Cobourg Bantam Clippers best in province
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| Opening ceremonies for the Ontario Amateur Softball Association provincial 'A' championships at Legion Fields. |
Aug 10, 2011 - 04:30 AM
COBOURG -- Cobourg is now home to the province's best Bantam fastball team. On Aug. 7 at Legion Fields in Cobourg, the Cobourg Bantam Clippers won the Ontario Amateur Softball Association's 'A' championship. The Clippers beat Teeswater 7-4 in extra innings to claim the title.
According to Clippers head coach, Mike Gibson, the 'A' championship is the first by a Cobourg fastball team since 1967 -- spanning 44 years.
"We pushed the kids to believe they could win, and to believe in themselves," said Gibson. "We got it done, and we couldn't be more excited."
After knocking off Fullerton, Tavistock, and Pickering in the preliminary round, the Clippers faced the Teeswater Otters in the final. Up to that point, the Clippers had not lost a game, while the Otters had lost one. In the double knockout format, the Otters had to beat the Clippers twice to secure the championship.
The Otters held the Clippers batters at bay and won the first game 3-0, forcing the final game during light rain at Legion Fields.
Mitchell Gibson, who pitched in every game in the tournament, started on the hill against the Otters' Matt Wardrop, who himself pitched 21 innings that day alone.
The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Teeswater scored twice to go up 2-0.
In the top of the fifth inning, Cobourg centre fielder Hunter Bagshaw made an unbelievable diving catch to keep the game tied heading to the bottom of the inning. Bagshaw then scored Riley McAdams during the Clippers at-bat, to cut the Otters lead to 2-1. Kevin Valdes knocked in Bagshaw to tie the game. Valdes, and Grant Fry scored on a couple of wild pitches to finish the inning up 4-2.
After a Teeswater walk, triple, and sacrifice fly, the Otters tied the game 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning -- forcing extra innings.
In the eighth, after Bagshaw and Frank Sullivan walked, Valdes tripled to score Bagshaw. Fry followed with another triple, and Cobourg led 6-4.
"To knock in one of the winning runs felt amazing," said Valdes. "Throughout the year I was struggling at the plate, then getting down on the count at two strikes, and one ball. The pressure was on, and I pulled through. To score Hunter Bagshaw made it even better because he turned the whole game around with that unbelievable catch."
James Bruce drove in another run to make it 7-4 Clippers heading to the bottom of the eighth, for a chance to secure the title.
Three quick out later, and the Clippers won the title.
"This is fantastic for the town of Cobourg," said Gibson. "And it's great for the whole Clippers organization. If we can win the 'A' championships, it shows we're doing something right."
Gibson said with so many other sports to compete with in Cobourg, it's nice to see a sport like fastball take centre stage.
"All weekend it was edge of your seat excitement," said Gibson. "The other teams played hard, we played great, and it's a big accomplishment for the town of Cobourg. We couldn't be happier."
Hosting the tournament was a huge advantage for the Clippers, according to Gibson.
"It was huge to host, and win on our home field," said Gibson. "The kids got to sleep in their own beds, and we had such huge fan and crowd support, which meant a lot to us."
An ecstatic and pumped up Clippers team celebrated by meeting at a coach's home after the game, and ordering pizza.
"It feels amazing," said Valdes, who added he's never won a championship of this calibre before. "To be the first Cobourg team (in a long time) to win it makes it 10 times more special."
Valdes said the win shows Cobourg, and the surrounding area, that fastball is alive and well in Cobourg.
"We were proud to represent Cobourg," said Valdes, who added the Clippers showed a tremendous amount of commitment to the organization during the season. "Many of us traveled quite a distance to be there for all the practices and tournaments. My teammates and I never lost sight of the fact that it was fun and we loved the game."
The team will travel to Kitchener/Waterloo on Sept. 11 for the OASA 'A' championship banquet, where they will get to celebrate a little bit more.
Gibson said even though Cobourg has waited 44 years for a provincial 'A' title, he bets Cobourg won't have to wait long for another.
"With the amount of talent coming up through the Clippers organization, I bet we'll see another 'A' championship in the next five years," said Gibson.
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