Shamrock mosquitoes lose in provincial finals

With the Select Ontario Baseball Association provincials slated for Labour Day weekend, a handful of the Sudbury Shamrocks rep teams were looking to cap off strong summer performances with a run at the medals.

The local mosquitoes were viewed as having the greatest upside, with a pair of tournament banners already safely stowed away back home. Playing in a double-knockout format, the young Shamrocks opened with a solid 12-5 win over the Brampton Blue Jays on Friday in Richmond Hill.

Saturday morning did not go as planned as a lack of timely hitting cost the northern crew, falling 9-6 to the Orillia Royals and leaving themselves with absolutely no wiggle room moving forward.

Thankfully, the team did not need a cushion, running off victories over the Kingston Thunder (15-3), the Blue Jays (11-1) for a second time and Oakville (22-12). Little surprise that this would lead the Shamrocks right back to the Royals, as Sudbury and Orillia squared off in the finals.

With the Royals boasting an undefeated record entering play on Sunday, the Shamrocks would need back-to-back wins in order to secure the championship crown. The team gave themselves a shot, recording a 10-7 triumph and forcing a "winner take all" grand finale.

Unfortunately, the Shamrocks could not duplicate their efforts, dropping a 22-6 decision to the deserving all-Ontario champions from Orillia. The squad did not come home empty-handed, with Keenan Castle recognized as "Defensive Player of the Tournament" while Cole Goudreau earned "Most Sportsmanlike" honours for the provincial silver medallists.

The Sudbury Peewee Shamrocks finished just one step back from their younger brethren, despite suffering a 13-0 whitewash at the hands of Guelph right out of the gate. The team rallied on Saturday, knocking off Richmond Hill (9-4), East Mountain (12-6) and Beaver Valley (8-7) in rapid succession.

Now in the semifinals, the Shamrocks lost 14-6 to Bloordale, as Joseph Guzzo finished the tournament with a pair of wins on the mound, with Tanner Morrison chalking up the other.

Offensively, the Peewee Shamrocks were led by Braedan Gobbo (.714 - 10/14), Morrison (.666 - 8/12), Guzzo (.538 - 7/13) and Ben Phillips (.533 - 8/15).