The blowouts were easy, but the Sudbury Peewee Shamrocks also found a way to win the close ones, returning home from the St. Thomas Cardinals Tournament with a championship banner in hand.
The pitching was on point early as the Shamrocks kicked off their schedule with a rare 3-3 tie opposite the Oakville A's, as Ryan Lacasse and Scooter Rienguette split the mound duties almost right down the middle, while Cole Goudreau and Ben Fowke each chipped in with an RBI.
The offense came around in a big way in game two as Sudbury blasted the Bolton Braves 15-0, with Brett Richardson and Justin Lancup combining to pitch the shutout.
More of the same in game three as Keenan Castle tossed a tidy two-hitter, with ample run support behind him as the Shamrocks improved to 2-0-1 thanks to an 18-0 whitewashing of the St. Catharines Cobras.
Into the semi-finals as the Shamrocks and the Ajax Spartans flashed the leather at several key points in the game, leading to an outstanding outing, with Sudbury advancing to the final thanks to a 5-4 win. Lacasse and Richardson combined to keep the Ajax hitters in check, most of the game.
A little more offense in the gold medal encounter as the Shamrocks receive three RBIs each from Richardson and Goudreau, helping lead the locals past the host St. Thomas Cardinals by a final score of 9-6.
The banner winning roster for Sudbury included Keenan Castle, Brian Fink, Ben Fowke, Cole Goudreau, Carson Harvey, Ryan Lacasse, Justin Lancup, Cole McPhee, Brett Richardson, Scooter Ringuette, Brandon Roney, Ryan Rubic and coaches Trevor Goudreau, Chris McPhee, Trevor Cain, Wayne Cuculick and Jason Castle.
The team is next in tournament action on the weekend of July 14-16, taking part in the second annual London Tecumsehs Baseball Tournament.
