May 29, 2019 | Daniel Leonardes | 796 views
2019 Major Mosquito Cardinal Classic Champions
The 2019 Major Mosquito Cardinal Classic Champions are your home town St. Thomas Cardinals! This 11U team captured the title in their first tournament of the year on Sunday in a terrific final against an outstanding squad from London Tecumseh.
The
The Cardinals started off the tournament with a 22-3 win vs. The Aurora King Blue Jays. Terrific Pitching, Hitting and strong team defence was the recipe to starting off on the right foot. Saturday afternoon, the Cardinals battled the Guelph Royals. Last year, these two squared off in a tight game, and this year was no different. Even through a 40 min rain delay, the Cards prevailed with an 11-8 win. With Saturday afternoons game getting pushed into Sunday, the Royal York Cardinals and St. Thomas took the field in the last game of the round robin. Strong defence and clutch hitting lead the St. Thomas Cardinals to a 10-2 win, and with that a 3-0 record, winning their division and booking a spot in the semi-finals for the second straight season. In that semi, the Orangeville Bengals, who finished 2-0-1 in their division, waited. In a tight affair through the first two innings, the Cardinal bats came alive, and on the backs of pitching gems from Tayven Barned and Cameron Morrison, savvy catching from Nathan Watson, stout defence from our infield and the electricity that is out outfield, the Cardinals prevailed 9-3 to book a spot in their first Cardinal Classic Final.
The Final brought a familiar opponent - the London Tecumsehs and the Cardinals have developed a terrific rivalry over the past season, and this final was another in the next chapter of this battle. Both teams were stymied by each other’s quality pitching and stout defence over the first two innings, until the bottom of the 3rd, when Parker Vaughan got the offence going with a 1 out single. Aaron Dyke and Hayden Burrows followed suit, with a sacrifice by Zephyr Hatch, singles by Gabe Laliberte and Tayven Barned set the stage for a 2 run single by Luke Thomas = and all that equated to a 5-0 lead for the Cardinals after 3. The Tecumsehs strong bats responded, and where able to chip away for 2 runs over the next couple innings, but Cameron Morrison and Luke Thomas were stellar on the mound, Nathan Watson continued his dominant play behind the dish, in front of an incredible defensive effort that showcased, 4 OF assists, 2 double plays, and 2 runners caught stealing. Cooper Henderson, Nathan Dunn and Luke Ordronneau delivered huge hits or defensive plays that set the Cardinals up for a 7-2 to capture the Cardinal Classic Title. Tremendous game by both teams! Congratulations to the 11U Cardinals!