Stratford Nationals Weekly Recap: Undermanned 18U competes in SMBA Tournament, 15U splits with Waterloo and Ancaster
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
By: Michael Willoughby
Both Stratford Nationals teams had a strong week: the 18U team competed in the Stratford Minor Baseball Association 18U Tournament and pushed the top-ranked Waterloo Tigers to the brink, while the 15U team narrowly lost to Waterloo but secured an away win against the Ancaster Angels.
Shorthanded due to injuries and down to 11 men, the Stratford 18U Nationals played their last regular-season Intercounty Baseball Association (ICBA) game before the tournament against the Cambridge Cubs on June 30 at Stratford National Stadium. The Cubs took the lead in the two-run first inning and never relinquished it as the Nationals lost 9-4.
Cooper Yantzi and Finley Newton led the Nationals with two hits, while Logan MacMillan, James Robinson, Alex Everett and Nolan Miller scored for Stratford. Daniel Hovius started for the Nationals and went three and two-thirds innings, allowing three earned runs on seven hits and two walks, but tallied three strikeouts.
At the SMBA 18U Tournament round robin Group A opener on July 3 at National Stadium, the Nationals outlasted the Kingston Thunder 6-4. Stratford scored two in the first inning and four in the third, and held off a late Kingston rally in the fifth and final inning to preserve the win.
Everett led the Nationals with two hits, two runs and two RBIs. Robinson got the start on the mound for the Nationals and put on a gutsy performance, going four and two-thirds innings with seven strikeouts, allowing four runs, three walks and six hits on 111 pitches. Everett secured the victory on a groundout with two runners on in scoring position.
Next up for the Nationals was against the Barrie Baycats 17U on the afternoon of July 4 at National Stadium. Stratford took a 3-1 lead through three innings and added two more in the sixth en route to a 5-2 win. Dawson Davidson led the Nationals with two RBIs and two hits, while Owen Brooks went the distance with eight strikeouts, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks in only 97 pitches.
With the round-robin record at 2-0 with one game to go, the Nationals faced the 2-0 Mitchell Astros in the finale, with a trip to the July 5 semifinals on the line. After a scoreless first two innings, Mitchell opened the scoring in the third and added two runs in the fourth and fifth, giving it a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth.
Stratford attempted to rally in their half of the fifth, with Reed Bowles’ RBI single and Newton's 2-run RBI single putting the home side within two heading into the sixth. But the Nationals’ effort and tournament run ended with a 6-3 loss.
Despite finishing with a 2-1 record, the Nationals failed to advance, as they finished behind Group B’s St. Marys, which posted a 3-0 record, for the final spot in the semifinals. Mitchell would go on to beat the London West Tincaps in the semifinals and St. Marys to win the SMBA 18U Tournament.
On July 6, the Nationals returned to ICBA regular season play against the league’s top-ranked Waterloo Tigers at National Stadium.
Waterloo went ahead 2-0 after the second inning. In the next inning, Stratford got on the board when a Davidson groundout allowed Robinson to score from third base. With two outs in the same inning, the Nationals took the lead. Miller hit a double, which allowed Yantzi and Everett to score.
The visitors equalized the score in the fourth, took the lead again in the seventh, and scored two more in the next inning, increasing their advantage to 6-3 before the bottom of the eighth. With two outs, the Nationals demonstrated resilience by rallying with three runs from RBIs by Yantzi and Everett, tying the game at six going into the ninth.
In the ninth, the Tigers took the lead for good with two runs off Stratford reliever Bowles, and the Nationals' last-chance rally fell short in the bottom half, resulting in an 8-6 decision.
With the tournament and the Waterloo game in the rear-view mirror, Stratford head coach Mud Grasby commended the Nationals’ hard-fought effort.
“Waterloo is a first-place ball club in our league, and our guys played really well tonight to the potential I know that we have. We did it three or four times this year, but we just go into lots where we don't want to work, and we don't want to do things,” Grasby said.
“But I know we have a really good ball club and tonight proved it. You know, we're tied six-six going into the top of the ninth against the first-place ball club. Can't be disappointed at all.”
The Nationals will play four games in six days, starting on July 8 at Woodstock against the Wranglers. Both teams will play at Woodstock once again on July 11, Stratford heads to Caledonia to take on the Bears on July 12, and then hosts the Wranglers at National Stadium on July 13.
The 7-6 Stratford 15U Nationals hosted the league’s top-ranked Waterloo Tigers on July 2 at National Stadium.
Waterloo flexed their offensive grip on the Nationals with 10 runs off Stratford starting pitcher Dexter Powell over one-and-a-half innings. Stratford got on the board with a Carter Cook RBI single and Jackson Goebel’s RBI single, along with Quintin Parr’s run on Waterloo's error, closed the deficit to 10-3 after two complete innings.
Waterloo scored one in their half of the third inning, while Stratford scored three more in their half on a groundout and two Waterloo defensive errors, closing the gap to 11-6. The Tigers pounced on the Nationals for three more runs in the fourth and fifth innings, putting the game out of reach despite a four-run sixth-inning effort by the Nationals in a 14-10 loss.
Landon McCann led the Nationals with three RBIs, while Carter Cook had two RBIs, and Powell and Will Molenhuis each recorded an RBI for the home side.
On July 3, the Nationals travelled to Ancaster for a game against the Angels. Despite an early deficit, Stratford rallied to win 16-11. The middle of their batting order – Cole Morris, Powell and McCann – delivered the key offensive punch, combining for eight hits, six RBIs and seven runs scored.
With this split, the Nationals' record rose to 8-7 in the ICBA 15U division, placing sixth.
Their upcoming games are at National Stadium against Ancaster on July 9, Guelph Royals Team 1 on July 10, and the Waterloo Tigers Team 2 in Waterloo on July 13.
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