Elmira wins thriller
TOUCHING BASE: Elmira wins Innerkip tournament
By Bruce Urquhart - STAFF WRITER
Monday July 10, 2006
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’t be considered a winner unless it garners a few of the province’s more high-profile teams. The 2006 Innerkip Eagles Intermediate Fastball Tournament, while not the season’s biggest, definitely passed this admittedly narrow test, attracting some stellar teams to the three-day event.
Sunday’s 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. Still, the pitchers’ duel that ensued – an eight-inning marathon that was decided by a single run – 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’s 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.
“We were talking about that (wild pitch),” Elmira starter Casey Halstead said. “That’s just the way the game of fastball goes.”
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.
“The nerves do get a little shaky,” Halstead admitted, “but you’ve got to bear down and throw the ball like you can.”
The Elmira pitcher was definitely getting to the Toronto batters. After having one of the more potent offences during the tournament’s preliminary and playoff games, the Indians were growing frustrated with their lack of production in the championship.
“The guy throws them hard down,” said Toronto’s Jamie Murchison after striking out in the fourth. “That’s what I want.”
Halstead, though, shared credit for the victory with his fielders, saying the team’s 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.
“”You’ve got to give a lot of respect to the defence,” 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.
“Our pitching staff and defence were just great all weekend,” Toronto coach Carl Dusome said. “We made that one error at third base in the final, but that was it.
“It was like that throughout the entire tournament.”
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 “right at our level.”
“The competition here was excellent,” Dusome said. “We lost 1-0 in extra innings to Elmira, the No. 1 ranked team, and that showed us where we stood.”
While the local teams didn’t fare as well, there wasn’t too much disappointment. Woodstock Kelsey’s might not have defended their championship, but like the Indians, they still managed to get in some quality games before the provincials.
“This is possibly the strongest this tournament has ever been,” Woodstock catcher Darin Kitching said. “It was good to come out and see some strong pitching.”
Woodstock did manage to make it through to the semifinals but couldn’t get the bats working against Toronto. While Kelsey’s enjoyed solid pitching from Steven Running and Mike Pullin, they couldn’t manage a run in the eventual 2-0 loss.
“I think we played pretty well,” Kitching said. “I’m not at all disappointed with the way we played, and we lost to strong team.”
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’t 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.
“There was some good ball here,” agreed Eagles manager Jeff Whetstone. “There were no complaints at all.”
Woodstock Sentinel-Review, Woodstock, ON
