WATERLOO - Stratford Memorials Midgets are heading east to compete in the Eastern Canadian fastball championship being held in St-Gervis, Quebec in late August.
The Midgets finished fourth out of a field of 24 teams after going 3-2 in the provincial Elimination tournament held here this past weekend.
The top three teams are going to Saskatchewan to participate in the Canadian national championships, while Stratford and Waterloo will be representing Ontario in the Eastern Canadian tournament.
In their opening game Friday night, Memorials were victorious over Paris in a 2–0 nail-biter. Both teams were held scoreless through five innings with Stratford scoring in the top of the sixth on timely doubles by Cody Bromley and Ben Heinbuch.
Jon Woodend’s sacrifice bunt allowed the second run to score on Mark Verkely’s single. Scott Gibson’s diving catch saved the opponents from scoring. Michael Lagace-Roote allowed just one hit and struck out seven.
Game 2 on Saturday saw the Memorials playing Sydenham. After giving up one run in the opening inning, Stratford responded with four runs in the bottom of the frame on singles by Jon Woodend, Matt Walsh and Jon Hood. Kirk Brown added a double to cap the inning.
These four runs were all they needed and Lagace–Roote limited Sydenham to three hits and one walk, while striking out nine. Final score was 4-3.
In Game 3, an error-filled first inning led to Stratford’s first loss against Oshawa. With just two hits by Jon Hood and Mark Verkley, Stratford fell hard, 15–0.
Sunday morning, Memorials recovered to beat league rival Waterloo 3-2 in a game delayed two and a half hours by rain, guaranteeing them a spot in the Eastern Canadian championship.
Lagace-Roote allowed just four hits and struck out 11. Ben Heinbuch and Michael Lagace-Roote both doubled, with a single added by Cody Bromley. Mark Verkley cracked a game-winning, out-of-the-park home run in the sixth inning to break the tie.
Stratford’s final game of the weekend against Owen Sound was another error-plagued contest that resulted in a 9-2 defeat.
Limited to just three hits, doubles by Ben Heinbuch and Kirk Brown and a single by Mark Verkley, Stratford was eliminated from the tournament.
Pitching was shared by Verkley, Lagace-Roote and Matt Walsh.
The Eastern Canadian championships are being held in St-Gervis Quebec August 27-30. The Memorials Midgets resumed league play Tuesday in Copetown.
