cardinals threatened in the bottom of the second by loading the bases. However, TP starter Liam extricated himself from the mojo jojo jam by striking out three Red Birds to keep them off the scoring ledger.
- After a scoreless third inning, TP tacked on an insurance run in the top of the fourth to extend its advantage to 14-2. With a runner at third, Jordan stroked a two out RBI single to bring Nikolas home.
- Refusing to go quietly into the night, Royal York loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth in a late comeback bid. However, TP relievers KJ (5) and Desmond (3) combined to strike out two and coax a groundout to leave the Cardinals stranded.
With their victory over Royal York, TP (3-1) advances into the semi-final playoff round of the 2017 EBA Mosquito Select Tournament on Sunday morning. TP will battle the Bloordale Bombers in a 9:00 a.m. semi-final game at Ravina Gardens.
After a rough 15-1 loss to the Annette (Black) A’s on Friday evening at Ravina Gardens to open the playoff round, TP was thrust into a do or die situation to continue their journey at the tourney. [Teams participating in this year’s EBA playoffs are operating under the double knockout formula, whereby a team with two losses would be eliminated from further contention in the tournament.]
With grit and passion, TP answered the clarion call this morning with a nail biting 5-4 win over the TP Major Mosquito Selects to earn their first playoff victory. With the wind in their sails, TP defeated Royal York Girls 17-4 and the Royal York Boys this afternoon to punch a ticket into the semi-final round.
GO! TP! GO!