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Orillia's Royals earn a silver medal at provincial championships

Local U16 team lost a heart-breaker in gold-medal game, but young team finds silver lining in strong performance against Ontario's top teams
royals win silver at provincials
The Orillia Wes Brennan Construction Royals won a silver medal at this weekend's provincial championship. In the back row, from left: Coach Mark Kuntz, Tigh Gallagher, Wyatt Thompson, Owen Buckland, Whyatt Winkel, Jhett Winkel, Briar Decaire and coach Wes Winkel. In the front row: Owen Kaczanowski, Lucas Mackey, Jacob Boyle, Markham Gogarity, Aydan Hall, Teddy Mccolum Kuntz and Kobe Geofroy. Contributed photo

The Wes Brennan Orillia Royals represented their York Simcoe league this past Labour Day weekend and captured a silver medal in Kitchener at the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) provincial finals in the U16 division.

The tournament started with the Royals matched up with an undefeated squad from London in Game 1 Friday. Orillia picked apart the London defence scoring in each of the first five innings. Whyatt Thompson and Owen Kaczanmowski pitched very well for the Royals, bending but not breaking. Aydan Hall led the Royals with three hits in three at-bats, while Jhett Winkel and Lucas Mackey each chipped in with two RBI’s to give the Royals a 7-5 win.

The Game 1 win moved Orillia to the winners' pool to meet the Southwest champs from Windsor. Mccollum Kuntz and Kobe Geofroy both performed very well on the mound in this game. Briar Decaire and Owen Buckland led the Royals, scoring two runs and Kaczanowski chipped in with two doubles, lifting the Royals to another 7-5 victory.

Orillia now faced Richmond Hill in Game 3 on Saturday at Kitchener's Jack Couch Stadium. Hall and Buckland pitched very well for the Royals, but too many defensive errors cost the Royals in the end, losing 5-4. Whyatt and Jhett Winkel each lead the offence with two hits in a losing cause.

The loss put Orillia’s backs against the wall in the double knockout tournament. Game 5 Placed them against Ottawa on Saturday night. The game was sloppy as each team showed fatigue as it was the third game of the day for both teams. Orillia jumped out to a commanding lead when a light malfunction caused a half hour darkness delay.

The game resumed and Ottawa just could not answer the explosive Orillia offence. Whyatt Thompson pitched a complete game victory while Jacob Boyle reached base in each of his at bats and also bombed a three-run double in the game.

This win lifted Orillia into Sunday where the Royals had the daunting task of needing to beat undefeated Halton Hills twice in order to capture the championship. Orillia came out flying in the morning game, scoring three runs in a bat-around first inning. Kobe Geofroy was dominant on the mound pitching six solid innings in the start. Kaczanowski and McCollum Kuntz each had four hits while Buckland, J. Winkel and W. Winkel each had three hits, propelling Orillia to a 7-5 upset win.

This now set up a rematch for the provincial title. The game started with a great pitching duel with no runs for either team. The Royals then exploded for five runs in the fifth, batting around the order. Halton Hills answered, tying the game in the sixth inning, chasing Kaczanowski from the mound from his great start.

The Eagles then scored three in the seventh, taking an 8-5 lead leaving Orillia one last chance in the bottom of the 7th. Jhett Winkel singled home McCollum Kuntz to start the rally, but the offence stalled in the end, giving Halton Hills the gold.

The silver medal, while bittersweet, was a huge accomplishment for the team which saw seven new players compete in rep at this age group for the first time.


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