Aug 27, 2019 | Daniel Leonardes | 1170 views
2019 LDBA 11U Major Mosquito Champions!
The 2019 LDBA 11U Major Mosquito Champions are the St. Thomas Cardinals!
These 12 players set a goal at the beginning of the season to work hard and compete to make this a possibility..... After many practices, games, tournaments, and a lot of homework, they can honestly say that their hard work paid off!
They journey was not an easy one. Friday night, we drew a tough London West Tincap team in the first round, and in what was a closer game than the score would indicate, the Cardinals emerged with a 14-4 win. That set up an early battle with our rival London Tecumsehs. Previous to this, the Tecumsehs and Cardinals met 4 times (Twice in Tournament Finals where each team won one) and battled until the end in each. This was no different. In Fact, it took extra innings for the Cardinals to defeat the #1 Seeded London Tecumsehs 7-4. This bought the squad a bye, and in the Saturday afternoon game, they drew the #2 seed Tillsonburg Otters. The Otters handled the Cards in the regular season, sweeping 2-0, and in another tight, well contested game, the Cards emerged with a 9-2 win, setting themselves up for the semi finals on Sunday as the only undefeated team remaining. In the semi, the Cardinals drew the North London Nationals, who in every matchup in the last 4 seasons have given the Cardinals fits. This game was no different. Cardinals were up early, and North battled back to win 13-12, which queued a rematch between the two in the next game. The Cards Came. Too. Play. A 10-0 5 inning win, where our pitcher threw a CG 2 hit shutout, setting up a rematch vs. the talented Tillsonburg Otters in a winner take all final. The Cardinals stayed hot offensively with big hits, timely situational hits, terrific base running, sterling defence and strong pitching - and needed every piece of it to fend off the Otters - and the result was a 13-7 WIN to take the LDBA Mosquito Crown. So proud to say every player contributed meaningfully throughout the weekend. The path was difficult, having to go through strong teams in each round. Everyone who played in this tournament got better as a result. Next up are the 2019 OBA Provincial Championships in Stratford! LETS GO BOYS!