U16 OBA Rockies win Cardinal Classic tournament

The Red Rock Construction U16 OBA St. Marys Rockies captured the gold medal at the Cardinal Classic tournament July 4-6 in St. Thomas. The team also thanked St. Marys Cement and the United Steel Workers Union for their support. Pictured in the front row from left to right are Harper Murrell, Dan Dittmer, Lacklan Gilchrist, Hayden Wright, Zach Larmer, Nate Hosack and Grayson Leblanc Mossey. In the back row, from left, are Les McGregor, Dale Levy, Donovan McGregor, Parker Levy, Cody King, Kolton McAllister, Nathan Schram and Todd Dittmer.

By Spencer Seymour

The Red Rock Construction U16 OBA St. Marys Rockies captured the gold medal at the Cardinal Classic tournament in St. Thomas July 4-6.

Coach Todd Dittmer said he was thrilled with his team’s performance throughout the entire tournament.

“This was a great weekend for the boys,” Dittmer told the Independent. “Going into the weekend, we had a feeling there was a good chance for success. There always is with this team. It’s the little details that make the difference, and finally, we were able to put them all together.”

Dittmer added there was no shortage of memorable moments for his squad during the weekend.

“We could have an hour-long Instagram reel on this weekend’s highlights. Every player had huge moments throughout the tournament. Every player embraced the role they were given each game, succeeded at every assignment and fought through all adversity.

“Every player battled through the heat this weekend,” Dittmer continued. “Sunday was incredibly uncomfortable for everyone. Hayden (Wright) felt it more than anyone. He caught every inning for us this weekend, and it was greatly appreciated.”

After dropping their first round-robin game to Mississauga by a score of 7-3, the Rockies turned into an unstoppable run-scoring machine, posting at least nine runs in each of their final four games. Additionally, St. Marys put up 16 runs or more in three of those four games, including in the championship game when St. Marys defeated Midland 16-7. The Rockies ended the tournament with a tournament-best plus-53 run differential, 30 runs higher than the next-closest run differential.

Dittmer explained the final encapsulated a weekend-long theme of the team’s offence matching the execution and potency of their pitching rotation.

“One of our team’s biggest strengths is our pitching depth. We had outstanding pitching from six different throwers all weekend, and going into the final, they were averaging 0.53 runs per defensive inning. Finally this weekend, our bats came alive to support our defence, and the final was a perfect demonstration of that full team effort.

“Our batters mentally moved past the individual game and supported the whole team effort at the plate,” Dittmer added. “They were getting sacrifice hits to move runners, crucial bunts to set up a stronger offence and being aware to not hit double-play balls. It was awesome to watch.”