Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Napanee’s U17 Express took care of business before an approaching storm, punching their ticket to Canadians with a second place finish at the OASA Eliminations in Stratford.
Inclement weather meant Sundays portion of the tournament was cancelled, but not before Napanee accomplished what they set out to do, which was to secure their spot in the U17 Fast Pitch Canadian Championship.
Napanee’s bats provided the thunder while the pitchers brought the lightning in their first three games of the OASA qualifier.
The Express kicked off the tournament with a 15-0 win over Hillsdale followed by a 10-0 win over Fingal.
Napanee’s offense kept rolling with a 13-1 win over Tavistock, giving them the win they needed to officially qualify for Canadians and earn the chance to defend the gold medal this group won at the U15 level.
Napanee met Drumbo’s PDP Lightning in the undefeated game, falling 14-4 on Saturday evening. The Express were scheduled to face off against the Tara 2006 club, but lightning of another kind prevented that from happening. Steady rain washed out Sunday’s games, leaving tournament organizers to assign the top four teams based on the current standings. PDP took first, Napanee second, Tara 2006 third and Wilmot in fourth. Those four clubs have advanced to represent Ontario at the U17 Canadians, which will take place Aug. 2-6 in Fredericton, NB. Napanee last won the Canadians at the U17 level in 2019, which were held in Saskatoon. Following a two-year break due to the pandemic, the Canadians returned in 2022, with Chatsworth taking the top spot.
This year’s U17 Express team is made up of players that graduated from the U15 level, after taking gold at the 2022 Canadians, held in Wilmot.
“We have a great group of kids and parents that understand what is needed to succeed, so that helps a lot,” added Thompson.
The Express will return to league play throughout the month of July to stay sharp before heading out east next month.