Tillsonburg Gemini baseball squad ‘walk up’ to 5-0 TVRA record

Gemini relief pitcher Carver Schott covers home plate during his team’s 10-3 TVRA South East Tier I victory. (Jeff Tribe Photo)

Jeff Tribe, Echo Correspondent

It wasn’t anything an official scorer would have recorded as an error.

Moreso ‘technical difficulties’ when the Tillsonburg Gemini Varsity Baseball booth crew mistakenly transferred Landon Stortz’s walk-up song ‘Can’t Stop’ by The Red Hot Chili Peppers to teammate Odin Oatway’s entry into the batter’s box.

“Just one of those things,” shrugged Stortz, his generous mood encouraged by a winning streak that also didn’t stop through the Gemini’s fifth consecutive victory of the Thames Valley Regional Athletics Tier I regular season Thursday, May 8th at Sam Lamb field.

“He feels very sorry,” Stortz added with a smile.

The Tillsonburg booth unveiled walk-up songs that day, an elevated touch or reward for a team playing an elevated and confident standard of baseball highlighted by a 10-3 win over the visiting Ingersoll Blue Bombers.

“Bring some hype to the game,” Oatway explained.

He brought some bottom-of-the-first-inning offence on the back end of back-to-back one-out singles with Brennan Van Den Neucker, both scoring in a frame which continued with an error and groundout to short. Tillsonburg went up 4-0 in the home second on runs by Ty Cooper (hit by a pitch) and Stortz (single). Nathan Gaitens drew a two-out walk and scored in the fourth, the Gemini extending their lead to 7-0 in the fifth, Liam Nunn drawing a leadoff walk, followed by Cohen Schott and Cooper base hits.

Ingersoll scored three in the top of the sixth on four walks and a base hit, with Tillsonburg answering in the home half on walks to Van Den Neucker and Daxton Kingsbury, along with a Brody VanRybroeck run-scoring single.

Starting Gemini pitcher Brodie Seitz picked up the victory with four scoreless innings of work, Carver Schott and Stortz coming on in relief.

Tillsonburg opened its 2025 season with a 7-4 win over St. Thomas Parkside Wednesday, April 23, following up with 10-0 wins over Woodstock Huron Park and Woodstock CI, heading into Thursday’s game on strength of a 4-1 win over a tough Lord Dorchester squad the previous day.

“I think we’re playing great,” said Oatway, reasons for the team’s strong performance varying from ‘starting with pitching’ (Gaitens) to ‘defence and hitting,’ (Nunn).

“Just play good,” summed up Van Den Neucker of the overall Gemini goal. “Try to get to WOSSAA.”

“OFSAA, bud,” Gaitens interjected.

“Whatever is the highest,” Van Den Neucker agreed.

Varsity baseball’s spring season can bring complications said Gemini head coach Derek Partlo. Inclement weather, club team responsibilities and respecting pitcher’s pitch counts have limited Tillsonburg’s practice opportunities, a challenge offset in part by the team’s comparative level of experience.

Many Gemini came up through minor baseball in Tillsonburg together, concurrently competing either on the U18 Tillsonburg Otters, or out of town with teams including Oatway’s London Badgers.

Two former Badgers, Van Den Neucker and Seitz, have returned to Tillsonburg, freeing them up to add to the Gemini pitching depth.

“Decent ballplayers who have played some ball,” Partlo summed up of the overall roster, along with a pick-up or two including Gaitens, an OHL draftee who hit an off-field ‘frozen rope’ over the 375-foot sign at Dorchester’s Royal Field.

“Just a good athlete,” credited Gemini coach Greg Hayward.

Together, the former Tillsonburg Red Sox are striving to see Gemini players have fun while also respecting each other, opposing teams and officiating crews.

“We try and install some old-school play with some new-school players,” Partlo explained, happy with the 5-0 record, but aware the team can still be beaten. Their regular season is scheduled to finish Monday, May 12th in Woodstock against the College Avenue Knights, and the following day against the also undefeated 4-0-1 St. Thomas St. Joe’s Rams.

“They’re having fun, that’s what it’s all about,” Partlo continued in conclusion. “I don’t know if grandpa Sam (Lamb) would approve of the walk-up songs,” he laughed, “but he definitely would approve of kids out here playing baseball.”