IN A NITTY GRITTY AFFAIR, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS PREVAIL OVER THE PESKY CARDINALS IN AN ETOBICOKE BASEBALL ASSOCIATION (EBA) 9U ROOKIE BALL SELECT LOOP GAME AT CHRISTIE PITS
Beneath a honeysuckled blanket of warm and hazy skies, Toronto Playgrounds 9U prevailed 10-6 over the Royal York 9U Red in a 6 ½ inning Etobicoke Baseball Association (EBA) 9U Select Loop game tonight at Christie Pits Diamond 3.
In the top portion of the first inning, Royal York Red threatened after Jack (8) reached base on a leadoff single.
However, the TP 9U defence rose to the challenge as shortstop Santiago (25) and second baseman Ezra (10) teamed up on a pair of 6-4 putouts to stymie the Cardinals in the first frame.
Like a hurricane, Toronto Playgrounds unleashed a ferocious no holds barred seven run tsunami in the bottom of the first inning to seize the upper hand 7-0.
After a leadoff hit by Owen (9), Morris (24) stroked a single that put two ducks on the pond. Despite a dramatic collision with the Cardinals second baseman at second base, Owen kept his composure and hustled over to third base on the play.
With runners on third and first. Ezra delivered a RBI single that advanced Morris to second base and brought Owen home with the opening run of the proceedings.
After Eamon (1) hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Morris at third base, Zebby (15) stroked a single that advanced Ezra and Eamon to advance respectively to third and second base. A Royal York error on the play allowed Eamon to move over to third base and allowed Ezra to blaze home with a TP run.
With opportunity knocking at third and first, Drew (12) muscled a RBI hit that advanced Zebby to second and brought Eamon home with a run.
Jacob (16) followed suit with a RBI single that moved Drew to second base and allowed Zebby to score.
Following a single by Santiago that loaded the bases, Greyson (17) scorched a one out RBI hit that brought Drew home with another TP run.
With the bases still packed tighter than a can of StarKist tuna, Landry (14) capped off TP’s Big Mac first inning by powering a two RBI double that allowed Jacob and Santiago to zoom homeward with two more TP runs.
The TP 9U defence stood tall again in the top of the second inning when they retired Royal York 9U Red in 1-2-3 fashion to keep them off the scoring ledger.
With one out, Travis (11) hit the pitch between second and first. Like a gazelle, TP second baseman Robbie (27) vacuumed up the ball and made a lightning throw over to first baseman Zebby for the sweet 4-3 play that erased Travis for the second out.
And for the pièce de résistance….as Cardinals batter Grayson (42) smoked a hot tamale line drive towards pay dirt in the outfield, TP second baseman Robbie flashed the leather and snagged the meteoric shot in the webbing of his trusty mitt to ring up a succulent solo LO-4 play for the third out!
Not to be outdone, the Royal York Red defence responded in kind in the bottom of the second frame with three defensive gems [LO-3; 1-3 and F7] to stymie TP’s efforts to add some more assets to their Bitcoin portfolio after Robbie’s leadoff hit in the second inning.
In the top half of the third inning, the Toronto Playgrounds defence neutralized the pesky Cardinals attack again with a series of top notch plays that kept Royal York off the scoresheet.
As Joseph (77) slashed the ball between third and second base, TP shortstop Eamon scooped up the offering and made a rocket toss over to first baseman Drew to ring up a lickety-split 6-3 putout for the first out.
Karson (27) followed with a hard hit shot to left field. Battling the glare of the setting sun, TP left fielder Landry reeled in the ball with an exquisite catch to tally a solo F7 play for Royal York’s second out.
After Nathan (19) reached base on a two out single for the Cardinals, Aiden (5) muscled the ball into centre field. Like a bottle of quicksilver lightning, TP centrefielder Santiago retrieved the ball and made a Bennie and the Jets throw to second baseman Morris, who stepped on second base to complete a nip and tuck 8-4 play for the third out that left Royal York baserunner Nathan in the dust.
TP 9U added another doubloon to their offshore Cayman Islands bank account in the bottom of the third inning to extend their plurality to 8-0.
Following a leadoff double by Zebby, Drew delivered a hit that advanced Zebby to third base. A Cardinals faux pas on the play allowed Zebby to sprint homeward with a TP run.
Refusing to yield anything else, the Royal York 9U Red defence tightened up as they tallied three consecutive outs [1-3; G3 and 4-3] to curtail the TP insurgency in the third frame.
The Royal York Red offence stirred to life in the top of the fourth inning when they plated a run to close the margin to 8-1.
Following a one out single by Charlie (10), Jack stroked a hit that put two Cardinals on the bird feeder. A TP error on the play allowed Jack to advance second base and bring Charlie home with Royal York’s first run of the game. Jack would subsequently be erased on a nifty 4-5 play when TP second baseman Zebby completed a laser throw to third baseman Eamon, who tagged Jack out and thwart his bid to advance to third.
The TP defence turned in two other nice plays [4-3 and PO-1] to bring the Cardinals fourth inning mutiny to a halt.
In the bottom half of the fourth frame, TP threatened following a single by Landry. However, the Royal York Red defence answered the clarion call and stymied TP on three groundout plays to keep them off the scoring abacus.
After TP silenced the Royal York Red batting order in the top portion of the fifth frame, Toronto Playgrounds added two insurance runs to their haul in the bottom half of the fifth to extend their lead to 10-1.
Following a leadoff single by Morris, Ezra pounded a RBI triple that allowed Morris to hustle homeward at a full head of steam and score a Cracker Jack run for TP on a head on collision at the plate with Cardinals catcher Jack.
With one out, Zebby delivered a RBI hit that brought Ezra home with another TP run.
Refusing to go quietly into the abyss, Royal York 9U Red struck for a run in the top of the sixth inning to trim the shortfall to 10-2.
With one out and runners on third and first, Nathan hit into a fielder’s choice that erased Karson at second base and allowed Grayson to come home with a Cardinals run.
Following a pair of two out hits by Aiden and Adriano (1) that loaded the bases, TP shortstop Landry missed an opportunity to tag out Cardinals baserunner as he motored over to third base.
With Royal York Red on the precipice of a huge rally, Charlie lashed a red hot chili pepper shot between third and second. It was at this juncture that Landry made amends with a spectacular catch on Charlie’s screaming line drive on a solo LO-6 play that rang up the third out and left the bases loaded.
With tenacity, the stout Royal York 9U Red defence answered the bell in the bottom of the sixth inning when they executed three consecutive 1-3 putouts that stonewalled the TP 9U offence from adding any additional runs to their tally.
Donning their rally caps, Royal York 9U Red refused to accept defeat as they doggedly battled back with four in the top of the seventh frame to slice and dice the gap to 10-6.
After opening the inning with consecutive singles by Jack, Kaylan (99) and Reggie (36) to load the bases, Julian (12) delivered a RBI hit that allowed Jack to hustle home with a Cardinals run.
With the bases still juiced to the gills, Liam (3) stroked a hit that brought Kaylan home. However, Kaylan was called out on the play because he failed to complete a slide at home plate (for safety reasons).
Subsequently, with two outs and the bases loaded, Grayson muscled a clutch two RBI single that allowed Julian and Liam to zoom home with a pair of Royal York runs.
Joseph followed with a RBI hit that brought Travis (11) home with another Royal York score.
It was at this moment in the time continuum where the gallant Royal York Red comeback bid fizzled and TP 9U walked off into the sunset with a hard earned nitty gritty victory.