Here are the season-ending Ontario ISC II Rankings. Congratulations to the Elmira Cubs, vaulting 8 spots to #1 in the rankings. The bracketed numbers refer to the last rankings which were released around July 31.
1 (9) Elmira Cubs – Won the biggest tournament of the year and will be in Kitchener to defend their title on home turf. The best may still be ahead for this team which is a great collection of young players combined with some veteran leadership.
2 (7) Port Elgin Blue Devils – Breezed through their league, but didn’t play in the playoffs due to player shortage – looked very good in Chippewa Falls. Another team with a bright future if they can stay together.
3 (1) Niagara Snappers – Won a lot of tournaments, including the tough Snapper Shootout and Innerkip ISC II Qualifer. Should have most of their team back for next year.
4 (4) Ottawa Team Easton Thunder – Were two feet away from tying their semi-final game at the ToC in the bottom of the seventh. They’ve got the pitching, just need one more bat in the lineup.
5 (2) Tavistock Smully’s Merchants – Another bridesmaid finish in the South Perth league tourney for Tavi. Will likely lose Fred Follings to Shakespeare next year for ISC II play and rumours are swirling about other players moving on, but that shouldn’t take away from an exceptional season.
6 (8) Bridgeport Braves – Dropped a second round playoff game to Elmira at the ToC, but rebounded to win the South Perth league championship.
7 (-) Alvinston Indians – Were as good as anyone in the second half of the season, winning the Glencoe and Alvinston tourneys and finishing tied for third at the ToC.
8 (4) Palermo Athletics – Ran into the Eric Steinbeck buzzsaw in Chippewa Falls, but showed their capabilities in winning the Intermediate elims.
9 (6) Harriston Mercurys – Fell about two feet short in tying their quarter final game against Port Elgin. Will need to take the long way through qualifying to get to Kitchener.
10 (-) Toronto Champion Indians – Won the Ontario Challenge Cup and are in the finals of the Oshawa league.
Honourable mentions:
Orangeville Resolve Kings – opened a lot of eyes in finishing a strong second at the Ontario Challenge Cup.
Waterdown Hammer – finished second in the tough Elkland First Weekend Tournament and lost only once in the GHFL regular season.
Micksburg Twins – hard to go wrong with Cory Costello, who had a monster season and was named to the All-Tournament team at the ToC.
Kitchener Phoenix Outlaws – hit the ball a ton, lead by Tim Dubois. With the right pitching, could step up and make some noise in ISC II. Finished third at the Challenge Cup.
Highgate Rock – strong showing at the Intermediate elims in finishing second and are among the final four in the St. Thomas league.
Glencoe Astros – put up a good showing at the qualifier after losing early and are in the St. Thomas league finals.
Congratulations to all the tournament and league winners this year in what has been an outstanding summer for Ontario fastball.
On a personal note, I want to thank all the teams and players for their support of the ISC II program and for those who love the game and voice their opinions about how to make things better here on ghfl.ca.
There have been many highlights this year, but once again Ontario teams have shown their mettle by not only winning the ISC II championship for a fourth straight year, but all 10 teams made the playoffs and Ontario teams took 7 of the top 8 placings.
The four-team photo with Elmira, Port Elgin, Ottawa & Alvinston was a proud moment for Ontario fastball. Hopefully we’ll see even better things in Kitchener.
Cheers,
Blair Setford
ISC II Commissioner