Beaver Sports
Napanee Express teams were striking gold all across Ontario this weekend as the U11, U13 and U15 all finished in the top spot of their respective tournaments.
-It was a one-two finish for Express teams at the U11 East Qualifier in Grafton as the Napanee team coached by Ethan Winter placed first ahead of the second place Napanee squad coached by Ryan Rowe.
The two teams battled to a 5-5 draw to open the tournament. Napanee EW remained undefeated, besting Springbrook 13-9 and Havelock 7-5. Napanee RR also stayed unbeaten, playing to a 9-9 tie against Havelock before triumphing over Springbrook 15-0. Napanee EW’s one extra victory was enough to place them first overall. Both Express teams saw great performances from their starters Maddux Hartwick and Grayson Rowe.The U11 provincials will take place Aug. 13-14 in Springbrook.
Napanee’s U13 Express went undefeated in Grafton.
-Napanee’s U13 Express went undefeated at their East Qualifier, which was also held in Grafton.
The Express started their day with a win over Hillside 7-2 followed by a 15-5 win over Ennismore before topping Havelock 11-8 in the final. They’ll look to keep rolling at provincials, which will be held Aug. 6-7 in Drumbo and Princeton.
Napanee’s U15 Express took home gold at the OASA provincials.
– Napanee’s U15 exacted some revenge on the Wilmot team that had bested them the previous week, this time topping their rivals to take gold at provincials in Princeton.
Napanee started off the tourney well with a 10-3 victory. Dylan Kemp was the starting pitcher and the boys were firing on all cylinders offensively and defensively.
In their second game against Springbrook Kemp started on the mound and threw three innings before coming out with a lower body injury. With some good defense and great key hits at the right times they were able to come out with the victory.
That led them to a matchup with the Wilmot Thunder. With Kemp unavailable, Logan Willis stepped up and took the mound. The Thunder came out early and spotted themselves three runs in the top of the first. In the bottom half the Express got one run back. In the fourth inning the Thunder tacked on another two putting them up 5-1. Again, the Express showed no quit answering with three of their own to make it 5-4. The Thunder replied with six runs in the top of fifth making it 10-4. In the bottom of sixth the U15 Express exploded for a seven run inning with key hit from Coulson South and the whole lineup top to bottom and with some key defensive plays in the bottom of the seventh they closed the door on the Thunder, and pushed the Express to the gold medal game where they would have to be defeated twice in order to knock them off.
The Express, riding high from their victory in the undefeated game, had home team advantage for a rematch with the Thunder. Willis started the game getting through the first inning one-two-three and good defence provided good offense in the bottom where the express came out to get 3-0 lead. In the top of second while tracking a slow roller Willis slipped aggravating his groin and forced him put of the game. Kayden Thompson came in surrendering only one run and the express led 3-1 after two. The Express tacked on a couple more runs to give them all that they would need to secure the gold medal.
“It was a full team effort this weekend,” said Express coach Scott Thompson. “With nagging injuries, we had a depleted line-up, we were able to show our depth with players coming off the bench and chipping in with key plays and hits. Guys like Tivon James and Coulson South who really made big impacts when called upon gave us the edge.
Our goal from the start of the year was to get better and peak at the right time. We are moving toward that goal getting better every time we play. We showed great resiliency in the undefeated game where we overcame a big lead to secure a victory. These players earned it this weekend.”
Next up for the U15 Express is Nationals August 2-7 in Wilmot where they hope to keep the momentum going.