{"id":808,"date":"2007-08-09T12:02:35","date_gmt":"2007-08-09T20:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/?p=808"},"modified":"2007-08-09T12:02:35","modified_gmt":"2007-08-09T20:02:35","slug":"mitchell-mets-gear-up-for-world-tournament","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/?p=808","title":{"rendered":"Mitchell Mets gear up for world tournament"},"content":{"rendered":"

From the Mitchell Advocate<\/a>
\nNeed to keep clicking in all facets of game to have a shot at title, coach says <\/p>\n

By Andy Bader
\nWednesday August 08, 2007<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Mitchell Mets have two final tune-up games prior to the start of the International Softball Congress (ISC) II Tournament of Champions tournament in Kitchener and Cambridge next week – and they hope to better last year\u2019s finish.
\nThe Mets, 5-1 losers to the Shakespeare Falcons last Wednesday (who are also entered in the T of C), host Linwood tonight (Wednesday) before a re-match is set with the Falcons this Saturday in Shakespeare.
\nThe games will be solid tests, as both the 86ers and Falcons are also in the T of C, along with five other South Perth Men\u2019s Fastball League (SPMFL) squads, including the defending champions from Tavistock.
\nBut coach Bob Ward is confident that the club, as long as they continue to hit the ball and play as well as they have this season, will fare out fine at the T of C.
\n\u201cI think we have a good shot at it – our pitching is going to be there, definitely our defence and we hit the ball,\u201d he said last week. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to hit the ball – if you don\u2019t in this tournament, you\u2019re in trouble.\u201d
\nThe Mets have averaged more than six runs per league game this season, and although it\u2019s doubtful they won\u2019t amass such offense against top quality teams at the T of C, look for their offense to carry them.
\nVeterans Jeff Pauli, his brother Dennis, Kevin Gettler, Kevin Quipp and Darryl Eidt have hit the ball well most of the season for the Mets, and with steady contributions from centerfielder A.J. Moses, catcher Matt McGill and second baseman Joe Harris, the club looks to continue to put the ball in play and make things happen offensively.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d say our top six batters have been as good as anybody in the league,\u201d Ward said. \u201c And the guys we\u2019ve picked up are going to help out, too. It may be difficult to work guys in, but depth will be an asset. It\u2019s going to be nice for the puposes of when we do get into some tight games, we\u2019ve got some bench that you can throw a guy in to run.\u201d
\nThe Mets bolstered their lineup with two members of the Mitchell Jr. Chiefs, middle infielders Scott Lealess and Kevin Ward, as well as outfielder Scott Kemp and pitcher Jeff Smith from the Monkton Muskrats.
\nKevin Pomfret is the Mets\u2019 ace, and is rounding into form, although he did suffer the loss to the Falcons last week. He struck out 12 in the complete-game, but was hurt by his defence, normally a strong part of the Mets\u2019 game.
\nWard agreed that defence is a key element of the game, and in their loss to the Falcons, they made some errors early which led to two unearned early runs.
\n\u201cIf you make the other team earn every run they get, it\u2019s a lot easier on us,\u201d he said.
\nAlso expecting some pitching duty is Garnet Kraemer, Jeff Pauli, Kevin Gettler and Smith. Others on the team include outfielders Mark Bye and Kory Dietz and infielder Daryl O\u2019Connell.
\nThe club opens the 35-team tournament (seven pools of five teams each) next Tuesday, Aug. 14 at 4 p.m. against Glencoe at Budd Park in Kitchener. On Wednesday, Aug. 15, the Mets will take on Ottawa Valley at Riverside Park in Cambridge at 3:30 p.m., and conclude the round-robin Thursday, Aug. 16, against Palermo (last year\u2019s runner-up), at 11:30 a.m., at Riverside, and again at 4:30 p.m., also at Riverside, when they take on South Lebanon, Pennsylvania.
\nPlayoffs, if the Mets qualify, will take place Friday with the final set for Saturday as part of the ISC World Championship final.
\nLast year, the Mets went 3-1 in their division and won their pool, but dropped their first playoff game to Ashland, Ohio.
\nOther SPMFL teams to participate other than those already mentioned include the host Bridgeport Braves, Hickson Reds, Wellington Brewers and Harriston Mercurys.
\nAgainst the Falcons in their loss last week, Jeff Pauli\u2019s RBI-single was one of four hits yielded by Shakespeare pitcher Fred Follings, who struck out 11. Moses hit a single and walked twice, while Quipp legged out a double. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Mitchell Advocate Need to keep clicking in all facets of game to have a shot at title, coach says By Andy Bader Wednesday August 08, 2007 The Mitchell Mets have two final tune-up games prior to the start of the International Softball Congress (ISC) II Tournament of Champions tournament in Kitchener and Cambridge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808"}],"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=808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}