Mosquito Shamrocks hope for redemption at provincials

The Sudbury Mosquito Shamrocks may be hitting their stride at just the right time.

Coming off a tournament win in Brampton, on a weekend in which the team posted an undefeated record over a five-game stretch, the Shamrocks returned home to run roughshod over a visiting squad from North Bay in a pair of exhibition games on Sunday.

And if the local baseball crew need any extra motivation as they put the finishing touches in preparation for the SOBA (Select Ontario Baseball Association) Provincials in Dorchester from Sept. 4-6, they need look no further than last year's championships.

"Provincials are fun, but we lost in the finals last year," said power-hitting pitcher Benjamin Fowke between games at the Twin Forks Sports Complex. "We blew it in the last inning."

While Fowke expects the likes of Mississauga and Aurora will also be in the mix at the all-Ontario playdowns, he is also excited with the way his team has been able to close out some big games this year.

"In our final game in Brampton, we were down by three, and they had bases loaded, and I had to get them out," he said. "We had a pretty big last inning." When coming on in relief, he invokes his inner "Roberto Osuna," ideally making quick work of opposing hitters.

"I try and just keep throwing strikes, and try and get them out as quick as I can," he said. "With the first pitch, I try and go low and inside. Then, I try and work as outside as I can. With the last pitch, I like to go high."

With a very talented stable of young pitching talent at his disposal, Sudbury manager Trevor Goudreau has focused other areas in the weeks leading up to their final test of the summer.

"We have been working hard on our offence the last few weeks," said Goudreau.

"The goal of these two games was to get offence going, from our number 1 to 12 hitters. Our hitting coach, Trevor Cain, has been working hard with all of our boys all season, and we finally put together two games in a row where everyone hit the ball really hard.

"The boys did a great job at the plate using all the skills that they have been working on, from taking the ball deep, to laying down timely sacrifices. All of the valuable skills we have been working on will be put to the test at the provincial championship."