Reprinted with permission from the Woodstock Sent.
By Darryl G. Smart
Sports Editor
INGERSOLL — The rankings have them at the bottom but that’s not going to bother the Ingersoll Crush when they go to Kitchener for the Intarnational Softball Congress II Tournament of Champions. The Crush, who have qualified for the ISC II ToC for the first time, will have a good mix of youth and veterans. “I think our team chemistry is our biggest strength by far,” Crush manager Rob Deakin said. “We all eat, drink and hang out with each other. This is a real close-knit team and I think that will help us in a tournament like this.” Having umpired in the ISC worlds several times, Deakin knows about the magnitude of the ToC, which is something he said the younger players will learn in a hurry. “We have the veterans to calm the young guys’ nerves down. I know we’ve played a lot of these teams before and have done well against them. But this is the Tournament of Champions. The level of ball is raised, which something I want them to experience.”
The Crush have had a solid season thus far in the Tri-County Men’s Fastball League, but consistency has plagued them at times. “I think if we play error-free ball and get rid of the mental errors, I think we could make it to the playoffs, where anything can happen,” he said.
And the Crush just have to look at the Tavistock Merchants for inspiration. Ranked 22nd heading into last year’s ToC, the Merchants got on a roll and beat the 32nd-ranked Palermo Athletics in the final. The 35th-ranked Crush will begin their quest to climb the ladder Tuesday against the Kingston Cowboys at 7:30 p.m. On Wednesday at 11 a.m., they will take on the Hoffman Rise and then the Elora Brewers at 5:30 p.m.The Crush will round out the round-robin with the Rockwood Rush Thursday at 11:30 a.m.
“It doesn’t matter who we’re going to play, every game’s going to be tough,” Deakin said. “But I really think we can have a 2-2 record and maybe get into the playoffs. But the main thing is that our guys enjoy the tournament and take in the experience.” Deakin said not only has the team been committed to doing well at the ToC, sponsors like Elgie Trucking have been important.