Beaver Sports
Napanee’s U15 Express went undefeated in Innerkip over the weekend to sweep their way to a championship at the Tim Horton’s Invitational U15 Boys Softball Tournament.
They capped off the tournament win with a 7-0 victory over Wilmot in the finals. Dylan Kemp threw a complete game shutout, striking out nine along the way.
Despite the final score the game was tightly contested through the first two innings. Napanee opened the scoring in the third with a leadoff single from Deke Osterhout followed by a double from Kemp and a triple from Owen Kish.
The Express added to their 3-0 lead in the sixth when Osterhout stroked an inside the park home run and Finn Barton put one over the fence. Bryce Rebertz drove in Napanee’s seventh run of the game with a two-out double.
“All in all, the U15 Express had a dominant weekend with good defense, solid hitting and amazing base running,” said Express head coach Scott Thompson.
Napanee opened the weekend with a 5-1 win over Springbrook. Kish drove in two runs in the first, Osterhout had a two run homer and Kayden Thompson had an RBI in the fourth to pace the offense.
In the second game the bats roared to life with a 15-4 rout of Stittsville. Barton picked up the win with a six-inning, mercy rule induced complete game.
Osterhout had an inside-the-park home run and Matthew Airhart cashed a pair with a double.
Napanee’s bats stayed hot in their third game as they rolled to a 15-5 win over Fingal. Kayden Thompson earned the win. Barton launched a two-run homer, Brody Nielissen cleared the bases with a three-RBI single.
In the crossover game to reach the finals Napanee defeated Wellesley 10-4 with Logan Willis picking up the win. Napanee scored 10 runs on doubles from Osterhout, Kish, Rebertz and Nielissen with singles from Willis, Tivon James, Aidan DiFazio and Coulsen South. Airhart added an inside-the-park home run. In the field, South helped to stamp out a Wellesley rally with a great diving catch to strand three base runners.
Napanee will look to continue their hot start with another tournament in Tara this coming weekend.
The U15 Eliminations will take place July 8-10 in Grafton with a trip to the Eastern Canadians, held in Brookfield, NS Aug. 18-21, on the line.