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ORIGINAL STORY by Darryl G. Smart
 
The road to the International Softball Congress world championship has begun just the way the Hill United Chiefs wanted.
Over the weekend, the Six Nations-based fastball team won the Legends of Fastball Tournament in Kitchener, its second consecutive tournament victory of the season
"It was a great weekend for us," team representative Bryan Porter said.
"It was the first time our entire team was together this season. It was a great result, and showed us we have plenty to work on still."
The Chiefs, who were one game away from winning the ISC world title last year, followed up their championship performance two weeks ago in Coburg with another impressive showing, beating the Scarborough Force 4-2 in the final.
After jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, the Chiefs added another in the fifth, before the Force responded with one of their own in the bottom half of the inning.
Jason Hill's home run in the sixth inning proved to be the winning run after both teams added one each in the seventh.
Adam Folkard earned the win, striking out eight, walking one, and giving up four hits.
In the semifinal, Brad Ezekiel and Jeff Ellsworth each hit a homerun, a single and two runs batted in to lead the Chiefs to a 5-4 win over the Shakespeare Falcons.
Mitch Hardy got the win on the mound giving up one run on five hits in four innings, before Jason Hill and Folkard cleaned things up as the Falcons surged back in the fifth with three runs.
To earn a spot in the semifinal, Grant Patterson got the victory, throwing a three-hitter, while giving up four hits, in a 10-3 win over the defending world champion Jarvis Hallman Twins.
The Chiefs only blemish of the weekend was a 5-0 loss to the Force on Saturday afternoon after beating the Niagara Snappers 3-0 and Elmira Expos 12-5 in the other two round robin games.
"This weekend showed a lot," Porter said. "It showed that there is a lot of parity within senior men's fastball, which is great for the fans."
It also means nothing is guaranteed for the second-ranked Chiefs.
"Losing that game was a good thing for us," Porter said. "It took that complacency away from us.
"It seems a lot more competitive with a lot more parity," he said.
"I think it'll be anybody's game any given time, and that's what you want. There won't be any easy walks in the park. Scarborough added Donny Scott, who pitched for us (at the AAU championships) in Florida. They also got a bunch of strong hitters.
"They're definitely looking good. They can hang with anyone. It wasn't a shock when they beat us. They played well and we didn't capitalize on our chances. They earned it, which is something every team will have to do this year by the looks of things."
BATTER'S BOX: The ISC came out with its mid-June rankings. The Twins hold the No. 1 spot, with the Chiefs behind them in second. The Gremlins are third, PA Power are fourth, California A's fifth, the Force sixth, Kegal Black Knights (Fargo, ND.) are seventh, Sooke (BC) Loggers eighth, Circle Tap (Denmark WI) ninth, and the Minnesota Angels are 10th.
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Next games
Next up for the Hill United Chiefs is the North American Fastball Challenge in Jarvis on the weekend.
They start with the Twins on Friday at 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, they take on the PA Power at 10 a.m., New York Gremlins at 2 p.m., and the Force at 6:30 p.m., with the playoffs to follow on Sunday.
