Main photo (submitted): The Little Caesars Pizza Muskoka Hornets Bantam Select (back from left) Jacob White, Coach Helen Payne, Tenney Danko, Ethan Payne, Kaden Taylor, Coach Gunnar Muller, Coach Clinton Muller, Hayden Pedwell, Coach Joe Hickes; (middle from left) Oliver Fellows-Zanello, Aramis Allan, Marcus Kerr, Riley Belanger; (front from left) Wilson Babineau, Cody Thomas, and Zack Boese.
The Muskoka Hornets Bantam Select brought home Silver from the provincials in Mississauga on Labour Day weekend.
“The Dirty Dozen from Muskoka certainly epitomized their nickname as they scraped and clawed their way through the Ontario Baseball Association’s Annual Provincial Championship Tournament where the best teams from across Ontario battle one another through the Labour Day Weekend to see who survives long enough to make it to the end,” said Coach Gunnar Muller.
The Hornets were one of twelve teams that qualified for the provincial tournament by being best in their respective provincial regions through the summer season.
The York Simcoe region encompasses municipalities north of Toronto from Vaughan and Markham up through Barrie and Orillia and into Muskoka. The Muskoka Hornets and Orangeville Bengals were the two teams who earned the right to represent York Simcoe in the provincials.
Muller raved about the 2017 season, beginning in January with the teams’ weekly indoor winter program focusing on fundamental skill development, and building up to the final provincial tournament. A rainy spring kept the team indoors for most of April and postponed their scheduled season well into late May. Once the Hornets started playing they came out strong, winning all of their games and their first tournament – a large 16-team Greater Toronto Area challenge hosted by Richmond Hill. The Muskoka Bantams were in fine form, winning most of their initial games decisively and finally beating a team from Markham to take the championship trophy back to Muskoka!
“The remainder of the season continued to show that this team was no longer a collection of Muskoka hicks in over their heads but, instead, a skilled group of hard working and respectful young men who always left positive impressions wherever their cleats took them,” said Muller, adding that the team ended the season with a 13-2 record in the York Simcoe Region loop.
Following that successful season, the strong-hearted and motivated team entered their year-end provincial championships against high-performance teams.
On a cold and windy Friday, September 1, the boys played their first game against Annette, a team from the Toronto area that had won their region’s play-offs without any losses all season.
“A strong performance from the Hornets pitchers and hitters gave us a quick 11-1 mercy victory after four innings,” said Muller.
The Muskoka Hornets Bantam Select huddle before the first game of the provincials (submitted photo)
Saturday morning had the Hornets face off against a team from Martingrove, who played a tough game at first but eventually “fell to our bats,” said Muller, giving Muskoka another win 12-3.
That afternoon, the Hornets were up against a team from Welland representing the Niagara Region. The Hornets experienced their first loss as the team had some defensive slip-ups and Welland had some timely hits allowing them to take the lead 10-5. But it wasn’t over yet for the Hornets as the format for this type of play-off is a double-knockout, which gave a life for the team to use without any other losses.
The Muskoka Hornets played their fourth game Saturday evening against another team from Guelph who was also fighting for their life in the tournament. “We managed to get a quick start with three runs in but then saw Guelph claw back and hold even with us until the fourth inning when we smacked in five runs to take the lead and eventually edge out Guelph 9-7, enabling us to advance to the Sunday games,” said Muller.
The semi-final game was held on Sunday morning with the Hornets Bantams taking the field against a Senior Bantam team from Milton. The boys did not let the intimidation get to them as they held strong with a 7-2 lead after three-and-a-half innings full of great momentum. And then Mother Nature awakened and the rain poured down heavily, flooding the infield and postponing the game along with the momentum. With this delay, it was difficult for the team to re-focus and keep the same tone going. But the Hornets did not let Milton catch their lead ad secured a spot in the final championship game.
That evening, under the dusky skies and with a brisk breeze blowing in from Lake Ontario, the Hornets took to the diamonds to bat it out head to head with Milton. It was a win or lose final game for the 2017 season. The Hornets fought hard but Milton wasn’t letting anything slide.
“Midway through the game, we had bases loaded and two out, with a hard hit deep fly ball which looked as if we would score three runs but the ball never found the ground as a Milton outfielder made a spectacular rundown to end the inning,” said Muller. “Our resolve was unconditional, our effort was valiant, our hearts were big, but in the end we could not muster enough to beat the Milton team. We tip our hats to the better team and we look forward to another encounter next year. We left nothing on the field and we came home knowing that the game of baseball unfolds in many ways and it’s always the big perspective that matters.”
Congrats on winning the silver trophy from the 2017 Ontario Championships, Hornets!
If you are interested in playing baseball, tryouts for the 2018 will start soon. Visit hornetsbaseball.ca for details about the Bantam Select team as well as all the other age groups of budding baseball players.
2017 Muskoka Hornets Bantam Select roster:
Kaden Taylor, P/IF/CF from Bracebridge
Aramis Allan, P/OF from Gravenhurst
Jacob White, P/IF/OF from Huntsville
Cody Thomas, P/C/IF from Bracebridge
Hayden Pedwell, P/1B/OF from Gravenhurst
Wilson Babineau, P/1B/2B from Huntsville
Zach Boese, P/SS/C from Gravenhurst
Riley Belanger, P/LF from Huntsville
Marcus Kerr, P/OF/IF from Bracebridge
Oliver Fellows-Zanello, P/3B/SS from Gravenhurst
Ethan Payne, RF from Huntsville
Tenney Danko, C/CF from Bracebridge
Manager: Simone Babineau
Coaches: Helen Payne, Clinton Muller, Joe Hickes, Gunnar Muller
Don’t miss out on Doppler! Sign up for our free newsletter here.
congrats team, you’ve put Huntsville on the map once more