U15 Nationals compete at the Cardinal Classic, held on to beat Brantford

Pitcher Cole Morris prepares to deliver the pitch against the Clarington Orioles at the Cardinal Classic in St. Thomas on May 22.

A weekend-long rainstorm shortened the Stratford U15 Nationals’ participation at the Cardinal Classic in St. Thomas, and they held off a late rally by the Brantford Red Sox to win 6-4 on May 25.

The Stratford U15 Nationals participated in the annual Cardinal Classic at Emilie Field in St. Thomas from May 22 to 24.

Stratford started their round robin games with an afternoon match against the Clarington Orioles, delivering a precise offensive performance as they scored 11 runs on eight hits and five Clarington errors en route to an 11-0 victory in six innings.

Cole Morris excelled both offensively, with two hits and three RBIs, and pitching, completing three innings without allowing a hit and striking out two batters. Reid Musselman finished off the Orioles with three scoreless innings of his own. Jake Price and Will Molenhuis each led the Nationals with three runs.

Nationals coach Rick Boon liked the team’s performance in the tournament opener, citing the near-perfect execution on all three phases.

“Cole (Morris) pitched a heck of a game. He did really well to start the game, and Reid came in, and Reid Musselman did a really good job of picking up after that, and just keeping the ball on the ground. They didn't swing the bats very well because we put the pitches in the right spot, so overall we did well,” Boon said.

“We missed a few opportunities with the bases loaded, runners in position. We have to work on that to make sure we get a score.”

The Nationals were supposed to play against Newmarket and Quinte on the last day of the round-robin on May 23. However, the rest of the tournament was called off because of heavy rain that persisted throughout most of the weekend.

Stratford resumed their Intercounty Baseball Association regular-season play on May 25 when they faced the Brantford Red Sox at the Arnold Anderson Stadium in Brantford.

Landen McCann and James Antonio each drove in two runs for the Nationals, with McCann also leading the team with three hits. Starting pitcher Price pitched five innings, gave up two earned runs, allowed four walks and seven hits, and had two strikeouts. Carter Cook secured the win for the Nationals by pitching two scoreless innings in relief.