The Port Lambton Peewee OBA Pirates travelled to Simcoe Ontario this past weekend (July 5th to 7th) to compete in the Simcoe Giants A Tournament.
On Friday night the Pirates faced-off against the Kitchener Panthers Tier 3 and outscored the Panthers 10-0 after just 2 innings of play. Strong pitching and defense held the Panthers to just 2 runs with the Pirates cruising to 22-2 victory. Drew Bunda started the game and pitched 3 innings giving up just 2 runs while striking out 3. Geremia Nappi finished off the game pitching 1 inning, striking out 2. The Pirates bats were on fire with multiple hits recorded by Ryan Bowen, Drew Bunda and Lucas Laprise. Gavin Meriano had 4 RBI’s and Tom Blundy had 3 RBI’s to help pace the win.
Early Saturday morning the Pirates were up against a strong Northumberland Jacks team. With the score close the Pirates bats chiseled away at the Northumberland Jack’s pitching coming away with a 7-2 win. Chase Belland started the game striking out 4 in 3 scoreless innings. Tom Blundy finished off the Jacks allowing 0 earned runs. Strong Northumberland pitching held the Pirates to just 6 hits in the game but RBI’s by Bunda, Nappi, Meriano, Blundy, Jack Martin and Nash Lane were enough for the Pirates to continue in the tournament 2-0.
The weather on Saturday had scattered thunderstorms and the Pirates game against the Milton Mets was delayed until later in the afternoon. That didn’t seem to bother the Pirates bats as they put up 14 runs in 5 innings beating the Mets 14-5. Laprise started the game pitching 2-2/3 innings allowing 0 earned runs while striking out 5. Meriano finished off the Mets striking out 1 in 2-1/3 innings pitched. A balanced lineup put up 9 hits against Mets pitching with Meriano recording 2 hits and 3 RBI’s. Nappi, Blundy, and Lane each chipped in with an RBI to help secure the win.
The tournament started with 12 teams and after round robin play the Pirates secured top spot among the remaining 8 teams. That set up a Sunday morning quarter-final game against a very tough Kitchener Panthers Tier 2 team. Starting the game Laprise held the game close pitching 4-2/3 innings and striking out 5 Panthers. With the Panthers holding a 3-2 lead and the Pirates down to their last 3 outs Bowen drew a walk to start the inning. The intense inning continued with Bowen creating havoc on the bases stealing second and advancing to 3rd on a failed pickoff attempt. With one out, Nappi lined a clutch single to tie the game at 3. A stolen base and a balk got Nappi to 3rd and a hard ground ball by Laprise scored Nappi to seal the walk off win. Excellent pitching and defense by the Pirates set up for a dramatic finish. Blundy was stellar on the mound to help secure the win for the Pirates striking out 2 in 1-1/3 innings pitched.
Next up in the Semi-final game the Pirates squared off against the Guelph Royals and the Pirates cruised to an 8-1 victory thanks to a brilliant pitching performance by Bunda. Bunda held the Royals hitters to just one run striking out 4 in 6 innings pitched. Blundy again in relief secured the win striking out 2 in the final inning. The Pirates bats were led by Bowen and Bunda who both registered 2 hits each to help pace the offense. Laprise and Meriano each had 2 RBI’s with Bunda, Nappi, Blundy, Lane and Belland each chipping in with one RBI each.
The Championship game featured the Welland Mustangs and the Pirates. The Pirates again got great starting pitching with Chase Belland putting together a dominate performance on the mound striking out 9 Welland Mustang batters in 4-2/3 innings pitched. The Pirates bats remained on fire and put up 15 runs in 5 innings to beat the Mustangs 15-0 and take the championship title. Blundy once again secured the win in relief by striking out the last Welland Mustang batter to end the game. The bats were led by Nappi, Meriano, Blundy and Nash Grealis who each recorded multiple hits. Blundy with 4 RBI’s, Bowen with 3 RBI’s, Nappi and Grealis with 2 and Bunda, Laprise and Jack Martin each with an RBI.
A successful undefeated weekend by all players featured strong infield defense by Belland, Lane, Grealis, Bunda, Blundy, Meriano and Laprise. The outfield was equally impressive with strong defense from Austin Martin, Jack Martin, Vinny Hunter, Nash Grealis, Nash Lane and Geremia Nappi.
Tournament game MVP’s were awarded to Ryan Bowen, Austin Martin, Drew Bunda, Geremia Nappi and Lucas Laprise with 2.
Congratulations to the Port Lambton Peewee OBA Pirates and coaching staff who capped off an impressive weekend by outscoring their competition 70 -13 capturing the Championship with an undefeated record.