Peterborough 8U Tigers Comeback Bid Successful to Earn Provincial Championship

The Peterborough 8U Tigers kept the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) AAA championship at home as they came back to defeat the Scarborough Stingers, 11-8, in the championship game at the George (Red) Sullivan East City Bowl on Sunday afternoon.

(From left to right) Top row: Bill Mercer, Matt Pyke, Keegan Pyke, Andrew Mercer, Mike Nelson, Joseph Curry, Scott Perrin Middle row: Weston Perrin, Lucas Nelson, Easton Condon, Louis Curry, Reed Tivy, Chase Massie, Camden Raftis, Declan Manol Front row: Asher Young, Reign Mercer, Henry Helleman, Jackson Pyke. Photo courtesy of Peterborough 8U Tigers.

Peterborough’s four-day tournament began, defeating East York 14-10 at Bowers Park on Thursday afternoon. They finished day one with a 17-9 win over the Riverside Royals (Windsor) at Bowers to move to a 2-0 record.

Day two saw Peterborough beat the Guelph Royals in a close game, 6-4 at Bowers Park. Day three was a nail-biter but the Tigers pulled through with a 4-3 win against the Hamilton Cardinals at East City Bowl on Saturday. The win gave Peterborough a bye into the playoffs and had a rematch against the Cardinals on Sunday. The hometown Tigers punched their ticket to the finals with a 12-6 win at East City Bowl to take on Scarborough.

If the Tigers could beat Scarborough, it would cap off an undefeated tournament for Peterborough and an OBA title. However, they suffered their first defeat to the Stingers after a late seventh-inning rally in a 9-8 loss. This set up a rematch as both teams had suffered one loss each in the double-elimination tournament, resulting in a winner-take-all game just one hour later.

This time, the Tigers were trailing late in the game until the Tigers rallied for four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take the lead. Peterborough clamped down defensively and finished the game without allowing another score for the OBA Championship.

“I'm really proud of this team. They overcame some adversity in the final day to win the championship,” said Scott Perrin, U8 Tigers head coach. “Playing three games in one day isn't easy for seven and eight-year-olds. The friendships they developed over the whole baseball season is what got them through in the final game. Watching them support each other and the love they developed for each other was amazing. That's what this team is all about.”

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Peterborough's Greg Hamilton Inducted Into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame

A Peterborough name is in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, as Greg Hamilton was inducted at the facility in St. Mary’s, Ont., on Saturday afternoon.

Photo courtesy of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame & Museum.

While he was born on July 26, 1965, in Toronto, Hamilton was raised in Peterborough and has served in prominent leadership roles with Baseball Canada for over three decades. During that time, he has overseen the most successful era in the history of the national teams program according to the Hall of Fame.

“Having grown up in the Canadian baseball system and spent the vast majority of my professional baseball career working for Baseball Canada, it is an absolute honour to be inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.,” said Hamilton.

A Princeton University graduate, Hamilton was named the pitching coach of Canada’s Senior National Team in 1992. He held that post until 1995, when he became the head coach of the Junior National Team the following year.

Hamilton heads the junior team while doubling as director of men’s national teams. The Junior National Team has won three medals: a silver at the U-18 Baseball World Cup in 2012 and bronze medals at the same event in 1997 and 2006. Among the players Hamilton has coached on the junior squad are major league all-stars Jason Bay, Justin Morneau, Michael Soroka, Josh Naylor, Russell Martin and Michael Saunders.

As Senior National Team General Manager, Hamilton assembled the Canadian squads that captured gold at the 2011 and 2015 Pan American Games – the first two golds ever won by the Canadian senior team. Hamilton also put together the rosters for the Canadian teams that competed in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics, as well as in all five World Baseball Classics.

Before joining Baseball Canada, Hamilton worked as an assistant coach with Princeton University for two years, then as the pitching coach of the French National team in 1994.

In 2022, Hamilton was a recipient of Baseball America’s Tony Gwynn Award for his lifetime contributions to baseball. The ensuing year, he was inducted into the Baseball Ontario Hall of Fame.

Hamilton was inducted alongside other baseball greats such as former Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista; former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Érik Bédard; Baseball Canada pitcher Amada Asay; Montréal Expos administrative staff Gerry Snyder and pioneer for women’s baseball, Arleene (Johnson) Noga.

Hamilton was elected to the Hall of Fame on Feb. 12.

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Peterborough Facing Baseball Umpire Shortage With Immediate Work Available

Peterborough youth baseball is facing a shortage of umpires and the Kawartha Baseball Umpires Association (KBUA) is looking for help for immediate work reported Wednesday.

Several youth games are runnign without umpires according to a report from the KBUA.

The organization is seeking both new and experienced umpires for immediate work.

Fees range from $35 to $75 per game, across all age groups from 8 to 18. This includes house league and rep teams.

For more information or to apply to be a KBUA umpire, email Jamie Graham at graham.jamie15@gmail.com.

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Peterborough Tigers U13 To Receive Several Honours At Awards Ceremony In Trenton

The Peterborough Baseball Association’s U13 Tigers are being recognized for several awards at the Eastern Ontario Baseball Association (EOBA) Annual General Meeting at the Ramada Inn in Trenton on Saturday.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough Tigers.

The U13 Tigers became the first PBA team to earn a berth in the Baseball Canada National Championships in August.

The Tigers are being recognized as 2022 Team of the Year.

Two individual awards are being handed out to the team as Brett Crowley will be named EOBA pitcher of the year and Blake Bowers as the EOBA representative player of the year.

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Port Hope's Cal Quantrill Got Cleveland Guardians Pitching Start In a 4-1 Losing Effort To New York Yankees

Cleveland Guardians’s and Port Hope native Cal Quantrill got the starting pitcher duties for game one of the American League Divisional Series but fell short in a 4-1 loss to the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night.

Screenshot.

Quantrill had not lost a start since July 5 to the Detroit Tigers and won his last 11 decisions during that span.

He had a good start, striking out home run leader Aaron Judge as the leadoff batter. He eventually gave up a solo home run to Yankees’s Harrison Bader in the bottom of the third inning to tie the game at one.

He let another run come in on a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Quantrill was eventually relieved during the bottom of the sixth by Trevor Stephan after his last pitch was a two-run home run from Anthony Lizzo that drove home Judge.

Cal is the son of former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Paul Quantrill, spending six seasons with them.

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