July 1, 2022

Tecumseh Thunder Repeat as Lakeside Tournament Champs

By Dan Estey

COBA Major

After a two-year hiatus due to the COVD-19 pandemic, senior ball is once again starting to run annual tournaments throughout the summer months.

Last weekend, the Lakeside Tigers held their tournament for the first time since 2019. The champions that year ... the Tecumseh Thunder.

Fast forward to 2022, different year with the same result.

Mind you, in 2019, the Thunder ran the table, going 5-0 to capture the Lakeside title in style with a win over the Ilderton Red Army (now River Hawks) in the final. This year they encountered a few bumps on their way to the title.

In the round robin, Tecumseh dropped their tournament opener to a very strong Strathroy Royals club by a score of 9-8. Needing a pair of wins for a chance to advance to the playoff round, the Thunder delivered with a 7-5 win over the Brampton Royals and followed that up with a 2-0 win over the 2019 provincial champs the Sarnia Brigade.

Based on its record, head coach Jamie Kell’s Tecumseh club won its division but was the third seed heading into the playoffs. Their opponents for the semi-finals was the always tough Milton Red Sox. These two teams once again, delivered an excellent ball game but a gem by veteran hurler Brandon Lindquist propelled the Thunder to a tough 2-0 win. He tossed a complete game shutout scattering nine hits and striking out five Milton batters.

The Thunder bats could only muster four hits in this contest. Dimitri Bertoni led the way going 2-for-3 with an RBI while Patrick Kibble was 1-for-3 with a run and produced the other RBI. Paul Lamantia had the other Thunder run while Eric Carducci was 1-for-3.

This set-up the tournament final where Tecumseh would once again lock horns with division mates Brampton again. With the game tied 1-1 after two innings, the Thunder broke this one open with nine runs in the third frame and rode that lead to a 10-1 victory and the 2022 title.

Micah Harris was the beneficiary of all the offence as he also spun a complete game gem going the full seven innings allowing one run on five hits. He walked no one and struck out six. Lamantia was the big stick in this one going 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Eric Cunningham was 1-for-2 with a scoring fly ball while Cam Goddard was also 1-for-2 with two runs and an RBI.

The standings and results for the tourney are below. This year’s field had 12 teams from all four of the major senior leagues in Ontario as well as the St. Thomas Jr Tomcats.

Black Division

Team Wins Losses Runs scored Against

* East York Bulldogs 3 0 29 15

Erindale Cardinals 2 1 28 16

Oakville A’s 1 2 14 19

Lakeside Tigers 0 3 11 32

Orange Division

Team Wins Losses Runs scored Against

* Tecumseh Thunder 2 1 17 14

* * Brampton Royals 2 1 13 10

Sarnia Brigade 1 2 5 6

Strathroy Royals 1 2 11 16

Red Division

Team Wins Losses Runs scored Against

* Milton Red Sox 2 1 18 11

Etobicoke Rangers 2 1 12 15

Ilderton River Hawks 1 2 13 19

St Thomas Tomcats 1 2 14 20

* = Division Winner

Friday, June 24th

Time Team #1 Team #2 Location

6 pm Lakeside Tigers 4 Erindale Cardinals 14 Dan Pulham

6 pm East York Bulldogs 8 Oakville A’s 5 Byron

6:45pm St Thomas Tomcats 3 Etobicoke Rangers 9 Emslie

6:45pm Milton Red Sox 2 Ilderton River Hawks 8 Alvin Willert

8:15pm Tecumseh Thunder 8 Strathroy Royals 9 Dan Pulham

8:15pm Sarnia Brigade 2 Brampton Royals 3 Byron

Saturday

Time Team #1 Team #2 Location

9am Erindale Cardinals 3 East York Bulldogs 8 Dan Pulham

9am Etobicoke Rangers 3 Ilderton River Hawks 2 Byron

10am Milton Red Sox 6 St. Thomas Tomcats 3 Emslie

Noon Oakville A’s 5 Lakeside Tigers 0 Dan Pulham

Noon Strathroy Royals 1 Sarnia Brigade 3 Norm Aldridge

Noon Tecumseh Thunder 7 Brampton Royals 5 Byron

2pm St. Thomas Tomcats 8 Ilderton River Hawks 5 Emslie

3pm Lakeside Tigers 7 East York Bulldogs 13 Dan Pulham

3pm Milton Red Sox 10 Etobicoke Rangers 0 Byron

6pm Tecumseh Thunder 2 Sarnia Brigade 0 Dan Pulham

6pm Erindale Cardinals 11 Oakville A’s 4 Aldridge

6pm Strathroy Royals 1 Brampton Royals 5 Byron

Sunday, June 26th

Time Team #1 Team #2 Location

10am East York 4 Brampton 10 Aldridge

10am Milton 0 Tecumseh 2 Dan Pulham

1:45pm Brampton 1 Tecumseh 10 Aldridge