Over the June 12th to 14th weekend, the 11U Rep A Black Sox travelled to Stratford for the Jack Grasby Memorial Tournament. After two convincing wins in exhibition against Valley East in May, the team was looking forward to the Southern Ontario tournament.

The Soo opened the tournament with a big win against the Exeter Express, scoring the max of 4 runs an inning with a final score of 14-0 after 4 innings. Thomas Hirvi hit an in the park home run and Reece Hunter earned the win for the Sox at the mound.

In the second game of the day, the Dorchester Diamondbacks got on the board first scoring 2 in the first inning as the Soo remained scoreless after one. The Soo came back swinging with big hits from Thomas Hirvi, Lenny Horton, and Lucas Farand to lead the Soo to the 12-5 win after 7 innings. Thomas Hirvi earned the win at the mound.

In the final game of the round robin, the Soo would meet the undefeated hometown team, the Stratford Nationals for the chance to make it to championship Sunday. With Jax Palahnuk starting at the plate, the Soo was up 11-6 after 5 innings. Stratford flipped the game on its head in the top of the 7th inning, scoring 6 runs on 5 hits to take the lead by 1. The Soo was able to rally back to tie the game at the bottom of the 7th to secure the first place in their pool. The Soo collected 12 hits in the game, with Thomas Hirvi and Landon Morley collecting 3 hits, while Jax Palahnuk and Landon Morley each drove in 3 runs for the Soo.

The Sox and the North London Nationals would meet in the semi-final match on Sunday morning. The Soo jumped out to lead in the first inning as Thomas Hirvi singled to score two runs, Landon Morley hit an in the park home run to score two runs and Lucas Farand grounded out to score one run. The Soo never looked back as they won 10-0 after 4.5 innings with strong pitching from Reece Hunter and catching from Jax Palahnuk.

In the finals, it was a re-match with the Stratford Nationals as both teams entered with the same record of 3-0-1. After an exciting first inning where Jacob Schoenauer, Thomas Hirvi, and Lucas Farand all drove in one run, it was 3-1 for the Soo. The second inning was scoreless for both teams, and then in the third inning, the Soo drove in 3 more runs to further their lead to 6-1. Stratford could not score any more runs as the Soo secured the  championship winning 8-1 after 7 innings, with multiple stolen bases for Reid Entwistle, who was the relief at the mound for the winning pitcher, Thomas Hirvi.

Congratulations to Thomas Hirvi, who was selected as the tournament MVP and awarded with a baseball glove presented by Jack Grasby’s sons.

Congratulations to the 11U Black Sox for winning the Jack Grasby Rep A Memorial tournament. The players, coaches, and parents would like to thank all the sponsors for their support of this team this season!

Head Coach Ryan Palahinuk commented that he was “Proud of the boys for working hard all weekend long and executing everything that they have been practicing.”

The team looks to build on this momentum as they travel next to Bracebridge, ON for the Muskoka Cup in July.

Roster: Mason DiDonato, Lenny Horton, Jax Palahnuk, Theo Rome, Reid Entwistle, Jacob Schoenauer, Reece Hunter, Lucas Farand, Thomas Hirvi, Landon Morley, Oliver Holtom, Bat Boy: Andrew Hirvi.

Coaches: Ryan Palahnuk, Brad Entwistle, Chris Rome, Tom Farand, Jay Hunter.