This past weekend, senior teams in the North Dufferin Baseball League participated in elimination tournaments for Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) playoffs on the Labour Day Weekend. 

All senior teams except for Mansfield were involved in one of the three tournaments.

The New Lowell Knights, Clearview Orioles, Orillia Majors and Ivy Leafs were at New Lowell Recreation Park for the ‘B’ classification tournament.  The first game was between Clearview and Orillia with Clearview winning 10-9.  New Lowell and Ivy took to the diamond with Ivy downing New Lowell 7-6.

New Lowell and Orillia then squared off to decide who would remain and who would be eliminated; the Majors lost 1-0. Clearview and Ivy played game four Saturday afternoon, when the Orioles defeated the Leafs 2-1.

Sunday morning, New Lowell and Ivy battled to decide who would play Clearview in the finals.  The Knights defeated the Leafs 6-1, sending New Lowell to face the undefeated Clearview team.  The Knights ended up beating the Orioles 10-0, which forced a sudden death game to determine the winner.  

In that game, New Lowell was able to score four runs in its half of the seventh and held off the Orioles 4-0.  New Lowell will be off to Kendal during the Labour Day Weekend for the OBA playoffs.

In the ‘C’ classification tournament, the Creemore Braves, Barrie Red Sox ‘A’, and the Aurora Jays played off at Creemore’s Gowan Memorial Park.  Creemore and Barrie met in game one with Creemore defeating Barrie 3-1.  Creemore then defeated Aurora 6-5.

Barrie and Aurora met in game three where the Red Sox pounded the Jays 7-1 to eliminate Aurora from the tournament and face Creemore in the finals.  Creemore and Barrie took to the diamond Sunday morning where the Braves won 5-2 over the Red Sox. Creemore will head to Tillsonburg to vie for the ‘C’ championship.

The Angus Black Sox, Barrie Red Sox ‘B’, Bolton Brewers, Lisle Astros and Midland Indians participated in the ‘D’ elimination tournament hosted by Midland at Tiffin Park.  Midland scored a 4-1 win over Angus Friday night.  Saturday morning, Lisle handily handed Barrie a 5-0 loss.

Later Saturday, Angus eliminated Barrie with a 4-3 decision. The Bolton Brewers, who received a bye at the start of the tournament, blanked Lisle in their first game 6-0.  Lisle played its third game of the day, and got trounced by Angus 11-1.

Both Midland and Bolton played back-to-back games Sunday morning with Bolton beating Midland by scores of 7-2 and 4-3, placing Bolton in the final with a 2-0 record against Lisle’s 2-1 record.   

The final game got underway at 4 p.m. with a close fought game that resulted in extra innings.  However, bad weather quickly moved in and the game was suspended in the bottom of the ninth inning with Lisle leading 8-6 and Bolton at bat.

The conclusion of the game will be played Thursday night in Bolton at 7:30 p.m., and if the Lisle Astros win, they will force a second deciding game immediately after.  The OBA ‘D’ tournament will be held in Wallaceburg again this year over the Labour Day Weekend.

While all winners of their respective divisions will attend the OBA playoff tournaments in the fall, the runners-up may also be eligible to attend if the schedule permits.

 For more information, click the link provided to get to the league website.