Barons delight home crowd with 12-3 opening win
Local baseball hipsters are pumped because the North Dufferin Baseball League season got going May 7.
A number of local teams compete in this league, which happens to be the oldest hardball league in the province.
Senior teams play a 26-game schedule and the junior clubs have an 18-game season to contend with. There are 14 senior teams and four junior clubs.
Most changes occurred in the junior division. Mansfield and New Lowell have enough players and enthusiasm to enter new teams, Midland returns after taking a year off, and the Ivy Rangers return from last season.
The senior division includes the Alliston Athletics, Aurora Jays, Barrie Angels, Bolton Dodgers, Clearview Orioles, Creemore Barons, Creemore Braves, Ivy Leafs, Lisle Astros, Mansfield Cubs, Midland Indians, New Lowell Knights, Nobleton Cornhuskers, and Orangeville Giants.
The Angus Black Sox folded this year and are taking a one-year leave of absence.
As of Thursday morning, two teams remain undefeated, Aurora, 3-0, and New Lowell, 3-0. Midland, 5-1, was undefeated until they met up with Ivy’s ace pitcher Brad Grieveson who shut them out in a 5-0 Leafs victory May 20.
Two games for the reigning champion New Lowell were tough. They nipped Ivy 3-2 in a rematch of last year’s championship and edged Bolton, 5-4.
The third win for the Knights was against the Nobleton Cornhuskers. Knights’ Todd Gowan earned the win and Allan Brownridge smacked a three-run home run to keep the Knights undefeated in a 13-0 rampage.
Creemore houses two senior teams, the Barons and Braves, and both play out of Gowan Park. The two senior teams didn’t make the playoffs last year and are looking to improve.
The Barons first game was their home opener against the Mansfield Cubs and they delighted local fans with a 12-3 victory. Their second game was against the Alliston Athletics, who competed at the junior level for the past three years, and despite a late rally went down to defeat 8-7.
The third game was a 4-2 loss to Clearview and on Tuesday they lost their third straight, 4-0, against Midland.
The Braves have gotten off to a poor start losing their first three games, 2-1, to the Midland Indians at their opening home game, 4-2 against the Orangeville Giants and by a lopsided 7-0 score on May 19 to the Bolton Dodgers. On Tuesday, the Braves came back from 7-0 to end the game in a 8-8 tie.
Clearview Orioles have played four games and are a steady 2-2. The Orioles lost their opener, 11-7, in a slugfest against Aurora Jays, whipped Mansfield 13-1, and gave up six runs in the first inning to lose 6-2 against the Astros in Lisle’s home opener. The Orioles fourth game was against the 4-2 win over the Barons.
The Lisle Astros Baseball Club hosted their annual Victoria Day tournament at the Ross Houston Memorial Park over the long weekend with Orangeville Giants winning the three-day 11-team event Monday afternoon.
The Giants beat the Bolton Brewers, 3-1, in the championship game.
Earlier in the day, the Giants edged the Creemore Braves 4-3 to advance to the final. The Brewers, by the way, have taken a two-year sabbatical from the NDBL and are currently playing in the Greater Toronto Baseball League, considered senior AAA. The club is 0-3.
Clearview Orioles won the consolation final although the game against Kincardine Cubs ended 3-3. Officials awarded the prize to Clearview because they had more runners left on base. Clearview defeated the Creemore Barons 8-3 in the other semi-final game.
Teams participating include the host Astros, Bolton Brewers, Creemore Barons, Creemore Braves, Clearview Orioles, Ivy Leafs, Kincardine Cubs, Mansfield Cubs, New Lowell Knights, Nobleton Cornhuskers, and Orangeville Giants.
Regarding the potential for a junior hockey team in Creemore it is true.
But potential is all that it is at this point.
Creemore arena manager Dan Gowan has met with a group who are interested in having Creemore as the home of a Canadian Premier Junior Hockey League (CPJHL) team. He hasn’t heard anything back from them for several weeks now.
First of all, you need to know the CPJHL is a business and players need to pay to play on the team.
A club is allowed six Europeans and the remainder can be made of Canadians and Americans.
The CPJHL is a developmental league with hopes of sending players to the collegiate level on hockey scholarships.
Currently, there are 10 teams listed on the league website set to start the season including the Essa Stallions out of Angus and the Grey Highlands Hawks that call Markdale their home rink.
Creemore Minor Hockey President Donna Harper told me that her father, Tony Verbeek, and Rick Zeggil were named to the Ontario Brooomball Association Hall of Fame. At one time here, Tony was president of Minor Hockey. He was inducted as a player and coach. Zeggil was a star pitcher for a Creemore Barons baseball team that won many championships.
In broomball, he competed at all levels from local leagues to worlds. He was consistently named an all-star.
By the way, Ayr Centennials won their first Junior C provincial championship this year. They defeated Port Hope in the finals, 4-0, and Essex in four straight game in the semis. Port Hope defeated Alliston Hornets, 4-2, to reach the finals.
Creemore Tennis Club memberships will be available at the Creemore Farmers’ Market on Saturday, May 28 and Saturday, June 4.
