NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA ROYALS
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The 14U Orillia Royals capped an already successful season by coming home as York Simcoe Baseball Association (YSBA) champions.
Having put together a solid season, finishing as the No. 2 seed with a 16-4 record, the team had their sights set on winning the YSBA playoffs.
“Last season, we came in second at the YSBA playoffs. Our goal this season was to be YSBA champions,” said head coach Terry Armour.
This year, the playoffs would span four possible playing dates.
“We had a plan going into the playoffs with our pitchers. You never know what’s going to happen and things can easily go sideways. The boys executed the plan to script and the rest is history,” said assistant coach Ed Novosky of the teams playing and pitching over the tournament.
The team found themselves facing a scrappy Bradford team in their first game Thursday night. The Royals came out quick, scoring three runs in the top of the first, and never looked back. The offence clicked into high gear in the top of the seventh, scoring 12 more runs to seal the deal.
“Having to play games Thursday, Friday, Saturday and possibly Sunday, you really have to consider pitch management.”
Kale Cherubin started the game for the Royals, throwing a great 3.2 innings before coming out to keep him available for Saturday. Brody Howe came in for relief, going 2.1 solid innings, keeping him available Saturday, before being replaced by Ethan Novosky, who closed the game out. The Royals came away with a 23-5 victory.
Game 2 saw the Orillia squad face off against Richmond Hill. Stellar pitching coupled with an aggressive offence was the story here again. Lachlan Armour pitched a complete game for the Royals, allowing only one run over five innings. The offence came out early again as the Royals put five runs on the board in the bottom of the first inning. The Royals would cruise to a 12-1 mercy victory and move on to Saturday play.
Game 3 took off right where Game 2 left off. The Royals faced a determined Barrie Baycats team as the only two remaining undefeated teams in the playoffs. Dominic Holland took the mound and threw for a complete game as well allowing the team to save valuable relievers again. The Orillia offence came to play. Hitting exploded in this game with huge home runs by Brody Howe and Ben Lacroix. Both players led the offence with four and three RBIs, respectively, as the Royals took down the Baycats 14-4.
Game 4 was billed to be the big one. The next opponent was the No. 1-seeded Stayner White Sox. As though nothing had happened, the Orillia offence went to work scoring six in the first and five in the second before cruising to the third mercy victory of the day, ending with a 12-2 victory. Again the pitching storybook couldn’t have been written any better as Callum Dickie threw a full game for the feisty Royals.
Game 5 brought Orillia face to face with the hosting Newmarket Hawks. The Hawks had a first-game bye and had only played one game to Orillia’s two games on Saturday. Newmarket drew first blood, scoring a single run in the first. The game would remain a battle and Newmarket led the Royals 2-1 as they ended the fifth inning. That’s when Newmarket had to change pitchers and the Orillia players went to work. The offence sprang to life as the Royals scored seven runs in the top of the sixth, which proved to be too much for the Hawks. The Royals’ defence simply wouldn’t give up, either, turning two double plays in the game to the delight of the crowd. Eric Shellswell took home the praise for this game as he, too, pitched a complete game, allowing only two runs as the Royals became YSBA champions, winning 9-2.
Offensive notables over the playoffs were Brody Howe hitting .727, nine RBIs, 12 stolen bases and a home run, Callum Dickie hitting .625, 11 RBIs and Ian Speare hitting .600 with a .778 OBP. The offence played well right across the entire lineup.
“It really was a great team effort and everything just came together at the right time. The pitchers did a great job, the hitting was awesome, our base running is tough to beat and the defence was solid. Everything just came together and the boys earned a huge victory. We couldn’t be more proud of all they’ve accomplished this season,” states Ed Novosky.
Having been crowned YSBA champions the 14U A Royals will be heading off to provincials on the Labour Day weekend, where they will square off against other league champions.
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