The Valley East Jr Voyageurs were the only team to hand the Thorold Athletics a setback at the OBA (Ontario Baseball Association) U11 Provincial D Championships this past weekend at the Terry Fox Sports Complex.

Unfortunately, under the convoluted format that is a double-knockout tournament with a nine team draw under the umbrella of the OBA, that victory wasn’t quite enough for the nickel city lads and lasses.

A very well-balanced Thorold side overcame a 12-3 loss to the locals, turning the tables in the Sunday semi-finals with a 10-4 win and following that up by knocking off the Wallaceburg Warriors 15-7 in the final.

Tacking on at least a run or two in pretty much every at-bat in the gold medal affair, the A’s showcased the depth of their lineup from top to bottom, a club built around a core of four year veterans that has successfully integrated newcomers every step of the way, with every single youngster paramount to Thorold team success.

“We do have a lot of same faces that we are used to seeing, but now we have a few new ones too,” noted sparkplug Cameron Marrone. “Everyone has to know that they have a place and a role on this team. Everybody has a spot: whether it’s pitching, hitting, fielding, whatever.”

There is little doubt that the talkative 10 year old (Marrone turns 11 in November) takes his role as a seasoned veteran on this squad seriously.

“I would call myself a leader, just because I have been here a lot of years and know the systems well,” he said. “I need to make sure that they know that they are welcomed on this team.”

Given the restrictions of pitch count limitations, the simple truth is that in the youth baseball of 2024, pretty much every young athlete learns to pitch, with positional versatility a key to the hopes of any contending team.

“I like playing pretty much anywhere,” Marrone added. “I will go anywhere that you ask me to.”

In this final outing, this would involve a stint on the mound as Thorold were able to hold on to a few big arms, such is the inning-eating ability of the remainder of the lineup.

As for Marrone, he is every bit as intent as a pitcher as he is in tackling his role as a central figure within the all-important chemistry of the talented Athletics’ entry. “I try and focus on one thing – just going batter by batter,” he said.

“I am trying to keep all of the outside noise outside of my brain and focus on the batter. Just throw strikes, get it over the plate and trust my defense.”

A two-run single from Eli Cook gave Thorold a 7-4 lead after three innings of play, an advantage the Niagara Escarpment community representatives would never relinquish. It seemed that every time Wallaceburg would threaten, the Athletics would respond.

Trailing 11-5, the Warriors pulled to within four when Zack Soares plated a pair of runs with a base hit in the top of the sixth before the champs put the game out of reach with a four-run inning that featured a double and run scored from Griffon LaPlante and an RBI single from Saish Bhavsar.

“The thing that we have been riding the entire tournament has been the bus,” explained Marrone. “Some people start driving the bus some games, honking the horn and going crazy. Every game, different people step up.”

Rounding out the Thorold roster were Russell Barnett, Owen Davidson, Roger Grant, Bianca Mater, Cole Milot, Liam Nauta, Landon Roach and Rory Seddon.

As for the Valley East crew that settled for third place, picking up a key 9-6 win in their Friday opener over the Saugeen Shores Sting, dropping a tough 10-9 decision to Wallaceburg on Saturday but rebounding with victories over the Clinton Mustangs (14-6) and Thorold (12-3) before losing the rematch, it was a season of progression.

“For me, last year was year one,” suggested Jr Voyageurs’ head coach Carter McDavid, a product of Valley East baseball who went on to play at Baltimore City Community College in the States before returning home to northern Ontario.

“Everyone came in kind of green, so it was very fundamentals based. This year was a notch up. We worked hand in hand with The Baseball Academy to take their development to another level. I think it really showed this weekend with the strides that the kids made.”

Having come through the Sudbury and area baseball system prior to the launch of the indoor facility, McDavid sees an immense difference in the landscape that will benefit his players moving forward.

“What Jean-Gilles (Larocque) has done for the game of baseball in this area is unbelievable,” said the young man who was also a gifted hockey talent as well as a member of some very successful curling teams at St Charles College. “It’s taken the game here to a whole other level.”

“We only lost six games all year. When I was a kid growing up, we didn’t win six games all year. It really is a game changer.”

And for as much as the end result was disappointing, the process that saw the Jr Voyageurs get to this point was anything but. “I love these kids,” said McDavid. “I love the passion they bring – and they are really good kids.”

With a second round bye on the line on Friday afternoon, McDavid chose to ride one of his “really good kids” on the mound, with starting pitcher Daviy Dale rewarding his faith with an outstanding effort that saw her strike out nine opposing batters while placing 53 of her 85 pitches in the strike zone.

“My two seams (fastball) is my best pitch - and sometimes I will throw my four seams, but nothing like a change-up or a slider," said Dale, named the game MVP for the winning side on Friday.

"My four seam is straight where the two seam has a little bit of movement on it."

As for her own assessment of her performance that got Valley East off and running, the 12 year-old who is also an underager with the Sudbury U15 AA Lady Wolves walked off more than pleased with her effort.

"I feel like I was getting balls first, sometimes, and was still able to come back with strikes," she said. "The second inning was a little tough - I walked a couple of batters - but then the third, fourth and fifth, I got better."

A local team will get a chance to do this all over again twelve months from now as the OBA awarded the U11 Provincial D Championships to Sudbury for two consecutive years.

All in all, the event should be well worth the watch, yet again.