Larmour helps Mesa to WS Juco Div II title
* Levi Larmour (Oakville, Ont.) of the Mesa Thunderbirds with his father James Larmour, girlfriend Jenna Hudson and mother Heidi Dent after winning the NJCAA Div. II World Series in Enid, Oak. The Oakville Royals grad had seven hits and had seven RBIs. .... 2014 Canadians drafted … Canadians in Minors … Canadians in college summer ball …. Canadians in College 2015 Canadian draft list Letters of Intent
By Bob Elliott
They are the two most important letters in the game.
No, not ‘WP’ but ‘W’ as in “we won today ... we got the W.”
And as in ‘L’ as in “tough one today ... we took the L.”
Of course the Texas Rangers used to say ‘we got the W for Dubya’ when George Bush was the managing partner before going on to becoming Texas Governor and President.
So, how bad could a Double L be?
Well, if you Levi Larmour of the No. 1 ranked Mesa Thunderbirds it was outstanding as Larmour and Mesa won the NJCAA Division II World Series at Enid, Oak.
The Thunderbirds soared past the Hinds, Miss. Eagles, 9-7 in 12 innings at David Allen Memorial Ballpark in Enid, Okla., to win the title after opening the double-elimination national tournament with a loss. Mesa battled its way through the losers’ bracket to reach the title game.
Mesa took a 5-0 lead early in the championship game but had to rely on late-inning heroics, after Hinds had put the winning runner on base. It’s the fourth baseball championship in school history for the Thunderbirds, who also won it all in 1970-72.
Larmour (Oakville, Ont.) was hitless in the final, but he was impressive the rest of the week as he:
_ Had two hits and knocked in a pair of runs in the opener, a 9-4 loss to the Vincennes Trailblazers. The rain-delayed contest took more than five hours to complete, thanks to the interruption by lightning and then showers.
_ Didn’t play in a 9-0 win over Lincoln Land Loggers,
_ Had two hits and a walk in a 10-7 win over the host Northern Oklahoma-Enid Jets.
_ Singled and knocked in two runs in a 8-3 win over Southeastern Blackhawks.
_ Had two hits and drove in three runs in a 12-0 win over beat Hinds to get into the final.
He hit .412 (7-for-17) with seven RBIs in the tourney.
How they got there ... Mesa swept the best-of-three Southwest district championship against the Scottsdale Fighting Artichokes as Larmour:
_ Singled in pair of runs in an 8-2 win over Scottsdale.
_ Had two hits in a 4-3 win against Scottsdale
On the season ... for the 52-13 Thunderbirds ... Larmour hit .328 with six doubles, a triple and 25 RBIs as well as a .822 OPS in 47 games.
Tony Cirelli coaches Mesa along with assistants: Doug Rose, Tom Novak, Ken Westray, Sean Kenney and David Robb (Lac Le Biche, Alta.)
Robb brings is in his second stint with the Mesa, assisting MCC coach Cirelli during the 2004-05 seasons.
After playing at San Matteo Junior College and Cal-State Fullerton, Robb coached in the Oakland A’s organization at the A level. In addition, he played and coached professionally in Italy and has worked with the Italian and Canadian national teams.
Robb also served as manager of the Okotoks Dawgs of the Western Major Baseball League.
INF-RHP Andrew Warner (London Ont.) was with Southeastern which opened with a 3-2 win over Northern Oklahoma-Enid, lost 6-0 to Madison and eas eliminated with an 8-3 loss to Mesa.
On the season ... for the 45-21 Blackhawks ... Warner the hit .143 with three RBIs in 20 games with a .476 OPS. On the mound he was 0-0 with a 16.20 ERA, walking six and striking out six in five innings, appearing in seven games.