{"id":571,"date":"2006-07-11T13:02:54","date_gmt":"2006-07-11T21:02:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/?p=571"},"modified":"2006-07-15T13:13:14","modified_gmt":"2006-07-15T21:13:14","slug":"defending-isc-ii-champs-elmira-win-a-thriller-at-innerkip","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/?p=571","title":{"rendered":"Defending ISC II Champs Elmira Win a Thriller at Innerkip"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Sentinenel Review newspaper<\/a><\/strong> in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada:<\/p>\n

Elmira wins thriller<\/strong>
\nTOUCHING BASE: Elmira wins Innerkip tournament<\/p>\n

By Bruce Urquhart – STAFF WRITER<\/p>\n

INNERKIP – The true test of any successful fastball tournament is the calibre of teams it can attract over the two or three days on the diamond. Regardless of beer sales and 50-50 draws, a tournament can\u2019t be considered a winner unless it garners a few of the province\u2019s more high-profile teams. The 2006 Innerkip Eagles Intermediate Fastball Tournament, while not the season\u2019s biggest, definitely passed this admittedly narrow test, attracting some stellar teams to the three-day event.<\/p>\n

Sunday\u2019s championship game was a perfect case in point. With the Elmira Cubs, the defending ISC II champions, facing the Toronto Champion Indians, the reigning Ontario Challenge Cup champions, the fans were already expecting an exciting game. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Still, the pitchers\u2019 duel that ensued \u2013 an eight-inning marathon that was decided by a single run \u2013 easily exceeded these expectations. The Cubs eventually emerged as the victors, turning an Adam River triple and a wild pitch into a 1-0 win. Steve Ketchell, the Toronto reliever, had been throwing strikes since taking the mound midway through the sixth, but then made the one mistake, hurling the ball about one metre above the batter\u2019s head. With catcher Mark French digging for the ball, River decided to gamble and was rewarded when he beat the tag. It was the first run Ketchell had surrendered in three games.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were talking about that (wild pitch),\u201d Elmira starter Casey Halstead said. \u201cThat\u2019s just the way the game of fastball goes.\u201d With this one noted exception, the pitching in this championship was flawless. Between Halstead and the two Toronto hurlers, there were only 11 hits scattered through the extra-inning game. Halstead was definitely had his stuff in the complete-game victory, fanning seven Toronto batters to earn the shutout. \u201cThe nerves do get a little shaky,\u201d Halstead admitted, \u201cbut you\u2019ve got to bear down and throw the ball like you can.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Elmira pitcher was definitely getting to the Toronto batters. After having one of the more potent offences during the tournament\u2019s preliminary and playoff games, the Indians were growing frustrated with their lack of production in the championship. \u201cThe guy throws them hard down,\u201d said Toronto\u2019s Jamie Murchison after striking out in the fourth. \u201cThat\u2019s what I want.\u201d Halstead, though, shared credit for the victory with his fielders, saying the team\u2019s defence was the main reason the Cubs finished with the trophy. During the sixth and seventh innings, when the Indians eked out a couple of hits, the Elmira defence did buckle down and get the outs, stopping the Toronto club from really getting started. \u201c\u201dYou\u2019ve got to give a lot of respect to the defence,\u201d Halstead said. Of course, the same kudos for pitching and defence could be offered to the Indians. Ketchell and Tom Berube, the Toronto starter, were solid through their combined eight innings, keeping Elmira stalled until that ill-fated eighth. Berube struck out five during his five-plus innings of work, allowing the usually dangerous Cubs only four hits. Ketchell, despite the one pitch, was just as impressive. With two Elmira runners on base after an error by third baseman Cyril Nibbs, Ketchell struck out two straight batters to end the inning and get his team out of trouble. The Toronto reliever finished with a total of five strikeouts while only allowing a single hit. \u201cOur pitching staff and defence were just great all weekend,\u201d Toronto coach Carl Dusome said. \u201cWe made that one error at third base in the final, but that was it. \u201cIt was like that throughout the entire tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both the Cubs and the Indians were impressed with the calibre of teams at the Innerkip tournament, which, Dusome said, was the entire point for making the trip. With the provincial tournament less than a month away, the Toronto coach said his team wanted some real competition \u201cright at our level.\u201d \u201cThe competition here was excellent,\u201d Dusome said. \u201cWe lost 1-0 in extra innings to Elmira, the No. 1 ranked team, and that showed us where we stood.\u201d
\nWhile the local teams didn\u2019t fare as well, there wasn\u2019t too much disappointment. Woodstock Kelsey\u2019s might not have defended their championship, but like the Indians, they still managed to get in some quality games before the provincials.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is possibly the strongest this tournament has ever been,\u201d Woodstock catcher Darin Kitching said. \u201cIt was good to come out and see some strong pitching.\u201d Woodstock did manage to make it through to the semifinals but couldn\u2019t get the bats working against Toronto. While Kelsey\u2019s enjoyed solid pitching from Steven Running and Mike Pullin, they couldn\u2019t manage a run in the eventual 2-0 loss. \u201cI think we played pretty well,\u201d Kitching said. \u201cI\u2019m not at all disappointed with the way we played, and we lost to strong team.\u201d The Innerkip Orioles also made the playoffs in the tournament but lost 6-5 in a tight quarter-final with Woodstock, their Oxford County rivals. The Orioles will have a chance at revenge on Wednesday when they host Woodstock in Tri-County league play. The Hickson Reds, the third Oxford club, managed one win in the round robin but didn\u2019t get to play on Sunday. In fact, every one of the eight teams in the tournament did manage at least one win, which was further proof of the calibre of club that Innerkip attracted. \u201cThere was some good ball here,\u201d agreed Eagles manager Jeff Whetstone. \u201cThere were no complaints at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Innerkip, On<\/p>\n

Division A
\n#1 Elmira Cubs
\n#15 Palermo A’s
\nWoodstock Kelseys
\nSt. Marys Gunners<\/p>\n

Division B
\n#8 Alvinston Indians
\n#20 Toronto Champions
\nHickson Reds
\nInnerkip Orioles<\/p>\n

Game 1 Woodstock 4 St. Marys 1
\nGame 2 Palermo 4 Elmira 3
\nGame 3 Innerkip 4 Hickson 2
\nGame 4Toronto 2 Alvinston 2
\nGame 5 Elmira 5 Woodstock 1
\nGame 6 St. Marys 4 Palermo 0
\nGame 7 Alvinston 2 Innerkip 0
\nGame 8 Hickson 5 Toronto 4
\nGame 9 Elmira 7 St. Marys 0
\nGame 10 Woodstock 10 Palermo 3
\nGame 11 Alvinston 7 Hickson 0
\nGame 12 Toronto 7 Innerkip 0<\/p>\n

Standings after Divisional Games
\nDivision A
\nElmira 2-1 – 1st Place ( Defeated Woodstock)
\nWoodstock 2-1 – 2nd Place
\nSt. Marys 1-2 – 3rd Place (Defeated Palermo)
\nPalermo 1-2 – 4th Place – Eliminated<\/p>\n

Division B
\nToronto 2-1 – 1st Place ( Defeated Alvinston)
\nAlvinston 2-1 – 2nd Place
\nInnerkip 1-2 – 3rd Place (Defeated Hickson)
\nHickson 1-2 – 4th Place – Eliminated<\/p>\n

Playoffs
\nQuarter Finals
\nWoodstock 6 Innerkip 5
\nWinning Pitcher – Mike Pullin
\nLosing Pitcher – Adam Smith<\/p>\n

Alvinston 7 St. Marys 5
\nWinning Pitcher – Doug Charlton
\nLosing Pitcher – Steve Cooke<\/p>\n

Semi Finals
\nToronto 2 Woodstock 0
\nWinning Pitcher- Steve Ketchell
\nLosing Pitcher – Steve Running<\/p>\n

Elmira 4 Alvinston 3
\nWinning Pitcher – Casey Halstead
\nLosing Pitcher – Doug Charlton<\/p>\n

Finals
\nElmira 1 Toronto 0 – 8 innings
\nWinning Pitcher – Casey Halstead
\nLosing Pitcher – Steve Ketchell<\/p>\n

Congratulations to the Elmira Cubs and the Toronto Champions.<\/p>\n

The Innerkip Bright Cheese House Eagles would like to thank the Innerkip Parks and Rec, Joe Todd, Joe Ross and Matt Lowes for all of their work during the weekend<\/p>\n

From: “Jeff Whetstone” <\/eaglesfastball><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Sentinenel Review newspaper in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada: Elmira wins thriller TOUCHING BASE: Elmira wins Innerkip tournament By Bruce Urquhart – STAFF WRITER INNERKIP – The true test of any successful fastball tournament is the calibre of teams it can attract over the two or three days on the diamond. Regardless of beer sales […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=571"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}