Adam Prudhomme
Editor
One bad inning was enough to derail the Napanee Chuck’s Roadhouse U15 Express boys’ quest for gold at the Canadian Fast Pitch Championship in Prince Albert, SK.
The Napanee boys still found their way onto the podium however, earning the bronze medal after going 8-2 overall in the tournament.
Napanee was on the doorstep of advancing to the gold medal game, clinging to a 2-1 lead heading into the seventh, just one out away from victory.
Their opponents, the Tara Longhorns started the inning with a lead off single. Though the Express were able to retire the next two batters via strikeout, a pair of wild pitches allowed Tara’s base runner to advance to third. He’d later score on a wild pitch, tying the game at 2-2, which ultimately forced the game into extras.
That’s where the wheels fell off for the Express as the Longhorns scratched out five runs to take a commanding 8-2 lead heading to the bottom of the inning. Napanee was able to carve out a run as Nathan Wylie cashed Matthew Airhart on an RBI ground out. That was as close as they’d get however and their Canadians came to an end. The Longhorns would go on to clinch gold, defeating the Newfoundland Selects 10-3 in the finals.
The Express, who entered the Canadians as Ontario’s No. 1 seed, proved to be strong medal contenders early, kicking off their week with a 9-0 win over the Elmira Heat.
That was the start of a 6-0 run in round robin play, a clean sweep heading into the playoffs.
Things didn’t get off to a great start in the playoff round however as the Express fell 6-1 to the Newfoundland Selects. With no room left for error the Express were able to respond, squeaking out a 2-1 win over the Wilmot Thunder. Wylie racked up 15 Ks in the complete game victory. He helped out his own cause at the dish, circling the bases on an inside-the-park home run to knot the game at 1-1. Tivon James put the Express up for good with an RBI triple in the fourth.
Napanee kept up the dramatics in their next game, rallying for a 5-4 walk-off win over the Heat to keep their medal hopes alive. Down 4-0 heading into the seventh, the Express rallied to stun the Heat. Airhart had two hits and an RBI while Wylie and William, Babcock also drove in a run, the other two runs scoring via an error.
Unfortunately for the Express the script would be flipped in their next game, as they saw a lead disappear in the final at-bat before ultimately falling in extra innings.
They wouldn’t return home empty handed though, earning a bronze medal for their outstanding tournament.
Wylie lead the team with 17 RBI, followed by 10 from Airhart, nine from Jacob Moore and seven from Brock Boutillier. Wylie connected on three of the team’s four homers while Ramsay Ryksen cranking one.
From the pitcher’s circle Wylie tossed 42 of the team’s 56 innings, going 4-2 with an ERA of 2.50. Moore was 3-0 with an ERA of 2.89. Darren Snider also picked up a win.