IN A NITTY, GRITTY BATTLE, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS PREVAIL OVER THE CARDINALS FOR THE EBA 13U SELECT LOOP VICTORY AT CHRISTIE PITS
Beneath a warm ceiling of sunny and hazy skies, the Toronto Playgrounds 13U Red Selects defeated the Royal York 13U Red 8-5 in a 4½ inning Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) 13U Select Loop game tonight at Christie Pits Diamond 2.
In the top half of the first, Royal York Red staked itself to an early 3-0 lead.
After a pair of one out walks by Cameron W. (3) and Alex (75), Nicholas (33) stroked a RBI hit that allowed Cameron W. to fly home with the opening run of the game.
Following a walk by Lucas (5) that loaded the bases, Johnny (7) garnered a bases loaded RBI walk that brought Alex home with a run.
With the bases still juiced to the gills, a subsequent TP error would allow Nicholas to scoot home from third base with another Cardinals run.
After a walk by Cameron L. (18) reloaded the bases, TP 13U Red reliever Vincenzo (29) entered the fray to ring up two strikeouts to subdue the Royal York Red rebellion in the first inning.
TP 13U Red also turned in a nice defensive play in the first frame to tally the first out, After reaching base on a hit by pitch, Cardinals leadoff man Justin (23) stole second base. As the throw to nab him sailed into the outfield, Justin made a brazen move to advance to third on the play. With Justin charging towards third base, TP centre fielder Tyler (26) retrieved the ball and made a laser throw to third baseman Hudson (10), who brushed Justin with an emphatic tag to ring up a pretty 8-5 putout.
Not to be outdone, TP answered back with five spot in the bottom of the first to take a 5-3 lead.
After Jacob (4) drew a leadoff walk, Tyler (26) followed with a whip-smart RBI triple that brought Jacob home with TP’s first run.
Subsequently, with one out and runner on base, Vincenzo muscled a RBI hit that allowed Tyler to zoom home with a run that trimmed the gap to one.
Following a pair of walks by Emmett (52) and Mike (9) that loaded the bases, Royal York Red uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Emmett and Mike to advance respectively to third and second base, and brought Vincenzo home with the tying run.
With two outs and two aboard, Julian (77) stepped up to the plate and delivered a clutch two RBI double that brought Emmett and Mike homeward with TP’s go ahead runs.
Shaken, but not stirred, Royal York Red starter Nicholas chalked up three strikeouts in the first inning to quell the TP uprising.
With 1-2-3 efficiency, TP 13U Red reliever Milo (21) dispatched the Cardinals in the top of the second with a pair of succulent strikeouts and a groundout.
Toronto Playgrounds added three runs to their treasure trove in the bottom portion of the second as they extended their advantage to 8-3.
After a one out walk, Hudson swiped his way around the horn to third base with a pair of derring-do steals that rattled the Royal York defence. Following a walk by Jacob, Tyler hit into a RBI groundout that moved Jacob to third and brought Hudson home with a run.
On the next play, TP baserunner Jacob charged home from third with Grand Theft aplomb to score a dramatic run with a brazen steal of home.
Following a two out walk and stolen base by Oliver (35), Vincenzo delivered a grace under pressure RBI double that allowed Oliver to come home with another TP run in a chitty, chitty, bang, bang play at the dish.
Nonplussed, Cardinals starter Nicholas tallied a pair of strikeouts and a groundout in the second frame to pacify the TP insurgency.
In the top of the third, the TP 13U Red defence flashed the leather to keep the potent Cardinals offence perched in their nest.
TP centre fielder Stanley (22) made a dazzling catch on a hard hit fly ball off the bat of Alex to ring up the first out.
Then TP reliever Milo hooked up with first baseman Julian to deftly pickoff a wayfaring Royal York Red baserunner at first base to tally the second out.
And for the icing on the cake, TP shortstop Oliver made an amazin’ basket catch on a dying quail pop up off the bat of Lucas to chalk up the third out.
However, the Cardinals defence returned the favour in the bottom of the third. After Mike had led off the inning by crushing a wooly mammoth fly ball to deep centre field, Royal York Red centre fielder Cameron L ran the ball down and made a spectacular over the shoulder catch to tally the first out.
Subsequently, with a TP runner on second base, the Cardinals chalked up a Quasimodo 1-6-4 double play to bring the curtian down on the third frame.
Refusing to fly quietly into the night, Royal York Red threatened in the top of the fourth after Johnny and Oscar (9) led off the frame with back to back singles that put two Cardinals in the bird bath.
Cool as a cucumber, TP reliever Stanley vanquished the threat in the fourth with a pair of groundouts and a lineout that kept the Red Birds off the scoring ledger.
Toronto Playgrounds threatened again in the bottom of the fourth when they loaded the bases on a series of walks by Stanley, Hudson and Jacob.
With one out and the bases juiced to the gills, Royal York Red reliever Alex entered the game from the bullpen and tallied a pair of pop outs to end the TP disobedience.
Donning their rally caps, the Cardinals made a final bid in the top half of the fifth to change their circumstance.
After a leadoff walk and stolen base by James (2), Justin stroked a single that put two ducks on the pond. A subsequent TP error would allow James and Justin to motor home with a pair of runs that trimmed the deficit to three,
Finding his Mojo Jojo, TP 13U Red closer Jacob racked up three electrifying strikeouts to terminate the Royal York Red rally and seal the deal on a hard fought victory.
