DESPITE FALLING SHORT OF THEIR ULTIMATE GOAL AGAINST THE LEAFS, TORONTO PLAYGROUNDS 11U BLUE FINISHED THE DDM TOURNEY WITH A 4-1 OVERALL RECORD. MOST IMPORTANTLY, ALL THE TP FAITHFUL IN ATTENDANCE HAD A FUN AND REWARDING WEEKEND EXPERIENCE AT SESQUICENTENNIAL STATE PARK IN BRAMPTON
Tournament Post composed and edited with files and photo courtesy of Matt Marstrom
Beneath a pea soup ceiling of warm and humid midsummer skies, the Leaside 11U Leafs defeated the Toronto Playgrounds 11U Blue 14-5 this afternoon in the 2024 Dave Dash Memorial (DDM) 11U Select Tournament Championship Game at Sesquicentennial State Park
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 DDM tournament this weekend in Brampton.
Firing on all cylinders, TP 11U Blue began its journey at the tourney on Friday evening with a dominating 15-0 victory over the Creemore 11U Cardinals to earn its first pool group victory.
After a good night’s slumber, Toronto Playgrounds tamed the West Mountain 11U Cougars 14-4 on Saturday morning to capture its second pool group win at the DDM tournament.
Taking no prisoners, TP 11U Blue blanked the Mississauga 11U Majors 13-0 in their final round robin contest on Saturday evening to earn their third pool group victory at the tourney.
With an unblemished 3-0 record, Toronto Playgrounds finished atop their Pool B group at the DDM tourney. As such, TP 11U Blue punched their ticket into Sunday’s semi-final elimination round portion of the DDM tournament, with a showdown against the Barrie 11U.
In an injury riddled semi-final game played earlier this afternoon, TP 11U Blue prevailed 9-4 over the Barrie 11U Baycats to solidify their safe passage into the championship round of the DDM tournament, with a showdown for all the marbles against Leaside.
In an exclusive TPBA Website interview via Skype, TP 11U Blue Head Coach Matt Marstrom was asked to comment on his team’s performance at the DDM tourney:
“It was another successful tournament for the TP 11U Blue Selects. Even though we fell short of our goal, the kids battled through injuries, sickness and the heat to finish second at the 2024 Dave Dash Memorial Tournament.”
“Round robin pool group play saw our TP 11U Blue pitchers put on a show! we shutout the Creemore 11U HS Cardinals 15-0 on Friday night. Then we came back on Saturday morning to earn a 14-4 win over the West Mountain 11U Cougars. TP 11U Blue finished pool group action om Saturday evening with another shutout, a 13-0 victory over the Mississauga 11U Majors.”
“We went into Sunday as the top seed in Pool B and met the Barrie 11U Baycats in the semi-final elimination game. TP 11U Blue walked away with a 9-4 win, but with three injured players in the process.”
“With two TP players on the sidelines, and two away at camp, Cal Brinsmead made the drive up from Toronto to join us for the final against Leaside 11U.”
“Unfortunately, our bats were silent for the first three innings of the championship game, and the Leafs were not. Leaside jumped out to an early lead and we couldn’t catch up, falling 14-5 to the Leafs.”
“Next up for TP 11U Blue is the 2024 EBA 11U Select Playoffs. Our group of ‘Trash Pandas’ are ready to show Etobicoke that our undefeated regular season wasn’t a fluke. We are coming that EBA league championship!”
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 DDM 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 DDM tourney in Brampton.
WAY TO GO, TP!