WC Wolverines Win London Badgers Tournament
Western Counties Wolverines win 2014 London Badgers tournament – Contributed Photo
To open the tournament, the Wolverines, who are based out of Chatham and feature six Chatham athletes, faced the WOBA Storm, winning in a 13-2 mercy. Kyle Blunt pitched four innings, allowing 2 runs, 1 hit, 4 walks, and striking our 3, before Drew Pepper came in for one inning of relief.
Chatha’s Spencer Marcus was dynamite at the plate in the opening game, hitting a single, double, and triple, with 3 RBIs.
Facing the Riverside Royals in their second game of the tournament, Grant Spence struck out 6 in 4 and 1/3 innings, to help the Western Counties squad to an 11-2 win. Derek Smith had 3 singles and 3RBIs at the plate, while Grant Spence, Connor Goldsmith, Jacob Breault, and Greg Hay all had multi-hit performances.
The Wolverines continued their dominance in their final round robin game against the Hamilton Cardinals, winning 11-3. Derek Smith had 2 singles and a double, driving in 3 runs to continue his strong day at the plate, while Spencer Marcus picked up 3 RBIs on a double and triple. Connor Goldsmith drove in 2 runs on a single, while Greg Hay, Evan Rogers, Xavier Jamieson, Drew Pepper, and Jake Taylor all made it to base on singles.
In the semi-final, again facing the Hamilton Cardinals, the Wolverines were faced with a tougher challenge, but came out on top winning 5-1 to advance to the final. Spencer Marcus struck out 5 and allowed only 3 hits in the 6 inning win. Greg Hay clobbered a 3 run home run over the 325′ fence, while Spencer Marcus drove in 2 runs with a double. Connor Goldsmith also had a triple, while Xavier Jamieson, Jakeb Taylor hat hits in the win.
Facing the host London Badgers in the championship game, Connor Goldsmith pitched a sparkling 7 inning complete game shutout, striking out 7 batters, while allowing only 5 hits, to lead the Wester Counties Wolverines to the tournament title with the 3-0 win. Derek Smith, Spencer Marcus, Greg Hay, Jacob Breault, Xavier Jamieson, and Jakeb Taylor all reached base, while Goldsmith also contributed offensively with an RBI.
The Western Counties Wolverines’ season record has now improved to 19 wins and 4 losses, with three of their losses coming against older, Major Bantam teams. Next up for the Wolverines is the Mississauga Tigers Tournament next weekend starting Friday night at 8pm.
Pictured Above: Front Row (L-R) Jacob Breault, Greg Hay, Jakeb Taylor, Ethan Lutz, Drew Pepper. Back Row (L-R) Coach J. Taylor, Xavier Jamieson, Derek Smith, Evan Rogers, Grant Spence, Kyle Blunt (shorter one in front of Grant), Connor Goldsmith, Spencer Marcus, Coach J. Jamieson, Coach B. Spence (absent Coach S. Smith and Coach C. McGregor).