Ottawa, ON
The Upper Ottawa Valley Men’s Fastball League and the Greater Ottawa Fastball League final series are continuing, with both series currently tied.
In the UOVMFL, the defending champions Micksburg, ON Twins are tied with the Campbell’s Bay, QC Royals at two games apiece in the best of seven series. In the GOFL, the defending champions Kanata, ON Team Easton are tied with the Stittsville, ON 56ers one game each in the best of five finals. All games are being played in Stittsville.
After winning game one in the UOVMFL 8-0, Micksburg won game two at the Royals playoff home in Bryson, QC by a score of 1-0 on September 2. Corey Costello of the Twins threw his second consecutive one-hit shutout registering 16 strikeouts, with Len Burger taking the loss for Campbell’s Bay. Kerr Childerhose drove in the winning run.
Game three back in Micksburg on September 7 was looking like another Twins victory with Costello bringing a 2-0 lead into the top of the seventh. However, the Royals bats finally came alive, with Campbell’s Bay breaking through with a six-run inning off Costello and Dwight Mick. Costello took the loss, and Len Burger had the victory and also scored the game-winning run for Campbell’s Bay.
Game four on the Quebec side was another Campbell’s Bay victory to knot the series at two games. Final score was 4-3 for the Royals, with Len Burger getting his fifth win of the playoffs. Dwight Mick took the loss for Micksburg with Corey Costello on the sidelines with a sore knee. Young Matt Greer hit two homeruns for Campbell’s Bay, with Kevin Humphries replying with a homerun for Micksburg.
Game five will be played Friday September 16 at 8:30PM in Micksburg and a large crowd is expected to be on hand. At this time, Corey Costello is a tentative starter for the Twins, depending on the state of his knee. Game six will be Thursday September 22 in Bryson at 8PM, with a deciding game seven scheduled for Wednesday September 28 in Micksburg at 8:30PM if necessary.
In the GOFL, Team Easton took game one on September 7 by a score of 6-4. Dan Konkle scattered eight hits in the win, registering 14 strikeouts. Dan Bradley suffered his first loss of the playoffs. Stittsville had built up a 3-0 lead after three innings, but Team Easton came back for the victory. Greg McMillan had a two run homer for the 56ers. John Peck and Dave Tubman had home runs for Team Easton and Todd Fraser had a two-run double.
In game two, Stittsville tied the series with a 1-0 victory on September 11. Dan Konkle took the loss on an unearned run in the first, pitching two innings in total, with Bill Gerber holding the 56ers scoreless in relief over five innings. Dan Bradley had the shutout victory throwing a two-hitter, not allowing a runner past second base.
Game three was originally scheduled for September 14, but was rained out. Game three has been rescheduled for Sunday September 18 with a tentative start time of 7:30PM. This time is subject to change, as a doubleheader may be played.
The GOFL playoff champion will face the UOVMFL champion in the inaugural best of three regional championship.
Rumours are circulating in the GOFL about potential expansion for the 2006 season. Potential new teams include the Antrim Truck Stop team, playing out of Pakenham, ON, as well as Neil Cooke’s I4C Victory team that recently participated in the Elkland Labour Day tourney in Pennsylvania. There are also rumours of a team or teams joining the GOFL from the Ottawa RA league.
Adam Brown