Adam Prudhomme
Beaver Staff
The Napanee AFW Express closed out the first round of the U19 Men’s Fast Pitch Canadians with gusto, rolling over Team BC 9-1 on Friday evening.
The host Express had production up and down the lineup as James Martell, Brendan Hagerman, Kael Fredenburgh, Connor Brooks, Finn Pierce, Andrew Tucker, Kyle Weese and Ethan Winter each drove in a run.
Brooks tossed a complete game for the win, striking out five over five innings and yielding just one run.
With the win Napanee closed out the round robin with a 7-1 record, which gives them the top seed heading into Saturday’s playoffs. The field of 12 teams will drop to eight for the championship round, with the bottom four playing in a consolation bracket.
Friday’s rain has thrown a bit of a wrench into the schedule, but as of right now the Express’ first playoff game is scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow. Their opponent is yet to be determined as Friday’s late games are yet to be played.
Team leaders: after the opening round robin, the Express team leader in hits was Hagerman with 12. He shared the team lead in RBI with Tucker Firth, each with nine. Brooks was third with seven while Tucker and Pierce had five. Firth had two home runs while Brooks had one. Brooks’ .563 average was also tops on the team.
Riley Manion led the team from the pitcher’s circle, going 5-0 with a 1.51 ERA, striking out 48 batters over 27.2 innings. Brooks picked up the team’s other two wins.