Knights, Baysox deadlocked in NDBL final
The New Lowell Knights have tied the senior championship series in the North Dufferin Baseball League, winning Games 3 and 4 over the weekend against the Owen Sound Baysox.
Saturday’s contest in New Lowell ended in a 5-4 victory, while Sunday’s game in Owen Sound finished 4-2.
Clutch hits in the seventh inning of both games sealed the wins for the Knights in this tight, nail- biting series.
Game 3 began with both teams trading runs in the second inning. Owen Sound took a one-run lead in the third, but New Lowell responded with two runs to go ahead 3-2.
In the fifth, the Baysox regained the lead with back-to-back solo home runs from Bryan Post and Steve Barrett.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, the Knights rallied with key hits to tie the game and walked it off with a single from Brett Elliott.
Owen Sound’s offence included hits from Ryan Bartley, Robert Doyle, Travis Bennett, a single and home run from Post, two singles and a homer from Barrett, and a double from Kevin Zettler.
For New Lowell, Josh Hanley hit a home run and a single, Kurt Roy and Tristan Cabral each had a double and a single, Brandon Norrie added a double, and Steve Bowman, Jake Nicholson and Elliott contributed singles.
Knights starter Nick Hodgson pitched three innings, allowing two runs on five hits, walking two, hitting one batter and striking out one. Norrie took over for the final four innings, giving up two runs on four hits, walking one and striking out three. Trevor Smith went the distance for the Baysox, pitching seven innings and giving up five runs on 10 hits, walking three, hitting one batter and striking out four.
In Game 4, the Knights struck first, scoring a run in both the first and third innings. Owen Sound tied the game in the third with a two-run homer from Barrett. The game remained deadlocked until the top of the seventh, when Nicholson hit a bases-loaded double to drive in two runs. New Lowell then retired Owen Sound’s top of the order in the bottom half to secure the win.
Norrie led the Knights at the plate with a double and two singles. Nicholson added a double and single, while teammates Tanner Zeggil, Roy and Bowman chipped in with singles.
Owen Sound was limited to four hits: two singles from Greg Slater, a single from Bartley and a home run from Zettler.
Bartley pitched all seven innings for the Baysox, allowing four runs on eight hits, walking two and striking out seven.
Nic Guthrie had an efficient outing for New Lowell, pitching seven innings and giving up two runs on four hits, walking five and striking out four.
New Lowell will host Game 5 on Saturday at 1 p.m., with the series returning to Owen Sound for Game 6 on Sunday at 1 p.m. in the best-of-seven final.
David Anderson photo: Tristan Cabral of the New Lowell Knights slides into home plate before the throw to Owen Sound Baysox catcher Travis Bennett during Game 3 of the NDBL championship series on Sept. 13.
