Terriers sweep four games from Royals

Coming off a a two-game sweep of the Ontario Outlaws in Listowel, the 16U Ontario Terriers opened up their home Fall schedule with a four-game weekend series against the 16U Ontario Royals.

In the opener, the Royals and Terriers were tied 2-2 after four innings, but the 16U Terriers would score a run in the fifth, as well as a run in the seventh to record a 4-2 victory. George Tsiflikiotis (Hamilton), Pierce Montgomery (Mississauga), and Cameron Docking (Sudbury) led the offensive attack with a double each. Jamal Armstrong (Etobicoke) chipped in with a single. Chris Gritter (Mississauga) picked up the win by pitching three scoreless innings.

Game 2 would see the 16U Royals jump out to a 7-1 lead, but the 16U Terriers battled back with three runs in the sixth, and another two runs in the bottom of the seventh. It wasn’t enough as the 16U Royals would take a 7-5 victory. Gritter smoked a double and had two RBI’s. Nick Parsons (Kitchener), Michael Kemp (Richmond Hill), Tsiflikiotis, Docking, and Montgomery each knocked out a single.

Like Game 2, the 16U Royals would jump on the 16U Terriers early in Game 3 by scoring single runs in the second and third innings. The 16U Terriers took control of the game by scoring four runs in the fourth. The teams would exchange runs in the sixth, with the 16U Terriers taking a 5-3 victory. Christian Bottero (Mississauga) led the offense with two singles. Kyle Lev (Mississauga), Matthew Kemp (Richmond Hill), Parsons, Tsiflikiotis, Gritter, and Montgomery each knocked out a single. Tony Zhang (Mississauga) went a strong five innings on the mound to record the win. Malkolm Barrett (Brampton) would pick up the save with his two innings of relief.

The 16U Terriers offense came alive early by scoring six runs in the bottom of the first inning. The 16U Royals would cut the lead in half by scoring three runs in the the top of the third, but it wasn’t enough as the 16U Terriers would go on to a 9-5 victory. Bottero slammed a triple and single, while Sawan Bhatnagar (Mississauga) and Docking each had a a double. Parsons and Gritter had two singles each. Michael Kemp and Barrett also contributed with singles in the offensive attack. Jamal Armstrong would pick up the win pitching three effective innings.

“I was pretty happy with our overall play, especially our defense”, said head coach John Milton (Bolton).

The 16U Terriers are now 5-1 and  will face the the 16U Royals on Wednesday night before heading to Windsor for a home and home series against the Windsor Selects. In two week the 16U Terriers will head to Tucson, AZ where they will be the Canadian representative in the Clasico de Beisbol and face some of the top US and Mexican teams.