The Times Advocate, 2006-09-06, Page 15Wednesday,September 6, 2006
Exeter Times -Advocate
Sports
15
Exeter co -hosts baseball tournament
M ' — A
Mike Seip beats a throw to first for Exeter Aug. 26 against Strathroy during league tournament play. Exeter
won two games in the tournament before losing 4-3 to London. (photo/Pat Bolen)
EXETER — The inau-
gural season of the
Exeter Senior team
coached by Jeff Keller
wrapped up Aug. 24-27
with the league tourna-
ment hosted by Mitchell
and Exeter.
Exeter's first game
was against Kincardine,
a team that Exeter
couldn't figure out all
season, said Keller.
Kincardine 4
Exeter 2,
Scot Russell got the
nod for game one and
he did not disappoint.
"Scot was our most
consistent pitcher down
the stretch, and we
knew he would give the
Kincardine bats some
trouble," said Keller.
It was a defensive
game from the start.
Both teams played
excellent defence and
the pitching match -up
was perfect.
It was Exeter who got
on the board first when
Mike Seip scored, after
reaching with a single,
on a hard hit by Russell
up the middle.
However, Kincardine
responded with one of
their own in the third,
then two more in the
fourth when some lucky
bounces went their
way.
Exeter came back
with a run of their own
in the sixth inning
when Fred Gregus
scored on a hit by Terry
Hogg.
But that is as close as
they could get, as
Kincardine got out of
some jams and held off
some pressure from the
Exeter offence.
"I was very happy
with the way we played
tonight," said Keller.
"Even though we did-
n't come away with the
win, it really boosted
our confidence and was
a fun game to watch."
Russell pitched the
complete game allow-
ing four earned runs on
seven hits, five strike-
outs and just two
walks.
"Scot has great con-
trol and allows our
defence, which is pretty
strong, to stay in the
game. When you don't
walk many guys, you
always give yourself a
chance for the win.
You have to rely on the
players behind you as
well."
Hogg led Exeter's
offence with two hits
while Jon Brand,
Keller, Seip and Russell
each had a hit.
Exeter 12,
Strathroy 9
This game was not as
close as it looks as after
leading 11-2 in the
fourth inning, Exeter
made a couple of pitch-
ing changes that almost
cost them the game.
Terry Hogg got the
start for Exeter and
pitched a solid three
innings, according to
Keller. The only runs
Hogg allowed were two
runs in the first inning.
However, after that,
Hogg shut down
Strathroy's offence to
give Exeter's bats a
chance to wake up and
they did.
Exeter scored five
runs in the third inning
when the starter for
Strathroy lost some
control. He loaded the
bases on two walks and
a hot batsman, then
walked in the first run
of the inning.
Mike Agnew then
knocked in two runs
with a hard-hit single
up the middle.
Agnew later scored on
another wild pitch.
Agnew was on fire this
game, said Keller,
going three for three
and a walk.
Exeter added to their
lead in the fourth with
another hit by Agnew
who knocked in Gregus,
Gingerich and Laye.
Agnew then scored on a
single by Matt Iredale.
The bottom of the
fourth is when the
game got interesting.
Keller pulled Hogg with
a nine -run lead to save
his arm for a later
game.
"It takes five games to
win the tournament.
That is a lot of pitching
in one weekend. I want-
ed to save his arm."
Mitch Iredale went in
for Hogg. Keller said
Iredale pitched a couple
of games at the begin-
ning of the season, but
had not pitched for a
while, and it showed.
Iredale got off to a
great start, retiring the
first two batters he
faced.
It was at this point he
started to have some
control problems. After
giving up a hit to the
next batter, he walked
five, hit two, then gave
up a double to let
Strathroy back in the
game.
"It had been a while
since he played last. We
should not have let him
go as long as we did,"
said Keller.
Rickey Regier went in
the game to relieve
Iredale and he shut
down the Strathroy
attempted comeback,
allowing no runs on two
walks, one strikeout
and no hits.
Agnew led the offence
with three singles and a
walk. Hogg continued
to hit well also, getting
a double and a single.
Seip and Iredale each
had doubles, with
Brand and Gregus each
contributing with sin-
gles.
London Stingrays
4, Exeter 3
The winner of this
game would move into
the semifinals on
Sunday. Exeter came
up short on another
well -played game by
both sides.
The Stingrays "stung"
first in this one, getting
a single run off starter
Brand in the first
inning from two hits.
However, Brand battled
back to end the inning
with two strikeouts.
Exeter's runs all came
in the third inning
when Jason Finkbeiner
got his first hit of the
tournament and scored
on a double by Hogg.
Agnew continued his
hot bat as he drove in
Brand and Keller who
both reached base on
walks.
However, the
Stingrays pitcher set-
tled down and shut the
door on Exeter's bats
for the rest of the
game.
Exeter couldn't hold
their two -run lead,
allowing the Stingrays
to score two runs in the
third inning with two
more hits and then the
winning run in the fifth
inning with two more
hits.
Angew once again led
the offence for Exeter
with two hits.
Russell also had two
hits while Terry Hogg
had another double and
Finkbeiner contributed
a single.
The scariest moment
came in the fifth inning
when Keller was hit by
a wild pitch on his left
hand.
He had season -ending
surgery last week and
will start his rehab
assignment in the off-
season.
"J.B. pitched well
throughout the whole
game," said Keller.
"The Stingrays got
some clutch hits that
drove in the runs they
needed. It was a good
solid baseball game
from both sides. You
can't be upset about
that."
Keller was right and
the many fans who
were watching the
game commented on
the calibre of the games
all weekend and the
entertainment they pro-
vided.
Kincardine, who beat
Exeter 4-2 in the open-
er, went on to win the
tournament on Sunday
by beating the
Stingrays in the final
game.
Comments from the
manager:
"For our first year in
the league, and many of
our players first time
on the field in 10-15
years, we did very well.
We finished third in the
league standings and
played well enough in
the tournament to win
it all. Most of all we had
a lot of fun. You can
never truly lose as long
as you are happy with
the effort put forward
and you have fun doing
it. This was our goal all
year and we accom-
plished that. I want to
personally thank our
sponsors and Joe Fulop
and Doug Fairbairn for
helping us.
Thanks to all the guys
who made a commit-
ment at the beginning
of the year and sticking
to it. I am glad you
played. Lastly, and
most importantly,
thanks to our parents,
our wives and girl-
friends, and our chil-
dren for allowing us to
spend some time on the
baseball field. I know
how busy family life
can get, and I know the
sacrifices many of you
have made in order to
make this happen.
Thank you."
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