Orillia River Sharks finish in 2nd Place at the annual World Fastball Invitational this past weekend.
The River Sharks traveled to Monkton, Ontario this past weekend to compete in the 3rd annual World Fastball Invitational tournament. The competition was to be extremely tough, as 8 of the top 11 teams in the world would be at the tournament all trying to both win the tournament and improve on their ISC rankings prior to the World Tournament in August.
The River Sharks kicked off their tournament schedule against the current world champions and # 1 ranked, County Materials from Marathon, Wisconsin. This game would mark the first time this year that the Sharks competed against a team ranked higher then themselves. The Sharks got things going in the top of the 1st inning off of County ace pitcher, Andrew Kirkpatrick. Mike Taylor led off the top of the 1st with a single to left field and after 2 quick outs, Andy Jackson hit an RBI double to score Taylor. In the top of the 4th inning the Sharks were at it again. Ian Ferhman led off with a single and after being sacrificed over to 2nd base by Rob O'Brien he came in to score on an RBI single by Sean O'Brien. The Sharks added 2 more runs in the 5th inning on singles by Dan Loney, Pat Graham and Ian Fehrman. That was all the offense that was needed as pitcher Rob O'Brien cruised to a complete game victory, giving up only 5 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 11. Orillia takes a 4 - 0 victory over the reigning World Champions and prove to everyone that they belong with the elite teams in fastball. (Final Score: Orillia 4 - County 0)
The Sharks second game of the tournament was on Friday against the 5th ranked Patsy's of New York. Unfortunately, the Sharks had a letdown in their play and they were on the losing end of an 8 - 4 score. Highlights for the Sharks in this game included Pat Graham's 2 for 2 (2 walks, 1 single & 1 run home run) at the plate and Andy Jackson's 2 for 3 at the plate. Frank Cox took the loss for the Sharks, giving up 5 runs on 3 hits and 5 walks in just 4 1/3 innings of work. Michael White came on in relief and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits in 2 2/3 innings. The River Sharks now are in a position that they must win their final round-robin game just to qualify for the playoff round. (Final Score: Patsy's 8 - Orillia 4)
In the 3rd game of the tournament, the Sharks took on the number 11 ranked Hefflin Gremlins from Ballston Lake, New York. The Sharks again got things going in the top of the 1st inning, scoring a single run on Barry Kahler's RBI single. The Sharks then added 2 more runs in the 2nd with an RBI triple by Derrick Zeckman and then and RBI single by Pat Graham.. The Sharks added 3 more runs during the game while Sharks pitchers Michael White and Frank Cox combined on a 6 hit, 2 walk, 3 run performance. (Final Score: Orillia 6 - Hefflin 3)
The River Sharks finish the round-robin portion of the tournament in 2nd place in their division (County finished 1st and Patsy's finished 3rd). The Sharks will face the 10th ranked Midland Explorers early Sunday morning in the quarter final round. Rob O'Brien got the start on the rubber for the Sharks and was cruising right along for the first 5 innings of the game. Through 5 innings, O'Brien had only given up 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 10 Midland batters. In the top of the 6th inning, Midland struck for 4 straight singles to end the game for O'Brien. Frank Cox game on in relief and promptly gave up a 2-run double to Midland designated player, Steve Roberts before shutting the door for the rest of the game. The Sharks scored 2-runs in the bottom of the 2nd inning on Derrick Zeckman's RBI triple and then Zeckman scored on Dan Loneys single. The Sharks were held scoreless until the bottom of the 6th inning. Entering the bottom of the 6th, the Sharks were down 4 - 2 and their tournament was on the line. Derrick Zechman got things going again with a bloop single to left field and then centre fielder Dan Loney stepped to the plate and launched a 2-run homerun over the right field fence. Steve Mullaley followed that up with a home run over the centre field fence to take the lead and win the game. (Final Score: Orillia 5 - Midland 4)
In the semi-final game, the Sharks took on the number 2 ranked Farm Tavern, from Madison, Wisconsin. The Sharks would start the game by loading up the bases in the top of the 1st inning but come away empty handed. Meanwhile the Farm got singles from 3 of their 1st 4 batters and at the end of the 1st inning the Farm had a 2 - 0 lead. The Sharks got a run back in the top of the 2nd inning as lead-off hitter, Sean O'Brien was hit by a pitch, Bob Nydick came in to pinch run for O'Brien, Zeckman sacrificed Nydick to 2nd base and Nydick scored on a RBI single by Pat Graham. The Sharks were able to tie the game in the top of the 4th inning as hot-hitting Zeckman led-off with a single and came around to score on Pat Graham's 2nd RBI single of the game. The Sharks would take the lead in the top of the 6th as Pat Graham would add his 3rd RBI of the game, scoring Dan Loney. The Sharks would add an insurance run in the top of the 7th inning, as Zechman's RBI single would score Pat Mackintosh. Frank Cox threw the complete game, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. (Final Score: Orillia 4 - The Farm 2)
For the third straight tournament, the Orillia River Sharks will play championship game of the tournament. The championship game will be a rematch of the first game of the tournament, as the Sharks will take on the world champion County Materials. County Materials demonstrated why they are the # 1 ranked team as they hit the ball hard and often. Frank Cox started on the rubber for the Sharks and went 3 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk. Rob O'Brien came on in relief and gave up 4 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk in his 3 innings of work. On offense, the Sharks could only manage 1 hit, by Pat Mackintosh, off County pitcher Andrew Kirkpatrick. Final score was County Materials 7 and Orillia River Sharks 0, in a 6 inning mercy rule game.
Carrying extremely hot bats for the River Sharks were 2nd baseman Derrick Zechman, who went 11 straight at-bats without being put out and he finished the weekend 9 for 12 at the plate, including a double and 2 triples, and 3 RBI's. Also hot at the plate was 1st baseman Pat Graham, finishing the weekend 9 for 19, with a home run and 6 RBI's.
The River Sharks now have a season record of 27 wins, 4 losses and 1 tie. The Sharks will play their last regular season game league game on Tuesday night is Owen Sound before traveling to Denmark, Wisconsin to compete in the annual Boys of Summer tournament on the weekend of July 7 to 9. On the weekend of July 14 - 16, the River Sharks will travel back to Orillia to try and become the first Canadian team to win the Casino Rama World Series of Fastball Championship. The Sharks will be playing an exhibition game in at Kitchener Park in Orillia on Thursday, July 13 prior to the start of the Casino Rama World Series of Fastball. Details of the exhibition game will be announced in the next few days.
