Aug 28, 2017 | dgraff. Written by Vin Scully | 681 views
The SMBA Same Day
Auto Minor Bantam Nationals tier 1 rep team participated
in the ICBA tier 1 playoff championship tournament this past weekend putting
together a very respectable 2-2 record and finishing in the final four for the
weekend.
The 4th seeded Nationals started things off Friday with a 7-0 win over 5th seeded Brantford. Cam Daigle and Naoto Fujita combined to allow six hits and strikeout four in the shutout victory. Daigle had a double and single at the plate while Carter Musselman also doubled and Jack Whitehead added two hits and knocked in a run. Fujita, Caleb Musselman and Michael Pauli also had hits while Erik Smith and Nathan Graff both walked and scored a run and James Koch walked and added a RBI for the winners.
With that victory came the reward of playing top ranked Waterloo in their 2nd game. The Tigers exploded for eight runs in the fourth and fifth innings turning a close 3-1 ball game into an 11-1 five inning Waterloo victory. Carter Musselman doubled and scored the lone Nats run while Fujita and David Hynd also had hits.
The game two loss meant a date with the 2nd seeded Simcoe Giants in game three, a team the Nats went 0-4 against in regular season play. An outstanding pitching performance by Carter Musselman, a gutsy four out save by lefty Erik Smith and a stellar National D resulted in a 5-3 Stratford victory. Musselman and Smith combined to allow three earned runs on just five hits while striking out four. At the plate Pauli and Whitehead led the way with Pauli stroking a double and single and knocking in a run while Whitehead singled and scored twice. Carter Musselman and Fujita each had a hit and RBI, Hynd added an RBI while Graff and Tyler Hotson walked and scored a run.
The win over the Giants sent Stratford to the semi-final game against 3rd seeded Kitchener with a date in the final against Waterloo on the line.
Despite Fujita and Whitehead allowing just three earned runs on the mound for Stratford the wheels fell off defensively for the Nats in this one, Kitchener winning 12-2 in six innings.
Fujita and Pauli had the only National hits in the loss while Hotson and Carter Stock each knocked in a run.
Despite the Saturday night loss, the staff and players are extremely excited about what this group accomplished in ICBA tier 1 league play this season. A 14-14 overall record is something these boys should be proud of.
The Minor Bantam tier 1 team will now host the OBA B championship tournament this weekend in Stratford. The Nats first game is against Welland, 3pm Friday at National Stadium.