The North Bay Stingers used five pitchers and some timely hitting as they defeated the Richmond Hill Phoenix 7-6 in the Mosquito Division final of the 16-team 9th annual Muskoka Cup Baseball Tournament which wrapped up on Sunday at Peake Fields in Bracebridge.
Beau Herron had a pair of solo inside the park home runs while centrefielder Briir Long had a key two-run single in the fifth inning and made a couple key catches while getting game MVP accolades in the final.
Stingers pitcher Jacob Lefebvre got the win in relief as the team finished with a perfect 5-0 record en route to the gold medal victory.
We came in and we really didn’t know what to expect from the team and we just wanted to improve from game to game and that’s what we did,” said Stingers Head Coach Kurtis Herron.
“The boys came through with some clutch hits and some great pitching at key moments during the weekend and we were fortunate to come out on top over a great team from Richmond Hill.”
The Stingers opened up the tournament with a contest against the Clarington Royals. Masen Wray was solid on the mound and was named game MVP for the Stingers as they upended the Royals 9-7 on Friday night.
On Saturday morning the winning continued as Stingers pitcher Caleb Dawson struck out 8 batters in four and one third innings work in an 8-3 win over the Innisfil Cardinals. Dawson was named the Stingers game MVP.
The Stingers solidified the top spot in their division and a ticket to Sunday’s semi-final thanks to a convincing 25-1 thumping over the Thorold A’s. Stingers pitcher Beau Herron was named the game MVP.
That 3-0 record set up a Sunday morning all-northern Ontario semi-final against the Sudbury Shamrocks. In that game, Marshall McCharles had two doubles to pace the Stingers to a 10-4 win. Stingers second baseman Nate Sinclair was named game MVP with a pair of hits of his own and some solid defensive play in the infield.
The team is made up of the following players: Denver Landriault, Briir Long, Jacob DeLongchamp, Landon Jackson, Nate Sinclair, Beau Herron, Jacob Lefebvre, Caleb Dawson, Masen Wray, Marshall McCharles, Robby Baas and Ryan Spencer.
Coaches: Kurtis Herron, Joey McCharles, Trevor Baas, Dave Spencer and Manager Rod Sinclair.
