THE WOLVERINES PREVAIL OVER TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS IN A HOT TAMALE BARN BURNER AT CHRISTIE PITS
Beneath a warm blanket of pristine skies, the Weston Wolverines defeated the Toronto Playgrounds Rookie Ball Selects 20-16 in five sizzling innings of Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) Rookie Ball Select action this evening at Christie Pits Diamond 3. The high scoring proceeding was an extremely entertaining affair that was contested between two talented teams. Both squads combined for grand total of forty-seven hits over the course of five pulsating innings. In the end, the Wolverines prevailed for their second victory of the season by capitalizing upon the opportunities that unfolded during the game.Weston jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Following a leadoff single by Myles (32), Victor (23) delivered a one out RBI double that allowed Myles to come home with the opening run of the game.
On the play, Victor brazenly attempted to stretch his hit into a triple. However, the TP defence rose to the occasion with a beautiful 8-4-5 putout play. As Victor touched second, TP centre fielder Nathan (29) retrieved the ball and made a quick throw to second baseman Theo (3). With Victor motoring full steam towards third, Theo pivoted and made a lightning toss to third baseman Jamie (20), who adroitly applied the tag to Victor to chalk up the first out.
With two outs, the Wolverines threatened when Justin (24) and Evan (26) stroked back to back singles that put two swans on the lake. However, Weston was unable to take advantage and they were left stranded.Ben (8) led off TP’s bottom of the first with a single to put a runner on base. However, the TP bats went cold with a pair of strikeouts and a line out to second.
In the top of the second, the Wolverines unleashed a seven hit assault and scored six to increase their lead to 7-0. Following a leadoff single by Dawson (28) and a double by Javier (17) that put two otters on the pond, Angel (20) delivered a sacrifice hit that allowed Dawson to come home.
With two outs and runner on second, Myles stroked a single. A TP error on the play allowed Myles to move to second and brought Javier home with a run.
Like a slot machine, the Weston fusillade continued unabated as Eric (31) delivered a RBI double to plate Myles. Victor followed with a RBI triple to bring Eric home. Justin muscled a RBI double that allowed Victor to come homeward. Evan iced the cake with a RBI single to bring Justin home.
The TP bats continued their slumber in the bottom portion of the second when they went down in 1-2-3 fashion on a pair of strikeouts and a groundout.
Going for the jugular, the Wolverines offence clawed TP in the top of the third with a seven hit barrage as they added another six runs to their tally to widen their advantage to 13-0. After Dawson and Javier led off the inning with respective singles that put two mallards on the lake, Angel stroked a one out two RBI single to bring Dawson and Javier home to roost.
Subsequently, with two outs and the bases loaded, Justin delivered a clutch three RBI double that allowed Myles, Eric and Victor to come home to do the watusi. Evan followed with a RBI single to plate Justin.
Refusing to go quietly into the night, the TP offence surged to life in the bottom of the third as they unfurled a seven hit attack to rally for seven and trim the margin to 13-7. After a pair of singles by Qayam (11) and Holden (25) to lead off the inning, Fernando (1) stroked a RBI single that brought Qayam home with TP’s first run of the game.With two ducks on the pond, Jamie stepped into the batter’s box and crushed a three run home run blast to the deep dish pizza portion of the outfield.
Following a double by Willy (6) and a single by Ben that put two seals on the lake, Theo stroked a single. On the play, the Weston defence committed a faux pas that allowed Ben to shuffle to third, moved Theo to second, and brought Willy home with a run.
With two runners on base, Beckett (7) delivered a fielder’s choice that scored Ben. On the play, a Wolverines error would open the portal for Theo to come home with a run.
Nonplussed, the Wolverines answered back with a eight hit bombardment in the top of the fourth to add seven insurance runs and increase their lead to 20-7. Following leadoff singles by Dawson and Javier that put two ducklings on the pond, Angel connected for a one out two RBI single to bring them home to do the jitterbug.
After a single by Myles that put two runners on base, Eric stroked a RBI single to plate Angel.
Following a single by Victor that loaded the bases, Justin delivered a two RBI double to bring Myles and Eric home.
With two aboard, Evan followed with a two RBI single that allowed Victor and Justin to come home with the bacon.
With resolve, TP uncorked a eight hit salvo in the bottom of the fourth and scored seven runs to slice the deficit to six. Following respective singles by Rohan (19) and Henry (14) to open the inning, Ethan (12) stroked a RBI single that brought Rohan home.After a single by Qayam loaded the bases, Holden hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed him to reach first safely, erased Qayam at second, advanced Ethan to third, and brought Henry home with a run.
Subsequently, with two outs and two penguins on the pond, Jamie muscled a RBI single to bring home Ethan. On the play, the Weston defence committed a faux pas that allowed both Holden and Jamie to come around the horn to score.
Following a single by Willy and a double by Ben that put two TP runners on base, Noah (10) delivered a clutch two RBI single that brought Willy and Ben home and close the gap to 20-14.
TP second baseman Qayam and shortstop Willy would combine on a pair of sweet defensive putouts in the top of the fifth to shut down the high octane Weston batting order and keep them off the scoring ledger.
Donning their rally caps, TP gamely battled back with a pair in the bottom half of the fifth to trim the shortfall to 20-16. Following a leadoff triple by Theo, Beckett delivered a sacrifice hit to bring Theo home.
After a one out single by Rohan, Henry followed suit with a single. On the play, the Wolverines defence committed an error that allowed Henry to shuffle to second and brought Rohan home with a run.
With two runners on base, the TP rally bid fizzled and Weston emerged with the victory.
The TP Rookie Ball Selects (7-1) continue their homestand at Christie Pits Diamond 3 next Tuesday (June 26) when they host the Martingrove Black at 6:30 p.m.