Reeling from the sudden death of Hornets coach and league builder, Mike Holm, the team ended a very emotional weekend with a win in the Richmond Hill tournament.
The Little Caesars Muskoka Hornets Bantam Selects travelled to Richmond Hill last weekend to compete in the 2017 Green and Gold Bantam Select Baseball Tournament. The 16-team field included many strong teams from the GTA.
Lead by tournament MVP Cody Thomas, the Hornets showed great determination to complete the round robin with two wins and one loss, including a big win against league rivals, the Aurora Cobras, to ensure the team advanced to Sunday play.
On Saturday evening, the Hornets players were informed of the tragic news that Muskoka Hornets coach and long-time baseball friend Mike Holm died of a heart attack earlier in the day. Most of the players on the team played for Mike in previous years and he was a very close friend to all in the Hornets program.
The news was devastating and with thoughts of Mike and his family weighing heavily on the young team and coaching staff, they took to the diamonds on Sunday under a heat advisory.
Prior to the game, the players shared a moment of silence on the pitching mound in tribute, having decided the night before that the tournament must be won in Mike’s name. With a loud cheer of ‘For Mike’, the team won a tough game against Thornhill by 8-6, led the trademark bend-but-don’t-break pitching, solid defense and timely hitting.
The win against Thornhill set up a semi-final game against the Stouffville Yankees, where the Hornets cruised to an easy 14-4 victory and a berth in the championship game against the undefeated Markham Mariners.
Once again, the team rode a wave of emotion, jumping out to a quick five-run lead in the first inning and never looking back enroute to a 15-8 championship victory.
The team is very honoured to dedicate this tournament win to Mike Holm, for everything he did for the Muskoka Hornets organization and for just being Mikey.
The Bantam Hornets look to continue their impressive start to the season in games this weekend at McCulley-Robertson diamonds in Huntsville with a doubleheader Sunday against the Barrie Red Sox. First pitch 11 a.m. Admission is free.
A celebration of Mike’s life will be held on Friday June 16 at 1 pm at the Turner Chapel, Reynolds Funeral Home, 1 Mary St, Bracebridge.
The Muskoka Hornets program started in 2009 with a mandate to offer kids in the Muskoka region a chance to play competitive baseball. In its first year, the Hornets had one Mosquito Select team. Since then, the program expanded rapidly including adding management of the Huntsville Minor Baseball program in 2013 and Gravenhurst in 2017. This year, the Hornets will field five travel teams and will have close to 400 players in its house league programs in Huntsville and Gravenhurst.
For further information on the Muskoka Hornets program, please visit their website here.
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