Orillia River Sharks in Monkton

Tue Jul 4 07:36:10 EDT 2006

Received: 7/4/06 6:31:03 AM 
From:  "Paul Barnetson" <pmbarney at rogers.com> 

Subject:  Orillia River Sharks in Monkton  

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Orillia River Sharks finish in 2nd Place at the annual World
Fastball Invitational this past weekend.

The River Sharks traveled to Monkton, Ontario this past weekend
to compete in the 3rd annual World Fastball Invitational tournament.
 The competition was to be extremely tough, as 8 of the top 11
teams in the world would be at the tournament all trying to both
win the tournament and improve on their ISC rankings prior to
the World Tournament in August.

The River Sharks kicked off their tournament schedule against
the current world champions and # 1 ranked, County Materials
from Marathon, Wisconsin.  This game would mark the first time
this year that the Sharks competed against a team ranked higher
then themselves.  The Sharks got things going in the top of the
1st inning off of County ace pitcher, Andrew Kirkpatrick.  Mike
Taylor led off the top of the 1st with a single to left field
and after 2 quick outs, Andy Jackson hit an RBI double to score
Taylor.  In the top of the 4th inning the Sharks were at it again.
 Ian Ferhman led off with a single and after being sacrificed
over to 2nd base by Rob O'Brien he came in to score on an RBI
single by Sean O'Brien.  The Sharks added 2 more runs in the
5th inning on singles by Dan Loney, Pat Graham and Ian Fehrman.
 That was all the offense that was needed as pitcher Rob O'Brien
cruised to a complete game victory, giving up only 5 hits and
1 walk, while striking out 11.   Orillia takes a 4 - 0 victory
over the reigning World Champions and prove to everyone that
they belong with the elite teams in fastball.  (Final Score:
Orillia 4 - County 0)

The Sharks second game of the tournament was on Friday against
the 5th ranked Patsy's of New York.  Unfortunately, the Sharks
had a letdown in their play and they were on the losing end of
an 8 - 4 score.  Highlights for the Sharks in this game included
Pat Graham's 2 for 2 (2 walks, 1 single & 1 run home run) at
the plate and Andy Jackson's 2 for 3 at the plate.  Frank Cox
took the loss for the Sharks, giving up 5 runs on 3 hits and
5 walks in just 4 1/3 innings of work.  Michael White came on
in relief and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in 2 2/3 innings.  The
River Sharks now are in a position that they must win their final
round-robin game just to qualify for the playoff round.  (Final
Score: Patsy's 8 - Orillia 4)

In the 3rd game of the tournament, the Sharks took on the number
11 ranked Hefflin Gremlins from Ballston Lake, New York.  The
Sharks again got things going in the top of the 1st inning, scoring
a single run on Barry Kahler's RBI single.  The Sharks then added
2 more runs in the 2nd with an RBI triple by Derrick Zeckman
and then and RBI single by Pat Graham..  The Sharks added 3 more
runs during the game while Sharks pitchers Michael White and
Frank Cox combined on a 6 hit, 2 walk, 3 run performance.  (Final
Score: Orillia 6 - Hefflin 3)

The River Sharks finish the round-robin portion of the tournament
in 2nd place in their division (County finished 1st and Patsy's
finished 3rd).  The Sharks will face the 10th ranked Midland
Explorers early Sunday morning in the quarter final round.  Rob
O'Brien got the start on the rubber for the Sharks and was cruising
right along for the first 5 innings of the game.  Through 5 innings,
O'Brien had only given up 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out
10 Midland batters.  In the top of the 6th inning, Midland struck
for 4 straight singles to end the game for O'Brien.  Frank Cox
game on in relief and promptly gave up a 2-run double to Midland
designated player, Steve Roberts before shutting the door for
the rest of the game.  The Sharks scored 2-runs in the bottom
of the 2nd inning on Derrick Zeckman's RBI triple and then Zeckman
scored on Dan Loneys single.  The Sharks were held scoreless
until the bottom of the 6th inning.  Entering the bottom of the
6th, the Sharks were down 4 - 2 and their tournament was on the
line.  Derrick Zechman got things going again with a bloop single
to left field and then centre fielder Dan Loney stepped to the
plate and launched a 2-run homerun over the right field fence.
 Steve Mullaley followed that up with a home run over the centre
field fence to take the lead and win the game.  (Final Score:
Orillia 5 - Midland 4)

In the semi-final game, the Sharks took on the number 2 ranked
Farm Tavern, from Madison, Wisconsin.  The Sharks would start
the game by loading up the bases in the top of the 1st inning
but come away empty handed.  Meanwhile the Farm got singles from
3 of their 1st 4 batters and at the end of the 1st inning the
Farm had a 2 - 0 lead.  The Sharks got a run back in the top
of the 2nd inning as lead-off hitter, Sean O'Brien was hit by
a pitch, Bob Nydick came in to pinch run for O'Brien, Zeckman
sacrificed Nydick to 2nd base and Nydick scored on a RBI single
by Pat Graham.  The Sharks were able to tie the game in the top
of the 4th inning as hot-hitting Zeckman led-off with a single
and came around to score on Pat Graham's 2nd RBI single of the
game.  The Sharks would take the lead in the top of the 6th as
Pat Graham would add his 3rd RBI of the game, scoring Dan Loney.
 The Sharks would add an insurance run in the top of the 7th
inning, as Zechman's RBI single would score Pat Mackintosh. 
Frank Cox threw the complete game, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits
and 2 walks, while striking out 5.  (Final Score: Orillia 4 -
The Farm 2)

For the third straight tournament, the Orillia River Sharks will
play championship game of the tournament.  The championship game
will be a rematch of the first game of the tournament, as the
Sharks will take on the world champion County Materials.  County
Materials demonstrated why they are the # 1 ranked team as they
hit the ball hard and often.  Frank Cox started on the rubber
for the Sharks and went 3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits
and 1 walk.  Rob O'Brien came on in relief and gave up 4 runs
on 5 hits and 1 walk in his 3 innings of work.  On offense, the
Sharks could only manage 1 hit, by Pat Mackintosh, off County
pitcher Andrew Kirkpatrick.  Final score was County Materials
7 and Orillia River Sharks 0, in a 6 inning mercy rule game.

Carrying extremely hot bats for the River Sharks were 2nd baseman
Derrick Zechman, who went 11 straight at-bats without being put
out and he finished the weekend 9 for 12 at the plate, including
a double and 2 triples, and 3 RBI's.  Also hot at the plate was
1st baseman Pat Graham, finishing the weekend 9 for 19, with
a home run and 6 RBI's.

The River Sharks now have a season record of 27 wins, 4 losses
and 1 tie.  The Sharks will play their last regular season game
league game on Tuesday night is Owen Sound before traveling to
Denmark, Wisconsin to compete in the annual Boys of Summer tournament
on the weekend of July 7 to 9.  On the weekend of July 14 - 16,
the River Sharks will travel back to Orillia to try and become
the first Canadian team to win the Casino Rama World Series of
Fastball Championship.  The Sharks will be playing an exhibition
game in at Kitchener Park in Orillia on Thursday, July 13 prior
to the start of the Casino Rama World Series of Fastball.  Details
of the exhibition game will be announced in the next few days.

From:  "Paul Barnetson" <pmbarney at rogers.com>
http://www.quakerriversharks.com/

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