Seaway Surge 22U AA provincial champions

Provincial Champions – Monday was a great day for a championship final. The Seaway Surge went on a four game run in the Baseball Ontario 22U AA provincial championship tournament to face the undefeated Whitby Canadians in the championship August 14, winning 7-5. The club hosted the 22 and under provincial tournament in Morrisburg and Kemptville this year. For more about the Surge’s championship run, turn to page 9. Pictured above in the back row (l-r) with their championship banner are: Dan Piche – coach, Simon Piche, Ethan Marion, Nolan Forbes, Max Johnston, Connor Van Luit, Ben Lapier, Owen Fetterly, Joshua Broad, Kayne McCadden, Keaton Mather, and Kent Young – coach. Front row: Kobey Young, Evan Cory, Owen Lucas, Colby Schrowder, Cooper McCooeye, Ryland Earle, and Auston Rivet. (The Leader/Blancher photo)

MORRISBURG – The only thing better than winning the provincial championship, is winning the provincial championship at home in front of hundreds of fans and family. For the Seaway Surge 22U AA team, that happened for them on Monday morning.

The Surge hosted the Baseball Ontario 22U Provincial Championship in Morrisburg and in South Gower this past weekend with teams from around Ontario vying for the coveted provincial pennant.

To get to the August 14 championship final, the Surge had to get through six other teams. They defeated the Scarborough Stingers 13-3 in their first game Friday.

Seaway faced elimination following a loss in their second game in the double-elimination tournament. The Whitby Canadians beat Seaway 5-1.

A close game Saturday had Seaway hold on for a 7-6 win over Halton Hills.

Seaway then went on to defeat Orillia 6-2. Back-to-back games late Sunday against Markham and Erindale resulted in a pair of wins for the Surge (12-2 and 7-6 respectively.)

The championship final was a rematch between Whitby and Seaway.

Pitcher Owen Fetterly played into the seventh inning during the championship game, throwing 118 pitches.

The Surge trailed the Canadians 5-3 into the fifth inning. RBIs by Ben Lapier and Max Johnston tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Seaway scored two runs in the sixth inning to take a 7-5 lead.

Pitcher Owen Fetterly pitched into the top of the seventh inning, maxing out his pitch count for the game. Relief closer Cooper McCooeye finished out the final Whitby batter, sealing the game and the provincial championship.

This is the first 22 and Under Double-A championship for the baseball club.