HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-08-23, Page 8PAGE 8. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, AUGUST 23, 2012.SportsLocal players help ball teams finish first in province
Four local athletes, who all live
within walking distance of one
another in Brussels, made it big on
the provincial stage earlier this
month winning Ontario baseball
gold.
Earlier this month, 14-year-old
Hayden TenPas, 15-year-old Mitch
Kellington and 16-year-old Brody
TenPas propelled their fastball team,
the Teeswater Otters to the Bantam
Division Ontario Championship,
which they won over Port Perry.
Similarly, 12-year-old Jack Pipe did
the same for his team, the Walkerton
Capitals, when they defeated
Kitchener-Waterloo in the provincial
finals in Stouffville to become
champions.
The boys are all neighbours living
in the small area of the village
between the Brussels Lions park and
the Brussels, Morris and Grey
Community Centre.
This is the first year they all
moved to a level of fastball higher
than can be found in Brussels and
their decisions seem to have paid off.
Pipe was encouraged to try out for
the Walkerton team after his name
had made its way around the local
baseball circuit. Jack’s father Gary
says some people involved with the
Capitals had heard about Jack’s
strong play in Brussels and
encouraged him to try out for the
Walkerton team, which he promptly
made.
Jack’s Capitals would go on to
play undefeated baseball throughout
the entire season, continuing that
trend through the Squirt Division
provincial championships cruising
to the final in undefeated fashion and
then closing out Kitchener-Waterloo
in the final game by a lopsided score
of 13-1.
Jack plays shortstop for the team
and says his on-base percentage was
near .500 (meaning he was on base
on nearly half of his at-bats)
throughout the tournament.
Jack still has a few games left to
play on another team he plays for.
That team will end its season this
weekend with the year-end
tournament in Wingham.
If all goes well, Jack says he hopes
to continue playing baseball with
Walkerton. He’ll have to try out once
again next year, but he’s confident
he can preserve his spot on the team.
Hayden, Mitch and Brody also
have some more baseball left to play
this year, as their tournament team
(the team doesn’t have a regular
season schedule, it simply plays in
tournaments over the course of the
summer) is heading to the Canadian
championship in Nova Scotia this
weekend.
The Otters punched their ticket to
the national championship before
the provincial championship,
however, when the boys won an
elimination tournament in which
they also played Port Perry. The top
two teams from that tournament,
which was played in Napanee, were
automatically entered into the
Canadian tournament.
After the elimination tournament,
the Otters travelled to Port Perry for
the provincial championship where
they would eventually play the host
team in the finals. The Otters,
however, were handed a setback in
the quarterfinals, when they were
beaten by Port Perry. They were
knocked down and then worked their
way back to the championship
bracket, beating New Hamburg
along the way.
The Otters were then matched up
once again with Port Perry, who they
had to beat twice to claim the
championship in the double-
elimination format tournament.
In their first championship game
with Port Perry, it took 13 innings,
but the Otters won by a score of 3-0
in a game where Mitch made a
game-saving catch in the outfield.
“I was just caught up in the
moment,” Mitch said, while his
teammate Brody called the catch
“sick”.
With the teams now level at one
loss each, the Otters beat Port Perry
for a second time by a score of 7-3,
securing the title for the three boys
from Brussels.
The three boys, all outfielders, say
they want to continue playing with
Teeswater for the foreseeable future
and hope to play baseball until they
can no longer do it.
As far as the national tournament
is concerned, the boys have heard
rumours about their competition,
saying that Newfoundland is
supposed to be an “unreal” team, but
that year after year the teams from
Ontario are the ones to watch.
The boys were first led to
Teeswater by some friends who play
for the team and before long they
were all teammates.
Brody says that while he and his
teammates are obviously hoping to
win the tournament, they’re just
hoping to give it their all and enjoy
the trip.
“I just want to play our best and
enjoy ourselves out there,” he said.
Provincial championships
Thanks to some local talent in the form of, from left, 12-year-old Jack Pipe, 16-year-old Brody
TenPas, 14-year-old Hayden TenPas and 15-year-old Mitch Kellington, two baseball teams,
the Teeswater Otters and the Walkerton Capitals, were able to grab provincial championships
recently. (Shawn Loughlin photo)
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Blyth U18 Boys soccer team undefeated this season
By Mary Ann Drost
The Blyth U18 boys soccer team
was undefeated this season and
ended up winning the Championship
Cup this past weekend in Arkona.
With only three teams in the local
soccer league (Clinton, St.
Columban and Blyth), it looked like
there wouldn’t be a season for the
U18 boys team. After some
investigation these three towns
joined the West Middlesex Youth
Soccer League. The Blyth boys can
boast a very successful soccer
season with 11 wins, two ties and no
losses, ending the 2012 season in
first place out of a league of eight
teams.
The preliminary finals game saw
Blyth against the second place
Grand Bend team at the Klondyke
fields on August 16. In the first half
of the game Hunter Broda shot the
ball toward the net; the Grand Bend
goalie fumbled the ball and Blyth’s
Quinton Sjaarda gained control of
the ball and scored the first goal of
the night for his team. It wasn’t long
before Grand Bend received a hand
ball in their crease, Allan Thompson
took the penalty shot and scored.
In the second half of the game,
Blyth went on to widen their lead
with Jan Paul VanDorp working the
ball up the field and A. Thompson
shooting the ball into the top corner
of the net. Grand Bend put on the
pressure in this must-win game, and
scored a goal over Blyth keeper, Rob
Hoftyzer’s head. Blyth won the
game with a final score of 3-1
earning the team a spot in the
Championship Cup games.
The Championship Cup was held
on August 18 at the Taxandria soccer
fields just south of Arkona on a
beautiful sunny day. Blyth’s first
game was played against the home
team, Taxandria Falcons. The
Falcons came out strong and scored
the first goal of the game. R.
Thompson scored another penalty
shot for Blyth to tie up the game
before half time.
Several minutes into the second
half, the Taxandria goalie fumbled
ball, A. Thompson found the loose
ball and shot the ball into the net.
Derek deBoer set up the next goal
for Blyth with a nice cross-over and
Leendert VanDorp received the pass
and shot the ball into the net to seal
the win. This 3-1 win earned Blyth a
spot in the championship finals.
The Championship Cup finals had
Blyth set to play against their local
rivals from Clinton. This was a very
evenly-matched game. The ball
moved up and down the pitch,
allowing scoring opportunities for
both teams. The lone goal of the
game occurred in the first half and
ended up being the winning goal.
With lots of traffic in front of the
Clinton net the ball kept weaving
from one team’s control to the next.
VanDorp gained control of the ball
and scored for Blyth.
There were some great moments
with fans on the edge of their seats
for both teams. In spite, or possibly
because of the intense pressure felt
by both teams, neither team could
get the ball into the net. There were
a few minor injuries as the rest of the
game played out. The final whistle
blew and Blyth won the
Championship game 1-0. Each team
received a sports bag for their
success in the tournament, with
Blyth having a championship
keychain on their zipper. The team
also received a plaque to take home
with a spot for a team picture.
Blyth’s talented goalie was Rob
Hoftyzer. The defensive lineup was
solid with Murray Dale, Zach Drost,
Adam Lindsay, Micah Nonkes, Matt
Porter and Trystan Weber. Blyth’s
hard-working halfbacks were Scott
Thompson and Jan Paul and
Leendert VanDorp. The strikers who
knew how to finish off the shots
were Hunter Broda, Derek deBoer,
Allan Thompson and Quinton
Sjaarda. Unable to finish the season
were Joel Pizzati and Nate Plunkett.
These competitive young men had
a very successful year of soccer
earning an “undefeated” title this
season. They really gelled together
and played well as a united group of
players forming a winning team. The
Blyth boys were coached by George
Thompson, who stated that the team
was easy to coach as they showed
their talent throughout the season.
Congratulations to the Blyth U18
boys on your successful season and
for winning the WMYSL
Championship. Well done team!
Blyth Junior Broomball Registration
New players require birth certificates
* A late payment fee will apply *
EVERYONE WELCOME!
For information call 519-523-9819
for 2012 to 2013 Season
Registration Location:
Blyth Arena
Wednesday, August 29
7 P.M. - 9 P.M.
ATTENTION:
YOUTH ages 7-19
Blyth Skating Club
Figure and Power
Skating Registration
will be on
Wednesday, August 29th
at the Blyth Arena
from 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
For further info please contact
Pam Chalmers at blythskating@tcc.on.ca
or 519-523-4766