Strike Force baseball squad building up steam

With some early season jitters now behind them, the Sudbury OPP Strike Force Midgets were in fine form in Orillia recently, winning the tournament championship final with a 6-3 win over Collingwood.

Sudbury opened the competition by pounding the Mississauga Majors (White) formation 14-5 as Cory Kennedy smashed a pair of home runs and a triple to lead the way.

Milo Gaudin and Josh Lumley scored three runs each, while starter Chase Davidson struck out four batters over five innings of work, limiting the Majors to four runs.

Gaudin displayed his versatility in game two, tossing a complete game two-hit shutout, while striking out 12, as Strike Force blanked Markham 10-0. Dustin Cacciotti punched out a pair of hits and Jon Keehn scored twice as Sudbury plated seven runs in the top of the sixth inning, breaking open a tight 2-0 game.

Game three provided Kennedy with the opportunity for more heroics as the veteran of the SMBA (Sudbury Minor Baseball Association) belted a walk off grand slam in the bottom of the seventh, propelling Sudbury past Mississauga Majors (Red) 5-4 in a semi-final encounter.

Trailing 4-1 entering their final at bat, the locals loaded the bases thanks to a hit batsman (Matt Dalcourt), a single by Gaudin and a walk to Lumley. The rally made a winner of pitcher Davidson, who came on in relief of Lumley to throw three scoreless innings for Sudbury.

In the gold medal game, Davidson and Gaudin combined to limit Collingwood to seven hits as the Strike Force crew built up a 6-1 lead and held on for the win. Right fielder Kyle Osborne ended the game with a spectacular diving catch, doubling off a Collingwood base runner at second in the process.

"The boys were outstanding this weekend in all phases of the game," manager Mike Lumley said. "We hit the ball hard all weekend and our pitching staff was, without a doubt, the best here this weekend. But the most pleasant surprise was our defense, which has improved steadily and committed only three errors all weekend. It wasn't that long ago that I would have been happy with three errors or less in a game."

Getting an early start on their tournament schedule this summer, the Strike Force travelled out of town in early June, winning one of three games in Kincardine.

After looking nervous in a 9-3 loss to Ancaster, the Sudbury side dropped a tough 1-0 decision to the eventual tournament winners from Courtwright, as Lumley and Kennedy combined to strike out 11 batters.

The bats finally came alive in the tournament final as the northern lads bounced Bolton 8-0. The Sudbury offense was powered by Lumley (2-for-3, 3 runs scored), Kennedy (2-for-3 with a double) and Keehn (2-for-4 with a three-run HR), while Davidson scattered seven hits in picking up a complete-game shutout.

Sudbury will travel to Sault Ste Marie July 31 for a pair of exhibition games, leaving for a tournament in Niagara Falls the following weekend. The team competes at provincials in Stratford on the weekend of August 26-28.

-Posted by Heidi Ulrichsen