From Al’s Fastball:
[WOODSTOCK, ONTARIO] – The Quaker River Sharks of Orillia, Ontario started their 2007 tournament schedule with a very successful weekend at the 4th annual Legends of Fastball tournament in Woodstock, Ontario. The River Sharks went a perfect 6 & 0 in capturing their second straight Legends of Fastball tournament championship.
The Legends of Fastball tournament is a great early season tournament that gives all the Ontario teams a chance to see what each other has for the season. The tournament is well organized within a beautiful park with good diamonds and exceptional support from the host committee and band of volunteers. Major thanks to the tournament organizers Larry Lynch, Brian Paton and Chuck Hendricks for all their hard work and especially to Joe Todd, who seemed to be everywhere at the same time.
Game # 1
Saturday 11:00AM
Bridgeport Braves – 0 vs. (#1) Orillia Quaker River Sharks
– 11 (5 innings)
Braves – 0 – 1 – 1
Sharks – 11 – 10 – 3
The River Sharks struck early with 2 runs in the first inning. Jeff Ellsworth led off the bottom of the 1st inning with a single and then two outs later Ian Fehrman hit a RBI single to score
Ellsworth. Steve Mullaley scored Fehrman with a RBI double. The Sharks were held scoreless in the 2nd inning but scored 2 more runs in the 3rd inning. Blair Ezekial started things
off with a 1-out single and 1 batter later Ian Fehrman got on with a walk. Steve Mullaley then stepped to the plate and cashed both runs in. The River Sharks erupted for 7 runs in the bottom
of the 4th inning to put the game out of reach. Tim Macumber got things started with a lead-off double and then Glen Ormsby followed that with a 2-run homerun. Kelly Winstrom got on base
with a walk and Jeff Ellsworth singled. After a strike out, Ryan Wolfe scored Winstrom with an RBI double and then Ian Fehrman hit a 2-RBI triple. Steve Mullaley then hit a 2-run homerun
to end the scoring. Ryan Brand pitched this one for the Sharks and he looked like he was in mid-season form as he faced only 19 batters over 5 innings.
WP – Ryan Brand 5IP / 5K / 1BB / 1H / 0R
LP – Todd Winkworth 4.1IP / 4K / 1BB / 8H / 9R
Geehin 2.2IP / 0K / 1BB / 4H / 2R
Game # 2
Saturday 5:00PM
(#1) Orillia River Sharks – 11 vs. Elmira Cubs – 2 (5 innings)
Sharks – 11 – 10 – 0
Cubs – 2 – 3 – 3
The River Sharks again started strong early, with the first three batters scoring. Chris Milljavac started off with a lead-off double, Dan Loney reached on an error and then Ryan Wolfe hit
a 3-run homerun to give the Sharks the lead. The Sharks would add 3 more runs in the 2nd inning as Mike Gasaway, Chris Milljavac and Ryan Wolfe all scoring in the inning. The Cubs would get one back in the bottom of the 2nd DP – Brad Thomson hit a solo homerun off Frank Cox. The Sharks would bat around and score 5 more runs in the top of the 3rd inning to put the game out of reach.
WP – Frank Cox 4IP / 7K / 0BB / 2H / 2R
Blair Ezekiel 1IP / 1K / 0BB / 1H / 0R
LP – Ryan French 3IP / 0K / 1BB / 11H / 11R
Brad Thomson 2IP / 0K / 0BB / 3H / 0R
Game # 3
Saturday 8:00PM
(#1) Orillia River Sharks – 7 vs. (#11) Jarvis Merchants – 4
Sharks – 7 – 11 – 0
Merchants – 4 – 7 – 0
The River Sharks again started the game strong by scoring 2-runs in the top of the 1st inning as Ryan Wolfe and Ian Ferhman hit back-to-back solo homeruns to put the Sharks on the scoreboard first. The Merchants cam right back and scored a single run in the bottom of the first as Pat Graham worked a 1-out walk and eventually come around to score. Both teams would add a run in the 3rd inning as Chris Milljavac would score for the Sharks on a RBI single by Ryan Wolfe and Reno Dambrosio hit a solo homerun for the Merchants. The Sharks would add another run in the top of the 5th inning when Dan Loney scored on an RBI double by Chris Milljavac. The Merchants would answer back in the bottom of the 6th inning as Chad Statts would add a solo homerun to tie the game. The Sharks would add 3 more runs in the top of 7th inning on a 3-run homerun by Steve Mullaley.
– Rob O’Brien 5.2IP / 4K / 1BB / 7H / 4R
WP – Ryan Brand 1.1IP / 3K / 0BB / 0H / 0R
LP – Darren Zack 7IP / 5K / 1BB / 11H / 7R
Game # 4 – Quarter Final
Sunday 9:00AM
Scarborough Wolverines – 7 vs. (#1) Orillia River Sharks
– 9
Wolverines – 7 – 12 – 1
Sharks – 9 – 9 – 2
The River Sharks almost let this game get away from them as the scrappy Wolverines gave them everything they could handle on an early Sunday morning. The Wolverines started strong in the first inning as # 27 – Freedman got on base with a 1-out walk and two batters later came around to score the opening run of the game. The Sharks answered back in their half of the 1st
when the first two batters, Ellsworth and Milljavac reached base and came around to score. The Wolverines tied up the game in the top of the 2nd inning as the lead-off hitter, # 91 – Broadway
hit a single and eventually came around to score. The Sharks answered with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Dan Loney got things started with a lead-off triple, then both
Mike Gasaway and Jeff Ellsworth hit singles and Chris Milljavac would add a double. All four players would eventually score. That was it for the River Sharks runs until the bottom of the
6th inning as the Wolverines did a very good job in keeping the Sharks off the scoreboard. The Wolverines would add another run in the top of the 3rd inning and then 3 runs in the top of
the 6th inning to tie the game. The Sharks would score 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to take control of the game. This was not one of the Sharks better games of the tournament
but the players did find a way to get the runs when they were needed.
Orillia
Tim Macumber 2IP / 2K / 2BB / 3H / 2R
Blair Ezekial 3.2IP / 7K / 1BB / 8H / 4R
WP – Ryan Brand 1.1IP / 3K / 0BB / 1H / 1R
Scarborough
Greg Dalgarna 2IP / 0K / 1BB / 4H / 6R
LP – Matt Leahy 3.2IP / 3K / 0BB / 3H / 3R
Andrew Putnam 0.1IP / 0K / 0BB / 2H / 0R
Game # 5 – Semi Final
Sunday 1:24PM
(#16) St. Thomas Centennials – 1 vs. (#1) Orillia River Sharks
– 16 (5 innings)
Centennials – 1 – 6 – 1
Sharks – 16 – 16 – 0
The bats came alive for the River Sharks in this game as the team scored 5 runs in the 1st inning, 2 runs in the 2nd, 5 more in the 3rd and another 4 runs in the 4th inning. Highlights
for the Sharks in this game would have to include Jeff Ellsworth’s 3 for 3 performance, as Jeff hit a homerun in each of the first 3 innings and added a walk in the 4th inning. Ellsworth finished
the game, 3 for 3 with a walk, 4 RBI’s and 4 runs scored. Ian Fehrman and Steve Mullaley also added homeruns in the game.
Ryan Brand 2IP / 3K / 1BB / 2H / 0R
WP – Frank Cox 3IP / 3K / 0BB / 4H / 1R
LP – Steve Langley 1.1IP / 1K / 2BB / 7H / 7R
Beecroft 2.2IP / 1K / 0BB / 8H / 5R
Ryan Cummings 1IP / 0K / 1BB / 2H / 4R
Game # 6 – Final
Sunday 4:00PM
(#1) Orillia River Sharks – 2 vs. (#5) Kitchener Hallman Twins
Sharks 2 – 5 – 1
Twins 0 – 2 – 0
This was the match up that many fans wanted to see as the top two teams in Ontario faced each other for the first time in 2007. These two teams will most likely see each other a few more times this summer. This time the River Sharks were able to come out on top. The Sharks got things going in the top half of the 1st inning when Blair Ezekial hit a one-out single and then one batter later Ian Fehrman was able to get a hold of one for a 2-run homerun. This would be the only scoring that either team could musteras both team’s pitchers settled in for great defensive battle. Both teams pitchers got the outs when they needed them and all four pitchers pitched great for early in the season.
Orillia
Frank Cox 3IP / 3K / 0BB / 2H / 0R
Rob O’Brien 4IP / 6K / 0BB / 0H / 0R
Kitchener
Todd Martin 6IP / 6K / 1BB / 5H / 2R
Don Scott 1IP / 0K / 0BB / 0H / 0R
Next action for the Orillia Quaker River Sharks will be June 8, 9, 10 when they return to league play with 8 games over the weekend. Friday, June 8 in Jarvis and then home to Orillia for
4 games on Saturday against Innerkip and 2 more games on Sunday against Jarvis.
Paul Barnetson
pmbarney(at)rogers.com
Click here for photos from semi-final, Innerkip vs. Kitchener Hallman Twins, link via Al’s Fastball.
Photos from the Finals – Orillia vs. Kitchener, link via Al’s Fastball