​Kincardine U13 Cardinals take Ontario “B” Championship

The Kincardine Under-13 (U13) Cardinals had a great weekend, capping off the season by taking the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) “B” Championship.

The team went 31-5 overall, taking home two “A”-and-below tournament championships – Kincardine Minor Ball Association, and Saugeen Shores - and a hard-fought second at the Mitchell tournament.

Building this squad from September to April was based on having the "right guys," and the final 13 were just that. Right off the hop, October's main message/team goal and challenge was being "great teammates" and that continued to show and grow as the season went on, with challenges being met and success shared as a team.

A committed group of players who loved the game, and parents who supported them, was a big part of the boys having fun, being engaged and developing.

Guest coaches Scott Austin, Owen Krauter, (Rob Butler - thank you for your support) and other drop-in helpers, morning and evening practices, skills competitions and nights out on the diamond with the junior team, made the learning fun. With great "attitude and effort" the focus all season, the boys were excited to play.

After winning the All-Ontario “D” twice, head coach Ryan Fraser thought the team should move up two divisions and challenge the “B” level at provincials.

A hard-fought, early-on battle with Ancaster helped get the first-game nerves out and move onto Saturday to play a strong Tecumseh team from Windsor which had played 40 games-plus over the season. Tecumseh came out strong and got eight runs early in the game. With no quitting, the Cards chipped away and made it a "ball game," coming back and scoring nine and playing solid defence to secure the second win.

With rain delaying games and getting the first round bye, the boys had time to rest until Super Sunday.

Sunday at 7:15 a.m. at the ball park is what they played for all season and the boys were awake and ready to play. Facing a loud-cheering and strong Tillsonburg team out of the London loop, proved no easy task. A tight back-and-forth battle had the Cards respond once again and take a 12-11 nail-biter.

A guarantee to go to the semis and being 3-0 was a good feeling.

The game against Waterdown started out also as a tight one but the Cards took some late innings to open it up and pull ahead for a route to the finals.

Stratford was the talk of the tournament and the Cardinals knew a team that played its season in the Tier 1 ICBA loop would be good, but the boys knew they could compete with anyone. Stratford also proved to be a solid team and scored first. The Cards responded with a run and solid defence and pitching, like every other game.

Inning-by-inning, the Cards chipped away and were able to hold on even when Stratford started to rally. This tournament win was a total team effort. All 13 players contributed with base-running, hitting, pitching, defence and bench support when not playing.

Em, Bri, Easton, Carson, Colby, Cade, Rick, Brett, Lane, Lenny, Quinn, Corson and Will made this a season to remember! Well done boys, mission accomplished!