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The Times Advocate, 2006-09-06, Page 14THIS WEEK IN SPORTS Seniors Page 19 Memorial shoot Page 16 TIMES ADVOCATE ort Wednesday, September 6, 2006 SPORTS Tips? Contact Exeter Times Advocate Tel: Pat Bolen (519) 235-1336 x113 Fax: (5 1 9) 235-0766 E-mail: sports©southhuron.com Exeter Times -Advocate Exeter Express OBA champions again WALLECEBURG — They did it. The Exeter Express pulled themselves up by the boot- straps Monday as they had to play three consecutive games to win the Senior "D" championship with a victo- ry over a strong squad from Dundas. Team spokesperson Joe Fulop said manager Doug Fairbairn commented throughout the tournament that the Express would have a difficult road to travel. After winning four games over the first three days of the tournament things got tougher and the character and stamina of the team was tested. Fulop said the quest for the gold medallions has not been an easy one and the Express drew a tough squad from Amherstburg in game one of the tournament on Friday. Fairbairn and his assistants decided it would be neces- sary to use their ace, Derek Masse, to try to secure this win. The Express were able to score single runs in four dif- ferent innings while Masse held the opposition to four hits and zero runs while striking out nine batters. The Express supported his efforts with a flawless defense and scored in the second inning as Lonnie Hawke singled and scored on a sacrifice fly from Dan Masse. Aaron Patterson and Nate Burns led the way to a run in the third by using their speed via stolen bases follow- ing a walk and a hit. In the fourth Justin Hayter walked, stole second and scored on two errors. The fourth run was scored in the fifth on a double by Patterson and a single by Nick Regier. The Express had three other hits from Vic Oliveira, Dan Masse and Cory Burtch. This was the only game played by the Express on Friday. Fulop said the Express expected to meet Amherstburg again in the later rounds but it was not to be. In game two against Bolton veteran Marty Merner gained the start. Bolton scored four runs early and had a 4-0 lead by the second inning but Merner then settled down to hold Bolton in check until the sixth. He was relieved by Dan Masse who pitched the final two innings and the pair held the opposition to seven hits and eight walks. The defence held the Bolton batters to only five runs and Masse picked up the win. The Express fought back for three runs in the second and added two more in the fourth. The teams were tied until the bottom of the sixth when the Express pushed across the winning run to win 6-5. The Express hitters had a good day. Bobby Grant led the way with four hits and had three RBIs while Oliveira, Patterson, Burns and Regier had two hits each. Dan Masse, Justin Hayter and Burtch also added hits to the cause. The game was tense as Bolton was stronger than expected with many runners stranded on the bases but they were unable to push across the winning run. The Express pecked away at the deficit until the sixth when Patterson had a double and scored on a triple by Grant. Bolton was good enough to reach the final group of five by the end of Sunday's games but Exeter dug in dur- ing this game to defeat a good team. Merner came back to pitch game three against the London Stingrays and was sharp in this game allowing zero runs on three Stingray hits. He was supported with a flawless defence throughout the game while Exeter also had a strong offence, scoring 10 runs to win 10-0. Patterson led the way with three hits including a long double and a longer triple that just failed to clear the fence. Burns, Regier, Hayter and Dan Masse each had two hits while Grant had one. The Express were able to score in almost every inning as their strong hits, stolen base skills, and their abilities to play their position were too much on this day. Game four was against Leamington who also were undefeated. The Express jumped to an early lead in support of hard throwing Curtis Meyers who held the Lakers to one run and four hits over the first five innings. Meyers was given strong support by his infield as Justin Hayter, Regier and Patterson made several sparkling plays. Burns also made the defensive play of the year, said Fulop, as he ran full out to track down a ball in centre field and doubled up a runner at first base with a superb throw. Catcher Grant kept the Leamington running game totally in check and by the end of the fifth it was 6-1 and Leamington seemed ready to cave in. Then disaster struck as five Exeter errors, with some solid hitting from Leamington led to an 8-6 Leamington lead in the sixth inning. It appeared the Express would lose the game as they trailed by two runs, with two out in the seventh. But a rally started by Regier's hit, Dan Masse being hit by a pitch, a single by Oliveira and Scott Kemp's bases clearing double led to a 9-8 victory. As expected the team was overjoyed by the results, said Fulop. The best offensive players for the game were Regier with two hits and two walks with Burns getting a long triple and a single. Dan Masse had two hits by pitches and a single and Scott Kemp with two doubles as Exeter drew the bye in round five. Game one on Monday was against Dundas. Fairbairn had saved pitcher Burns for this game but things did not go as expected. The Express took an early 1-0 lead but Dundas clipped Burns for four runs in his two innings of work. Burns had a rough start as Dundas had four walks and five hits during this time. The Express rallied for two runs but were unable to get any closer. Jason Cox was asked to hold the opposition in check and did a good job for four innings but tired and was eventually charged with four runs against. Paul Elston pitched a scoreless final inning. Exeter could not solve the lefthander who pitched against them. They were able to come up with only seven hits during the game. These were acquired by Scott Kemp with two, and sin- gle hits from Hayter, Patterson, Burns, Regier and Oliveira. The loss meant Exeter and Dundas had to flip to see who would have a bye in the next round and Exeter lost the flip. That meant a second consecutive game, this time against Bolton. Game two was a pitchers' duel all the way and Bolton jumped to a one run lead in the first. But Exeter responded with two runs. The first came on a homerun by Burns and Grant scored the second run as he was moved along the bases by a Regier single and a sacrifice fly from Kemp. There were no more runs until singles by Hayter, Dan Masse and Hawke led to a run with the final score 3-1 for Exeter. Burns topped his play of the year from earlier in the tournament with a diving catch in the third inning to cut short a potential Bolton rally. Kemp pitched the first three innings allowing a run and Dan Masse pitched the final four innings allowing only one hit and no runs to pick up his third win of the tournament. Hawke led the team with three hits and with the game so close Fairbairn had to shorten his bench. The players were obviously tired, said Fulop. The win led to a rematch with Dundas which was sure it had the Express in a hole as they had won the first game 8-3 plus they had a chance to rest while Exeter played against Bolton. The Express went into a third consecutive game and eventually played baseball for the better part of seven hours over the three games. There was an ace in the hole, however, for the Express. Derek Masse felt strong enough to start the game and pitched a gem allowing only three hits and one run. Dundas had used its ace already in the morning game and could counter only with seldom used pitchers. The game was a mismatch as Exeter racked up 10 runs to win 10-1 as the Express feasted on Dundas pitching. Patterson and Burns each had one hit while Grant had two doubles. Regier had two hits, Kemp had three, and Hawke, Dan Masse and Oliveira had one hit each. After two years of being the runners up in the tourna- ment the Express reclaimed the championship trophy for the first time since 2002. According to Fulop Fairbairn thinks this is the best team he ever managed and has said this all year long. It was an excellent year, Fulop said and gave congrat- ulations to the players and Fairbairn. Sherwoods open camp HENSALL — The Hensall Sherwoods will hit the ice this week to open their training camp with several changes including a new coach, new conference setup and new rules in the league. Hensall general manager Todd McCann said former Sherwood Jason Schilbe will be behind the bench for the team which will have open tryouts starting Sept. 7 in Zurich at 9 p.m. followed by a practice Sept. 10 at 1:30 p.m. The Sherwoods will continue their camp Sept. 17 at 1:30 p.m. before opening their season Oct. 7 in Thedford, a new team in the league. McCann said there is a good core of players coming back with around 15 to 17 players expected to return. "We do have some young guys that have already com- mitted." The team will also be playing in a diferent confer- ence setup, with the league having been changed to a north -south format McCann said the Sherwoods will play a 24 -game schedule in the southern conference against Wingham, Milverton, Monkton, Goderich, Tavistock, Thedford, Listowel and Lucan. The league will also be enforcing rules against obstruction and has also made visors mandatory. McCann said while the crackdown won't be as dras- tic as the NHL, play should open up in the league which will be good for the Sherwoods' style of play. Hensall will play its home opener Oct. 13 in Zurich with its first game in Hensall Oct. 21. The team is also looking for a trainer and volun- teers. For more information contact McCann at todd.mccann@rbc.com or 646-1214. Exeter Synchronized Skating Club INVITE Adult SKATERS to join Introduces LEARN TO SKATE SYNCHRO Oct. 15 - Dec. 10 Beginning Skating Skills Required Ca11519-235-0731 or e-mail: jkansems@tcc. on. ca WOMEN'S ICE HOCKS EAGUE er or more matii'on conta ores ioc key@hotmail.;c, -1294 Looking for players. No experience necessary. Games Sunday 8:30 pm - 10 pm, Hensall Arena. Sign up NOW for 1 year and get one month FREE offer expires Sept. 15/06 Ask us about PTTAtt starting this fall. GOLF SALE!!! www.shgf.on.ca 190 Thames Rd. E., Exeter • 519-235-4555