Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Napanee’s U15 Express were stingy hosts of the OASA Eliminations this weekend, refusing to allow any guest to set foot on home.
The Express not only went undefeated in four games, but also didn’t allow a single run all tournament.
They needed to be perfect in Sunday’s championship game as the Wilmot Thunder held the Express bats to just a single run. That was enough for starter Nathan Wylie however, as he shutdown the Thunder and pitched the Express to gold.
The Thunder bats were rolling heading into the finals as they scored two in the eighth inning to stun the Tara Longhorns in the semifinals and advance to the finals just a few short minutes later. Their extra inning affair went long and delayed the start of the finals, but their thrilling finish was worth the wait for Thunder fans. Their momentum ran out come the gold medal game however as the Express were able to answer the challenge in the tightly contested championship game.
Napanee Express pitcher Nathan Wylie delivers a pitch during the OASA Eliminations gold medal game. Wylie was named tournament MVP. Photo by Adam Prudhomme.
Napanee got their weekend off to a strong start with a 12-0 win over Lakefield on Friday evening. They kept it up on Saturday morning, blanking Norwich 9-0 on the strength of a one-hitter from Wylie.
Napanee advanced to the finals-and officially locked up a berth to Canadians-with a 4-0 win over Tara on Saturday evening.
With their first place finish the Express will now play as Ontario’s top seed at the 2023 Canadian U15 Fast Pitch Championship, Aug. 9-13 in Prince Albert, Sask.
Joining Napanee from Ontario will be Wilmot, Tara and Elmira.
-The teams that will represent Ontario at next month’s U20 Canadians in Napanee is now set following the eliminations held in Wilmot over the weekend.
Rostock shutout Haldimand 7-0 in the finals, securing their spot as the top seed.
Haldimand qualifies for Canadians by virtue of their second place finish while last year’s defending champion Tavistock Athletics earn an automatic berth, as do the host Napanee Express.
Though their spot at Canadians was guaranteed, the Express took part in the eliminations in preparation for next month’s Canadians.
Napanee opened the tournament with an 8-4 win over Fingal before losing 9-6 to Rostock.
After rain washed out Saturday’s action, Napanee returned to the diamond on Sunday with a 9-5 win over host Wilmot. They kept rolling with a 10-0 win over Springbrook and an 8-3 win over Chatsworth before falling 4-3 to Tavistock to end their weekend.
The U20 Canadians will take place Aug. 15-20 at the Napanee Fairgrounds.