Great Weekend at the SMBA Bantam Select Tournament, News, Minor Bantam Tier 2 Rep, 2017 (Stratford Minor Baseball Association)

This Team is part of the 2017 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Jul 10, 2017 | Jeff Keller | 898 views
Great Weekend at the SMBA Bantam Select Tournament
The WK Financial Mino Bantams had a great weekend, making it to the finals on Sunday against a very strong Major Bantam team from Milton.  The below game reports are from "Game Changer".  




Game 1:  Stratford 14, Waterloo 5

WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2 Jumps Out to Early Lead in Victory Over Waterloo Select.

WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2 defeated Waterloo Select 14-5 thanks to a strong start.

The Stratford Nationals scored on an error, a groundout , and an error in the first inning. Waterloo captured the lead in the first inning. With two outs in the first inning #21 drove in one run when he doubled.

Stratford took the lead for good with four runs in the first inning. In the first there was an error, scoring one run, #52 uncorked a wild pitch, scoring two runs, and there was an error, scoring one run. Stratford scored six runs in the fourth inning. Stratford's big inning was driven by a single by Owen Shantz, a single by Owen Duiker, a groundout by Jackson Nickel, and a single by Maddox Keller. Matthew Trachsel earned the win for  Stratford. He went four innings, surrendering four runs, two hits, and striking out five.

Owen Akey recorded the last three outs to earn the save for the Stratford Nationals.  

WK Financial Stratford Nationals 11 hits. Duiker and Nickel each collected multiple hits for WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2. Nickel and Duiker each collected two hits to lead WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2. WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2 stole 18 bases during the game as six players stole more than one. Evan Heinbuch led the way with three.

Game 2: Milton 15, Stratord 0.

This was a tough game.  Milton, who is a major bantam team with former AAA players on it, was a very big team who hit the ball hard.  They had a lot of help using metal composite bats while the Stratford Nationals played like men and used wood bats.  Owen Duiker and Jackson Nickel each had a hit in Stratford's loss to the eventual tournament winners.  

Game 3:  Stratford 9, Royal York 7

Boersma's Walkoff Gives WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2 Victory Over Royal York

WK Financial Stratford Nationals took Saturday's game in dramatic fashion, with a 9-7 walk-off victory over Royal York Select. The game was tied at seven with Stratford batting in the bottom of the fifth when Ethan Boersma singled off of #9, driving in two runs. Both offenses were strong at the plate as Stratford collected five hits and Royal York Select four.

Spencer Eidt earned the win for Stratford. He went two-thirds of an inning, allowing one run, and zero hits.  Ethan Boersma started the game for Stratford. He threw two and two-thirds innings, giving up two runs, one hit, and striking out four.

Boersma and Jackson Nickel each collected multiple hits for Stratford. Nickel and Boersma each managed two hits to lead the WK Financial Stratford Nationals. Stratford stole ten bases during the game as three players stole more than one. Boersma led the way with three.

Semi-Finals: Stratford 10, Hamilton Cougars 4

WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2 Grabs Lead in Fourth Inning for Victory Over West Mount Cougars. 

Stratford took the lead late in the game in a 10-4 victory over West Mount Cougars on Sunday. The game was tied at two with Stratford batting in the top of the fourth when Maddox Keller singled off of #3, driving in two runs. Stratford took the lead for good with five runs in the fourth inning. In the fourth #14 walked Sam Gerber to drive in a run, #14 walked Kyle Powers to drive in a run, and #3 induced Evan Heinbuch to hit into a fielder's choice, but one run scored.

Stratford scored five runs in the sixth inning. Stratford scored on a double by Gerber, a single by Powers, a single, an error, and a walk.

Ethan Boersma earned the win for the WK Financial Stratford Nationals. He pitched five and a third innings, allowing four runs, two hits, and striking out four. Matthew Trachsel recorded the last two outs to earn the save. 

Stratford collected nine hits. Jackson Nickel and Maddox Keller each collected multiple hits for WK Financial Stratford Nationals Minor Bantam T2. Keller went 2-for-3 at the plate as he led the team with three runs batted in. Stratford was sure-handed in the field and didn't commit a single error. Owen Duiker had the most chances in the field with five.

Finals:  Milton 13, Stratford 0

Once again, Stratford had to play the strong Milton team, who outscored the competition all weekend long with 65 runs scored in 5 games.  Opponents scored just 8.

Spencer Eidt was the hero of the game, ruining the no-hitter for the Milton pitching staff with a hard-hit single up the middle in the 3rd inning.  But again, the composite bats were just too much for Stratford, as Milton took home the championship.  

Ethan Boersma had a great weekend and was awarded tournament MVP for Stratford.  

Coach Keller was very impressed with the way the team pulled together to get to the finals and was also very happy with the way they represented Stratford Minor Baseball all weekend long - with hard work and a lot of class.  

Thank you to all of the parents who helped our convening at the ball parks, and to the Duiker's for hosting a couple of parties after the games.  It was a great weekend!  

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