Stratford Nationals weekly recap: 18U qualifies for provincials, 15U ends regular season on a positive note

Owen Brooks of the Stratford 18U Nationals slides into second base after stealing from first against the Guelph Royals in the OBA ‘A’ qualifier tournament in Brantford on July 31.

By: Michael Willoughby

The 2026 Inter County Baseball Association (ICBA) regular season came to an end for both the 15U and 18U Stratford Nationals last week, and the 18U squad qualified for the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) provincials in Clarington with a perfect 4-0 record in the qualifier tournament in Brantford.

Fresh off the disappointing end to the regular season, the Stratford 18U participated in the six-team OBA ‘A’ provincial qualifier last weekend at Cockshutt Park.

Playing their games under a double-elimination format at the George Baker Diamond, the Nationals opened their tournament play against the Guelph Royals on the late afternoon of July 31.

Stratford put on an offensive clinic from the first inning onward and dominated the Tier-2 Royals squad with a 13-3 win. Caden Diehl was instrumental in the tournament opener win, going the distance with five strikeouts, allowing three earned runs on one walk and four hits on the mound. Offensively, Diehl went 2-for-4 with a team-leading three RBIs.

In the evening game, the Nationals endured a tough test against the Cambridge Cubs. Cambridge took a 4-1 lead through the first three innings before the Nationals rallied for eight unanswered runs in the remaining innings to beat the Cubs 9-4.

The turning point of the game came in the bottom of the fifth when the Nationals faced a bases-loaded situation with one out. Stratford’s Reed Bowles came in relief, and with two pitches, the Nationals turned into a 1-2-3 double play.

Finley Newton led the Nationals with two RBIs and three hits on three at-bats.

On the morning of Aug. 1, the Nationals faced the Kitchener Hassan Panthers in the semifinal round game between the unbeaten teams.

For the second straight game, the Nationals trailed early with a 1-0 lead into the bottom half of the fourth, when Diehl and Logan MacMillan’s RBI singles put the Nationals in the lead. Stratford poured on the offence in the next inning with five runs to put the game away in the 7-1 win, putting the Nationals in the final round.

In the evening game, the Nationals renewed their acquaintances with the Panthers with the OBA provincials on the line.

After Kitchener went to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning, James Robinson’s RBI single and Cooper Yantzi’s two-run RBI double put the Nationals ahead in their half of the first. Stratford added six more runs in the next three innings to go ahead 9-3 through four complete innings.

Kitchener drew a late rally to close the deficit to three in the sixth, but the Nationals preserved the lead and retired the side in the final inning to win the game and clinch their spot in the OBA ‘A’ Provincials in Clarington, scheduled for Aug. 13 to 16 in Clarington.

In what was their finest form of results in 2026, a very happy Stratford head coach Mud Grasby commended the team’s quality and commitment to qualifying for the OBA tournament.

“Well, they played this weekend like I knew they could. They showed up on time. They stretched and played catch. They played baseball the way I knew they could. They weren't just coming to the ballpark and fooling around,” Grasby said.

“They gave me everything they had this weekend, and we played four solid ball games, from pitching to hitting in key situations. They just did everything appropriately.”

The Nationals are returning to Brantford next weekend for the ICBA playoff tournament, scheduled from Aug. 6 to 9. Grasby mentioned that the team will face a tougher challenge this time but aims to remain competitive and hopes to replicate their performance from the OBA qualifier tournament and preserve the pitching staff.

“We're playing AAA and Double A teams, but if we can win a couple games next weekend, yeah, rest is huge. Like pitching staff, I don't have a lot of pitchers because we only have 11 doll players, so pitching is going to be key that I rest on for the OBA's,” Grasby said.

The Stratford 15U Nationals finished their ICBA regular-season play with wins over the Ancaster Angels on July 28 and Waterloo Tigers Team 2 on July 29, both at Stratford National Stadium.

On July 28, Cole Morris led the Nationals with four hits and co-led the team with two RBIs alongside Will Molenhuis and Landen McCann in the 12-7 win over Ancaster. On July 29, the Nationals overcame an 8-2 deficit to hold off Waterloo with a 14-run fifth inning in a high-scoring 18-16 win.

The top of the Stratford batting order of Molenhuis, Jake Price and Morris combined for seven RBIs on eight hits and scored nine of the 18 Nationals runs.

After the July 29 game, Stratford coach Rick Boon praised the pitchers for rallying the team and pointed out a crucial defensive play by Molenhuis in the fourth inning as a turning point. The team's hitting also improved, thanks to significant contributions from lower batters, which positively impacted the performance of the top players.

“Yeah, it was a very tough start. We didn't come ready to play. We made too many mental errors and physical errors to start the game, and we got behind. All right, so I give credit to our pitchers for getting us in, and when we finally started getting one or two hits, then it became contagious. Then the good hitting came back out, and we started playing better defence after that,” Boon said.

“It was that one defensively. It was a turning point of the game. Willie (Molenhuis) gives it all every time, and he put out and made a good catch. … We got some key hits from guys that are lower in our batting order, and that made the guys in the top board take a better look at things, and they took better swings after that.”

The 15U Nationals start their OBA ‘A’ provincial qualifier at Stratford National Stadium with the Brantford Red Sox Tier-2 in the opening game on August 6. The double-elimination tournament takes place from Aug. 6 to 9 in Stratford.

When speaking to the Times about the OBA qualifier tournament, Boon insists that the players commit to the game and not battle from behind.

“We have to be on time to start the game on time, so that we don't get behind by six and seven runs again. We're a good team, but we have to work from ahead. So the focus is making sure that we play clean in the field, but we've got to show up on time and put the bats to work right away,” Boon said.