2013 Silver Bat Champions
2013-08-15
After 36 years of looking on as others celebrated winning their tournament, the Newmarket Hawks team won the coveted Silver Bat mosquito baseball tournament in 2012. Now, the hosts have laid claim to the title for a second consecutive year after capturing the 2013 championship on July 21.
Backed by starter Grant Beetlestone’s two-hit, shutout pitching over 4-2/3 innings, the Hawks rolled to a 6-0 lead through five innings on the way to a 6-2 victory over the Stouffville Yankees to capture the 38th annual tournament at the Ray Twinney Complex. The Hawks led 3-0 when Mitchell Bratt smashed a three-run triple to pad the lead in the top of the fifth inning. Highlight reel defensive catches by Brycen Pascal helped preserve the win. The victory also avenged an earlier 6-5 loss to Stouffville, Newmarket’s lone loss in five games in the tournament.
The opportunity for back-to-back titles was almost over before it began after the Hawks’ opening loss to Stouffville. Then in the Hawks’ second game, they were down one run in the bottom of the 7th inning to the Royal York Cardinals with two out and no one on. RJ Tuck then ripped a game-changing triple, followed by an RBI single up the first base line by Beetlestone to tie the game. After an important walk earned by Nick Taylor, Matthew Kobryn then stung a single up the middle for the walk-off win.
Buoyed by that comeback, the Hawks then rolled to victories over the East York Bulldogs (featuring a two-out bases loaded double by Jaden Hums to break the game open as well as multi-hits and multi-steals from speedster Lucas Wessinger) and then OBA AA rival Walker Homesites Hawks (featuring a rocket home run shot over the right field fence by RJ Tuck as well as web gems from Devon Conforti and Tyler Romandel) to set-up the rematch in the final with Stouffville.
And Reid Lunney not only helped lead his team to victory playing key innings at catcher, shortstop, and pitcher throughout the tournament, he also achieved a rare double: Reid is a back-to-back Silver Bat champion, along with his father Doug and grandfather Rich, as all three of them were members of the 2012 championship team.