THE GRITTY ATHLETICS SNAP A 7-7 DEADLOCK TO PREVAIL OVER A PESKY TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS SQUAD IN A TIGHT SARAN WRAPPED EBA 9U SELECT LOOP AFFAIR AT CHRISTIE PITS
Beneath an embroidered duvet of hot and humid midsummer skies, the Annette A’s defeated the Toronto Playgrounds 9U Selects 17-7 in six innings of Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) 9U Select Loop action this morning at Christie Pits Diamond 3.
The Sunday proceeding was a very entertaining and well played contest between two talented and well coached teams. After a pesky TP squad valiantly rallied to tie the game 7-7, the gritty Athletics pulled away in the final two frames to take home the victory prize.
In the top portion of the first, Annette staked themselves an early 1-0 lead. After Leo (34) and Andreas (52) stroked back to back singles to open the inning, Sasha (7) hit into a fielder’s choice which allowed TP shortstop Julian (13) and third baseman Hank (77) to erase Leo at third on a pretty 6-5 putout play.
With one out and runners at second and first, Russel (5) delivered a RBI hit that brought Andreas home with the opening run of the game.
Annette’s defence neutralized the TP offence in the bottom of the first on a pair of groundouts and a nice pop fly catch by A’s third baseman Andreas that kept TP off the scoring ledger.
The Athletics added a pair to their tally in the top of the second to widen their advantage to 3-0. After Ben (16) stroked a one out hit, Aven (4) delivered a single that put two aboard. Brayden (9) followed with RBI single that moved Aven to second and allowed Ben to score.
With runners at second and first, Leo hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Brayden at second base and brought Aven home with the A’s third run.
TP flexed their defensive mettle during the inning to keep Annette offence in check. After corralling Leo’s hit, second baseman Adrian (4) made a nice solo putout of Brayden at second for the second out. And TP shortstop Chase (9) hooked up with Adrian to turn a pretty 6-4 play on Andreas’ hit to erase Leo at second base for the third out.
Toronto Playgrounds answered back with a pair in the bottom half of the second to slice and dice the deficit to one. After Bear (6) and Adrian led off the inning with consecutive singles, Asher (22) hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Adrian at second and advanced Bear to third base. Charlie (8) followed with a RBI hit that advanced Asher to third and brought Bear home with TP’s first run.
With one out and two ducks on the pond, Killian (30) hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Charlie at second and allowed Asher to motor home and trim the margin to 3-2.
Annette replied with a run in the top of the third to extend their lead to 4-2. After Russel reached base on a fielder’s choice, Rowan (21) connected for a clutch two out RBI double that brought him home to roost.
In the bottom of the third, the A’s defence took advantage of three groundouts to keep TP off the scoresheet.
The Athletics added three to their treasure trove in the top half of the fourth to stretch their upper hand to 7-2. Flexing his muscle, Aven led off the inning with a majestic inside the park home run.
After a double by Brayden, Leo followed with a RBI hit to bring him homeward.
Following a single by Andreas that put runners at second and first, Sasha hit into a fielder’s choice that allowed TP to make a sparkling 6-5 putout to erase Leo at third base.
With two mallards on the lake, Russel followed with a one out RBI double that allowed Andreas to come home with Annette’s seventh run.
Refusing to quietly into the fast approaching noon day sun, TP rallied for five in the bottom of the fourth to deadlock the proceeding at 7-7. Following back to back singles by Adrian and Asher to lead off the inning, Charlie stroked a RBI hit that allowed Adrian to score.
After Elliott (27) singled with two outs to load the bases, Julian delivered a clutch RBI hit that brought Asher homeward with a run.
Hank (77) followed suit with a exigent bases loaded RBI single to plate Charlie and pull TP within two.
With the bases still juiced to the gills, Chase delivered a grace under pressure two RBI double that allowed Elliot and Julian to blaze home with the game tying runs.
Not to be outdone, Annette replied with a run in the top of the fifth to retake the lead 8-7. With two outs, Aven singled and advanced to second base on a TP error. Brayden followed with a clutch RBI hit to bring Aven home with the go ahead score.
TP first baseman Bear turned in a pair of All Star solo defensive plays during the inning to stymie the A’s attack and tally the first two outs.
The Annette defence took advantage of two groundouts in the bottom of the fifth frame to hobble the TP attack and keep them off the scoreboard.
Going for the jugular, the A’s exploded for nine insurance runs in the top portion of the sixth to pad their lead to 17-7. Following a leadoff hit by Andreas, Sasha delivered a RBI double that brought him homeward.
With a runner at third, Russel hit a RBI single to plate Sasha.
Subsequently, with one out and a baserunner at first, Rowan stroked a single. On the play, TP committed a faux pas that allowed Rowan to advance to second base and brought Russel home with another A’s run.
Following a single by Evan (40) that put two otters on the pond, Ben connected for a RBI hit to bring Rowan home to crow.
After a single by Aven loaded the bases, Brayden hit into a groundout that moved Ben and Aven respectively to third and second, and allowed Evan to charge homeward with the Athletics thirteenth run.
With two outs and two aboard, Leo stroked a clutch RBI single that cleared the bases and brought Ben and Aven homeward bound.
After Andreas and Sasha delivered back to back hits to reload the bases, Russel crunched a two RBI double that allowed Leo and Andreas to advance home with Annette’s final two runs of the game.
Donning their rally caps, TP went down swinging in the bottom vector of the sixth in 1-2-3 fashion.
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