Batters, bikes and blades in local sports

 In Sports

Baseball has made the sports headlines news in this area over the summer.

The biggest news is New Lowell’s Jake Wilson, 18, turning down an offer by the Boston Red Sox to sign with NCAA Bowling Green State University in Ohio to play baseball.

The centre fielder was drafted by the Sox in the 39th round and given a chance to play with Bowling Green.  He opted for the post-secondary education route to study sport medicine as well as improve his all-round game.   

Wilson plays for the Great Lakes Canadians.  He has also donned his glove for the New Lowell Knights, Barrie Red Sox and Oakville.

From teenagers to a bunch of older guys, the Dufferin Simcoe Rockers travelled to Medicine Hat, Alberta on the Civic Day weekend holiday to compete at the 24th annual Canadian National Oldtimers Baseball Federation championships in the 50 plus age category.

The Rockers started out well winning their first two games, 6-5 over Edmonton and 12-7 against Pleasant Valley, NS.   In the next two games, the team didn’t do as well losing to Oakville 16-2 and then getting ousted by Medicine Hat 6-0.  All the same, the club’s performance and representation  can be signified by a tip of the hat.

Locally, on the Civic Day weekend,  New Lowell hosts a baseball tournament  every year.  This time New Lowell won their own tournament.

The Knights defeated the Bolton Dodgers in the championship game.

Creemore Barons captured the prize money over Mansfield in the consolation championship round.  Knights big Todd Gowan was selected as top pitcher for his two wins, no runs scored and seven Ks.  Best batter was awarded to Ian McIver, Orangeville Crushers.  He pounded three home runs and picked up six ribbies. MVP went to Creemore Barons’ Eric Orser for hitting well, scoring twice and pitching  12 innings, striking out an average of one batter an inning.

Currently, the North Dufferin Baseball League playoffs are at the semi-finals stage.  New Lowell, who led the league with a 21-4-1 record tied Aurora Jays in the opening game 5-5.  New Lowell swept the eighth place Bolton Dodgers to reach the semis; sixth place Aurora, 14-11-1, upset Midland, 17-9-0, third overall, winning in three straight to advance. 

In the other semi-final series, Orangeville, 14-10-2, surprised Ivy, the league’s second best team with a 19-5-2 record, in game one with a 5-4 victory.  Orangeville is enjoying being the underdog.  In the first round, the Crushers shocked the Clearview Orioles, 16-8-2,  winning the last game of the best of five series.  Orangeville finished fifth overall during the season.

In the New Lowell – Aurora series, games 4 is to be played in Aurora Friday night, game 5 is slated at the New Lowell park at 1 p.m. and game 6 if required is back at Aurora, 7:30 p.m. start.

During the season, Creemore Barons just missed out on a playoff berth finishing ninth with a 12-4-0 numbers.  Creemore Braves finished 12th, 7-17-2. 

Mansfield  Cubs finished in 13th place in the 14 league senior loop but the Junior Cubs tied for first place with New Lowell in junior play with a 10-7-1 record.  The junior playoffs are over and Mansfield gave New Lowell a good fight but lost in four games.

In hockey news,  Stayner Siskins have been running their training camps during the month of August.

Our hearts also go out to Shane Sargant’s family, Clearview Township’s recreation manager, on his recent passing.  Many know the great work Shane did in his job but he was also quite a hockey player. He was drafted 8th overall in the OHL’s draft by the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds in 1987 and played three seasons there with the Greyhounds and Sudbury Wolves.  In the 1990-91 season, he returned to hometown  Collingwood to play Junior B with the Blues and later with the Orillia Terriers that season.

Shane was working passionately on getting a Clearview Township Sports Hall of Fame created. He told me in the winter that the Hall of Fame needs to get done because a lot of great inductees were with us no longer and our future  living hall of famers were becoming less and less. Hopefully, the township will finish Shane’s work and consider Shane as an inductee. God bless Shane.

It was nice to see the Tour for Kids pass through Creemore last week.

Cycling continues to thrive in our area.

Finally, kudos to Pierre Marcoux and Lee Anne Cohen for their successful Creemore Vertical Challenge held recently.   It was the race’s 10th anniversary and I still find it mind boggling runners run these distances.  The Vertical Challenge two main races are for 75 km and 50 km.  Newbies to the sport can run 25 km. 

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