By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

It ended like all good finales should: with the game in doubt, nail-biting drama and a hero emerging to save the day.

RHP Drew Howard took the mound for Ontario Green in the top of the seventh with a 5-2 lead, facing 6-7-8 hitters in the Alberta order all set to record the final three outs for the championship in the sixth annual Tournament 12 game Monday afternoon at the Rogers Centre.

Seven pitches later it suddenly became very crowded around Howard (Whitby, Ont./Toronto Mets) as RF Dimytri Pavlove (Calgary, Alta./Angels Babe Ruth) walked, 2B Dryden Howse (Okotoks, Alta./Okotoks, Alta.) lined a single to centre and SS Michel Brisson (St. Albert, Alta./Prospects Academy) singled to right loading the bases.

Now, Howard was all jammed up. Out came coach Adam Stern for a visit as No. 9 hitter Wily Alexander Diaz (Edmonton, Alta/Parkland Twins) stepped in representing the tying run.

“I was trying to get a ground ball for a double play,” Howard said. “I could give up one run, as long as I got a ground ball.”

Howard took a deep breath. He popped up Diaz to second and struck out Brayden Cust (Cold Lake, Alta/Prospects Academy) and then fanned Alejandro Cazorla (Surrey, BC/Okototks Dawgs) on total of six pitches. T12 rules, like Michigan high school rules, start hitters off with a 1-1 count.

“I like it, but sometimes if you throw a ball on the first pitch (for a 2-1 count) it makes it tougher to come back,” Howard said.

Howard worked 2 1/3 innings allowing two hits, walking one and striking out a pair as he threw 34 pitches (23 strikes). Howard described the event as his best baseball experience “ever ... you get to play at the Rogers Centre, play with great talent and the games are really competitive.”

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Buckling down: MVP honours went to Blake Buckle (Milton, Ont./Ontario Blue Jays), although Stern said it could have easily been Howard or a number of his others as well.

“We didn’t have a guy who hit .500, we had a bunch of guys who made the big pitch or got the big hit when we needed it,” said Stern.

While hitless in the final, Buckle led the way as Ontario Green breezed past Ontario Black 8-0 in round-robin play. Buckle went 3-for-4 with five runs batted in, including an early ground-rule double. Well, actually he did get one hit -- when T.J. Schofield-Sam (Mississauga, Ont./Toronto Blue Jays) fouled off a ball and it hit Buckle in the leg. No, Buckle said with a smile, Schofield-Sam has yet to apologize.

“I tried to bring a lot of energy to the team,” said Buckle, who hit .417 (5-for-13), with a 1.146 OPS. “It’s different with a 1-1 count. You have to be ready.”

Buckle, who had two doubles, five walks and five RBIs, said he has interest from the USC Trojans after he went 4-for-6 with two doubles and three walks at the Future Stars Series when the Ontario Blue Jays were in Glendale, Az. Coach Mike Steed (Burlington, Ont.) and his team visited Camelback Ranch, spring home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. New Orleans, Illinois and Michigan State are also pursuing Buckle.

And in section 125 watching was brother Rylee, who played for the Milton Red Sox, the Mississauga Majors and then the Ontario Blue Jays.

Mom Lori said son Blake spent four years as a teammate of Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) with the Mississauga North Tigers playing for coach Chris Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) including winning a bantam national in Vaughan. Noah was drafted in the first round in June,

“It was a group effort, the whole team played well, especially T.J. Schofield-Sam,” said Lori, who spends her days running a day care.

Proud dad Shane, an accountant at Milton Chrysler, thought his son’s approach at the plate helped him win the award.

“With that 1-1 count, you have to be aggressive, you have to be able to handle it,” said Shane.

LHP Caleb Clark (Orilla, Ont./Great Lake Canadians) worked five innings allowing one run and striking out five. Zach Gardiner (Oakville, Ont./Toronto Mets) and Schofield-Sam each knocked in a pair.

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Line-drive Arnold: Not far behind when it came to making things happen for Ontario Green was INF Bryce Arnold (Grimsby, Ont./Field House Pirates). He singled and scored in the final to finish with a .384 averages and a 1.045 OPS.

“I liked the atmosphere and all the exposure with the former Blue Jays players,” said Arnold, who plays for Pirates coach Jim Richardson. “Duane Ward, Jesse Barfield and Lloyd Moseby were very helpful.”

Said Barfield: “That (Arnold) must have asked me 25 questions. He asked how pitchers try to think. When to look for a breaking ball. He has his weight back and he’s able to drive the ball.”

Arnold is committed to play for the Campbell University Flying Camels.

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And how it went for Ontario Green: Case doubled in three runs as Green opened with a 5-5 tie against Ontario Black. Schofield-Sam doubled and Arnold tripled. Lucas Barry (Mississauga, Ont./Ontario Blue Jays) allowed one run in three innings, while Zachary Cameron (Hamilton, Ont./Fieldhouse Pirates) gave up one earned run in two innings.

C Ryan Faragher (London, Ont./Great Lake Canadians) had a pair of hits, including a double and knocked in a run in a 3-2 win against Alberta. SS Tye Imeson (London, Ont./Great Lakes Canadians) and LF Zach Gardiner (Oakville, Ont./Toronto Mets) drove in the other runs. RHP Brandon Deans (Mississauga, Ont./Ontario Blue Jays) worked three innings, allowing one earned run. Clark pitched three scoreless, fanning three, for the save.

Then, came Buckle’s five RBI-game. Schofield-Sam also drove in two runs with his three hits, including a double. Howard also doubled in the five-run sixth. Nicholas Fraser (Burlington, Ont./Ontario Blue Jays) pitched 3 2/3 scoreless followed by Cameron who pitched 3 1/3 allowing one hit and whiffing five.

Green scored twice in the first and three more in the fifth to beat Atlantic 5-1 in the semi-final. Noel McGarry-Doyle (Maple, Ont./Toronto Mets) and Howard each had a pair of hits, McGarry-Doyle knocked in two. Barry pitched four innings allowing one run and striking out three for the victory. Owen MacNeill (Georgetown, Ont./Ontario Terriers) pitched three scoreless with five strikeouts for the save.

Stern’s team consisted of six Toronto Mets, six Ontario Blue Jays, three Great Lakes Canadians and three Fieldhouse Pirates, as well as one Ontario Terrier and one Etobicoke Ranger.

Unlike say 15 years ago when the best of the Quebec would play the best from Ontario behind locked doors, the Blue Jays are being good corporate citizens by inviting scouts from every pro organization and universities and college.

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That’s baseball: Cust needed 81 pitches (49 strikes) to pitch a no hitter as Alberta edged Quebec 2-1 in the semi-final and was the second last out in the final. With two out and none on, he issued two walks and an error allowed a run. A walk and a stolen base put runners on second and third before he recorded the final strikeout to end the game.

Cust’s no-no was the third individual no-hitter in the history of the tourney. Atlantic’s Andrew Case (Saint John, NB) - who finished this past season at triple-A Buffalo - accomplished the feat in 2013 and Quebec’s Mathieu Deneault-Gauthier (Candiac, Que.) did so in the 2015 semi-final.

He was soaked by teammates and later handed his uniform to visiting clubhouse man Cody Malloy, who washed and dried the uniform in time for the final.

And then Cust’s memorable day was marred by a seventh-inning, bases-loaded strike out.

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Advisor Beckett: There were zero arguments on the Ontario Green coaching staff when it came to deciding who played where and where everyone batted in the order. Peter Orr (Newmarket, Ont.) the former major leaguer who doubles as a scout for the Milwaukee Brewers, had to fly to Atlanta on Monday to do advance work on the Braves. Chris Robinson (Dorchester, Ont.), the former major leaguer, was busy with a family commitment and missed Monday. Tanner Watson (Arnprior, Ont.) was coaching his own team on the road this weekend.

Corey Eckstein (Abbotsford, BC) helped out during the semi-final, but for the final Adam Stern (London, Ont.) and his six-year-old Beckett were the Ontario Green brain trust. Beckett added more than Orr, but not as much as Robinson.