18U Nationals rise to occasion with winning week, and prepare for London

Stratford Nationals pitcher Alex Everett throws for a strikeout against the Woodstock Wranglers at Stratford National Stadium on July 13.

By: Michael Willoughby

It was a winning week for the Stratford 18U Nationals, as the squad posted three wins in four games against the Woodstock Wranglers and the Caledonia Bears.

On July 8, the Nationals travelled to Woodstock to face the Wranglers. Stratford got on the board in the first inning when James Robinson scored from second base, crossing home plate just before Dawson Davidson was tagged out in a rundown at second.

Woodstock tied the game in the second inning and took the lead in the third, but the Nationals responded with four runs in the next inning. Daniel Hovius’ RBI single cut the Woodstock lead to one, and then Nolan Miller scored on a Colin Priestap groundout to tie the game.

With two outs, Finley Newton hit an RBI single, allowing Hovius to score and giving the Nationals the lead. An RBI single from Reed Bowles added insurance for the Nationals, giving the visitors a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth.

Alex Everett scored the sixth run of the game for the Nationals in the fifth, and the Nationals put on their offensive muscle with six in the sixth inning, and one more in the third en route to a 16-4 rout.

All 10 members of the starting lineup for the nationals recorded a hit, with Bowles leading the team’s 16-hit barrage with four, while Priestap led the team with three RBIs. Robinson threw 107 pitches over six innings, recorded four strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on three walks and four hits. Hovius preserved the win with a perfect seventh inning.

Both teams renewed their acquaintances on July 11 at Woodstock. Stratford scored two runs in the second inning after consecutive RBI singles from Owen Brooks and Everett. Woodstock scored a single run in the next three innings, putting themselves ahead 3-2 heading into the seventh.

Stratford staged their comeback with one out in the seventh and final inning. After a Woodstock defensive error allowed Bowles to reach first and Everett to reach third, Cooper Yantzi’s groundball single allowed Everett to score and tie the game at three apiece. Then, with two outs, the Nationals retook the lead after Davidson hit a two-RBI triple.

Everett pitched the clean bottom half of the seventh to secure the comeback 5-3 win. Stratford starting pitcher Brooks pitched five innings, threw 76 pitches, struck out three and allowed two earned runs on one walk and seven hits.

On July 12, the Nationals continued their road trip with a stop in Caledonia to face the Bears. Stratford had a rough defensive showing with six errors, three in the first inning and couldn’t muster significant offence in the 13-3 loss. Robinson and Everett each had two hits to lead the Nationals, while Davidson and Everett provided the RBIs for the visitors in the loss.

The Nationals finished off their busy week on July 13 with their third game in six days against Woodstock, this time at Stratford National Stadium.

The Wranglers took an early 2-0 lead off the Stratford starting pitcher Everett in the second inning. Nolan Miller provided the RBI single to put the Nationals on the board in their half of the second.

After a scoreless third and fourth innings, the visitors added two more in the top of the fifth. Brooks notched a two-out RBI single to cut the Woodstock lead in half in the bottom of the inning.

Stratford was stymied by Woodstock for the majority of the game, but saved their best for last in the bottom of the ninth.

The comeback started when Yantzi singled to lead off the inning, Robinson fought back from an 0-2 count to draw a walk, and Davidson reached first on an error, loading the bases for the Nationals. Everett then hit a two-RBI double to even the score at 4-4. After Miller was intentionally walked to load the bases, Hovius executed a perfect square bunt, enabling the speedy Davidson to score from third and secure the win.

Everett pitched six effective innings, striking out eight batters and giving up four earned runs on six hits. Bowles held the Wranglers to just two hits over three relief innings, recording six strikeouts. Everett also led the Nationals with two RBIs, while Miller, Hovius and Brooks each contributed one RBI for Stratford.

Following the game, a very pleased Stratford head coach Mud Grasby says the team showed significant growth during the week.

“Very happy with it. We put some good at-bats together in the last inning. Put four hits together to score three runs, so it worked out well,” Grasby said.

“We're starting to hit the ball, and we're not making as many mistakes as we used to. In the game we lost (Caledonia), we made seven (six) errors again. You can't win when you're making that many errors. If you're making one a ball game, you can battle and that's what we've been doing lately. Is playing pretty decent defence. I've been getting good pitching, but we're really hitting the ball.”

The Nationals improved their Inter County Baseball Association (ICBA) regular-season record to 9-12. Next up for the Nationals is competing at the 10th Annual London Talons Baseball Tournament in London from July 17-19. Stratford will be competing in Pool B with the London 17U Talons, Peterborough Tigers and Innisfil Cardinals.

The Nationals begin their tournament play against the 17U Talons on the afternoon of July 17. On July 18, Stratford faces Peterborough in the morning game and wraps up their round-robin schedule against Innisfil in the late-afternoon game.

The top two teams from each group advance to the tournament semifinals and finals on July 19.