DESPITE FALLING SHORT OF THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL AGAINST THE LEAFS, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS FINISHED THE BMBA TOURNEY WITH A 4-1 OVERALL RECORD. MOST IMPORTANTLY, ALL THE TP FAITHFUL IN ATTENDANCE HAD A FUN AND REWARDING WEEKEND EXPERIENCE AT THE BARRIE SPORTS COMPLEX
Tournament Post composed and edited with files and photos courtesy of Matt Marstrom
Beneath a pristine ceiling of sunny skies, the Leaside 11U Leafs defeated the Toronto Playgrounds 11U Blue 5-1 this afternoon in the 2024 Barrie Minor Baseball Association (BMBA) 11U Select Tournament Championship Game at the Barrie Sports Complex.
Despite falling short of their ultimate goal, it goes without saying that all the TP players, coaches, parents and family members in attendance had an extremely fun and rewarding experience at the BMBA tournament during the Father’s Day weekend in Barrie.
Taking care of business in their opening game at the tourney on Friday evening, TP 11U Blue defeated the Barrie 11U Baycats 9-1 to earn their first BMBA victory.
After a good night’s sleep, TP 11U Blue cruised to a 18-1 win over the Innisfil 11U Cardinals on Saturday morning to chalk up their second victory at the tourney.
On Saturday afternoon, TP 11U Blue put the pedal to the metal as they defeated the North York 11U 17-3 to earn their third victory at the BMBA tournament.
With an unblemished 3-0 record, TP 11U Blue won their respective pool and advanced to Sunday’s semi-final round at the BMBA tourney.
In a nitty gritty battle earlier this morning, Toronto Playgrounds prevailed 9-6 over the Creemore 11U Cardinals in a BMBA 11U Select Tournament semi-final elimination game.
The big TP 11U Blue highlight of the semi-final affair was Eli’s (7) Say Hey three-run inside the park home run shot against the Cardinals. After a dramatic slide at home plate, Eli was mobbed by his jubilant TP teammates.
With their hard fought semi-final win over Creemore, TP 11U Blue punched their ticket into a BMBA 11U Select Tournament Championship Game showdown against Leaside 11U.
In an exclusive TPBA Website interview, TP 11U Blue Head Coach Matt Marstrom was asked for his personal feelings and thoughts about his team’s strong performance at the BMBA tourney:
“Backed by phenomenal pitching and timely hitting, TP 11U Blue went 3-0 during round robin play, outscoring their opponents (Barrie; Innisfil and North York) 44-5.TP moved into the BMBA 11U Select semi-final round as the top seed in Pool A, and face a tough team from Creemore. Along with pitching four outstanding innings against the Cardinals, Eli Hazelden hit a three-run inside the park home run to help TP edge past Creemore 9-6, and was named MVP of the semi-final game. The Final saw a matchup of the top two seeds in the tournament. 4-0 TP 11U Blue versus 4-0 Leaside. In the championship game, Leaside’s pitching stifled the TP 11U Blue’s bats. The Leafs also hit a three-run inside the park home run shot of their own en route to a 5-1 victory. Nevertheless, it was a well earned second place finish for TP 11U Blue.”
The Toronto Playgrounds Baseball Association (TPBA) wishes to congratulate Head Coach Mark Marstrom; Assistant Coaches Dan Kuchar; Julian Lorenzo; and Jeff Vila; Team Manager Sami Kuchar; and the players of the TP 11U Blue Team for their finalist showing at the 2024 BMBA 11U Select Tournament.
The TPBA also wishes to commend all the TP 11U Blue coaches, players, parents and family members for representing the core values of TPBA program with honour, dignity and professionalism both on and off the diamond at the weekend BMBA tourney.
WAY TO GO, TP!
