Beaver Sports
Different jersey, same golden results for a handful of Napanee Express graduates who suited up for the Owen Sound Selects at the 2021 Rawlings Grand Slam U23 Softball Championship, held in Saskatoon, Sask.
Five Express players-Connor Brooks, Brendan Hagerman, James Martell, Tucker Firth and Riley Manion, were on Owen Sound’s roster and contributed to their run to the championship. The Selects defeated Newfoundland’s Chayee Bourras Wines and Vines 8-1 in the gold medal final on Sunday night. Overall they went 5-1 at the Canadian championship.
Brooks was named the tournament’s top batter, going 9-for-14 (.643) with two home runs and a team high 11 RBI in five games.
Manion was the tournament’s top pitcher, going 3-1 with 26 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched with an ERA of 3.36 and a WHIP of 1.48.
Firth hit .267 while scoring four runs in five games. Hagerman caught 26 innings behind the plate, throwing out the only runner to attempt a stolen base while posting a fielding percentage of .969. He also scored a pair of runs. James Martell scored a run in Sunday’s gold medal game while playing flawless defense.