ELIMS

 

It took me a week and a bit to write this.

 

Not because I forgot what happened. I remember everything.

 

When you spend the entire summer preparing for Elims, you don't just show up for a weekend. You show up with months of practices, games, sore arms, sore legs, and sore backs. And then, suddenly, it's over.

 

We played well. Quite well at times. We scored runs, played clean defence, got strong pitching performances, came through in big moments, and looked like a team that belonged there.

 

But tournaments have a funny way of exposing the one thing nobody can prepare for: eventually, you run out of gas.

 

And we did.

 

Not all at once. It was more like the baseball equivalent of your phone hitting 12% battery and you start pretending you don't need GPS.

 

So, a week or so later, with the sting finally reduced from "I don't want to talk about it" to "Okay, I can probably write about it without throwing something," here is the story of the Rangers' tournament.

 

 

GAME 1 - WAA 

 

Rangers 14, WAA7

 

Friday afternoon. First game of the tournament. Cappy and his family showed up to support. Class personfied.

 

The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the first when Issac Duva grounded out to bring home the opening run.

 

WAA answered in the second, tying the game at 1-1, but the Rangers weren't particularly interested in letting the game remain tied. Michael Ferracuti doubled in the bottom half, giving us a 2-1 lead.

 

Then WAA hit a two-run homer in the third and suddenly we were behind 3-2.

 

This is one of those moments in baseball where everyone collectively thinks, "Okay. So we're doing this."

 

And apparently, yes. We were.

 

In the fourth, Tanner Young-Shultz launched a home run to centre field, putting the Rangers back in front 4-3.

 

WAA tied it again in the fifth, but the Rangers answered with three runs of their own. Eric Thrower singled home a run, Duva added another with a sacrifice fly, and Ryan Panas doubled home a third. The start of a great tournament for Rino. He had an incredible weekend!

 

Then came the sixth inning. Seven hits. Seven runs.

 

At this point, WAA probably started wondering if there was a mercy rule for emotionally difficult situations.

 

Alex Thrower singled in two, another Eric Thrower single brought home another, Duva doubled in one, and then Justin Teichman put the exclamation point on the inning with a three-run, pinch-hit BOMB!

 

Fourteen runs. Fourteen hits. Game one in the books.

 

And perhaps the most encouraging part? The bottom of the lineup wasn't just contributing. It was driving the bus.

 

Ferracuti, batting eighth, led the team with three hits. Jack Grant, Ryan Panas, Eric Thrower, and Tanner Young-Shultz all collected multiple hits. Seven of the Rangers' 14 hits came from these five guys.

 

That's depth.

 

The baseball equivalent of discovering there are fries at the bottom of the bag when you thought you were finished.

 

On the mound, Max Skoropadsky earned the win, going five innings, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out four.

 

The Rangers opened the tournament with a 14-7 victory.

 

Not bad.

 

 

Game 2 - ILDERTON

 

Rangers 5, Riverhawks 4

 

Friday afternoon became Friday late afternoon, because one baseball game wasn't enough.

 

The Rangers faced the Riverhawks in a much tighter affair.

 

We opened the scoring in the first when Panas singled home a run. The Riverhawks tied things in the third and then put three runs on the board, taking a 3-1 lead.

 

Now, there are moments in a tournament when you can feel a game starting to slip away. This was not one of those moments. Or, more accurately, it may have been, but the Rangers simply refused to acknowledge it.

 

Young-Shultz singled home a run, and the Rangers eventually regained the lead, 4-3.

 

The game stayed tight, with the Rangers eventually holding on for a 5-4 victory.

 

The real story was Andrew Hyde.

 

Hyde went the full seven innings, allowing seven hits and four runs, only one earned, while striking out eight and walking two.

 

Seven innings.

 

Eight strikeouts.

 

We have come to expect this from Andrew, he expects it too. Still, doing it is something else. Hyde was Hyde is always the Rangers’ mantra when Andrew pitches, but seeing it, time after time is always a pleasure. It is an honour to have him on our side. I never take him for granted.

 

The Rangers collected nine hits, with Panas and Young-Shultz picking up two apiece.

 

Two games. Two wins. A great start to the Tournament

 

 

Game 3 - THORNHILL

 

Rangers 14, Reds 3

 

Saturday afternoon.

 

The Rangers came out swinging. And then they kept swinging.

 

Panas stayed hot with a single in the first to put the Rangers on the board. We added another in the second, but Thornhill answered in the bottom of the third with two runs to take a 3-2 lead.

 

The Rangers answered in the fourth. Seven runs. Six hits. 

 

The inning included a two-run homer from David Boatto, who apparently decided that a close game was simply unnecessary paperwork. The Rangers led 9-3. Then Boatto did it again. In the fifth. Another home run. This one solo. At this point, David had apparently decided that running the bases was optional and could be handled by other people. Boatto finished with two home runs and three RBIs.

 

The Rangers added two more runs in the fifth and eventually cruised to a 14-3 victory.

 

Panas led the Rangers with three hits this time, while Ferracuti, Alex Thrower, George Cuthbert, Michael Foster, Jack St. Louis,and Young-Shultz all had multiple hits.

 

18 hits in total. Eighteen. That's not an offence. That's a group project.

 

The pitching was equally impressive. Ethan Pollard went seven innings, allowing four hits and three runs while striking out four.

 

Defensively, the Rangers were perfect. No errors. A double play.

 

Three games.

 

Three wins.

 

This earned us a bye to Round 5 on Sunday. We celebrated as only the Rangers do. Everyone, players, coaches, family, pets, a lot of food, and a lot of laughs in the Super 8 Parking Lot. These are the moments we cherish as a Team. I looked around at one point, seeing everyone having a great time and I smiled. You cannot quantify that feeling. We deserved to enjoy our accomplishments to that point and we did.

 

And then came Sunday.

 

Which brings us to the rain.

 

 

 

Game 4 — WINDSOR

 

Stars 5, Rangers 1

 

Sunday.

 

The rain came.

 

Of course it did. Because baseball tournaments aren't complete until everyone has spent several hours staring at weather apps, checking radar, and having conversations that begin with, "I think it's moving east."

 

The Rangers had to wait out the rain until early evening before finally taking the field against the host Windsor Stars. And after waiting all day to play, we scored immediately.

 

Panas doubled on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, putting the Rangers on the board in the bottom of the first.

 

Unfortunately, Windsor answered with three runs in the second.

 

The Rangers battled, but the offence that had been producing runs all weekend, suddenly went quiet.

 

That's baseball. But give credit to the Kimani Bailey, the Stars pitcher. He stuffed us. He gave up 6 hits and only one earned run. We hit the ball hard in the game, but at times, right at them and they made all the plays.

 

You can put up 14 runs one day and then spend the next day looking at the plate like it personally offended you.

 

Ronan Hayes gave the Rangers seven innings, allowing five runs on eight hits while striking out three.

 

Panas stayed hot, going 3-for-3 and accounting for the Rangers' only RBI.

 

The Rangers also turned two double plays and committed zero errors.

 

Windsor took the game 5-1.

 

Our first loss of the tournament. The winner of this game was in the driver’s seat. We knew it. They knew it.

 

But, we still had a chip and a chair.

 

 

Game 5 - SARNIA

 

Red Brigade 5, Rangers 2

 

Sunday night.

 

Apparently after waiting through an entire day of rain and playing a game in the evening, what everyone really needed was another baseball game that started at 9:25 P.M.

 

The Rangers scored first.

 

An error brought home two runs, giving us a 2-0 lead.

 

Unfortunately, Sarnia wasn't particularly interested in our plans.

 

A three-run homer by Carter Aarts in the third gave Sarnia a 3-2 lead.

 

The Rangers battled, but the offence never quite found the same rhythm it had earlier in the tournament.

 

Panas (AGAIN), led the team with two hits, while Tanner Young-Shultz drove in both Rangers runs.

 

Justin Teichman took the loss after going five and a third innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on six hits while striking out four. He deserved better I thought.

 

Sarnia added two more runs and won 5-2.

 

And just like that, the tournament was over.

 

 

The Part Nobody Likes Writing

 

And that's the story.

 

Five games.

 

Three wins.

 

Two losses.

 

A lot of good baseball.

 

And one disappointed group of Rangers.

 

Because the truth is, we didn't come into this tournament just to participate. We didn't spend the entire season preparing to have a nice weekend and collect some complimentary baseball memories.

 

We came to win.

 

And when you don't, it hurts.

 

That's probably why it took a week and a day to write this.

 

The disappointment was still too fresh. You don't spend a year building toward something and then immediately want to write a cheerful essay about how character building the experience was.

 

Nobody wants character.

 

Everybody wants to win.

 

But as the sting wears off, there's a lot to be proud of.

 

We played well.

 

We scored runs.

 

We got big hits.

 

We got big outs.

 

We played clean defence.

 

We had pitchers go deep into games.

 

We had contributions throughout the lineup.

 

And when things got tight, we didn't fold.

 

We just eventually ran out of gas.

 

There was no collapse. No embarrassment.  We were right there.

 

We have to get better.

 

Not because we weren't good.

 

Because we want to be better.

 

We will be back.

 

We'll be stronger.

 

We'll be deeper.

 

We'll be more prepared for those late-tournament moments when everyone's running on fumes and the baseball gods are apparently checking to see who has anything left in the tank.

 

The Rangers played a hell of a tournament.

 

We just didn't finish the story the way we wanted.

 

So we'll take the lessons, take the disappointment, take the motivation, and get back to work.

 

Because that's what this group does.

 

We prepare.

 

We compete.

 

We complain about the weather.

 

We check the weather again.

 

We play baseball.

 

And then, eventually, we come back.

 

Shout outs to all the family, friends, and pets that made the trip down the 401. Special kudos, as always, to Don for scoring and for his devotion to this Team. We appreciate you Don!

 

Next year, the goal is simple: Don’t run out of gas.

 

I've already spent enough time thinking about what might have been.

 

Now it's time to start working on what will be.

 

BIG love,

 

Joe