You can?t judge the Port Hope River Rats bantam team on its win-loss record this Eastern Ontario Baseball Association season.
Instead, the progress the club is making tells a far better story.
Port Hope was 2-18 through 20 EOBA league games, but have won a couple tournament games as well.
There almost was a River Rats entry at the bantam level this summer though. There weren?t enough players to field a team initially so peewee players (as there is no Port Hope team at that level this year) were allowed to try out. The club also recruited some house league, including some from Cobourg, who had never played rep baseball before.
?It?s pretty diverse,? coach Steve Beckett said of his lineup. ?You?ve got some kids playing with kids who are three years older.?
Team members are Owen Bailey, Matt Ward, Tyler Vivian, Dawson Baker, Cameron Enns, John Spotton, Sam Knott, Colyn Swan-Savoy, Keagan Decker, Jakob Brown, Matt Beckett, Brodie Majdell and Cameron Desormeaux.
Port Hope is competing in the EOBA?s major Bantam loop, despite having only a couple of players who fit into that age group. But with those players, the River Rats are unable to drop down to the minor bantam level.
You also have to consider the fact that the River Rats are part of a ?B? centre playing against ?A? and ?AA? opponents.
?It?s been a big challenge,? coach Beckett said, adding it was a ?real challenge to get all the players on the same page, but it?s starting to happen.?
Earlier this month, the River Rats defeated the league-leading Clarington Orioles 17-9.
Then, this past Saturday at Town Park in Port Hope, the River Rats staged a huge comeback before time expired against the visiting third-place Brockville Bunnies.
Port Hope trailed 7-1 in the third inning before rallying, including three runs in their final at-bat, to win 10-9. The River Rats had to win in the bottom of the eighth, rather than the ninth, as they were facing the game being called due to the time limit. A double by John Spotten drove home the winning run.
?It was very rewarding to see them do that,? Beckett said. ?We have great ball players, we just hadn?t seen them pull it together that way as a group.?
Beckett said an early-season activity for the River Rats was a roadside cleanup that consisted of 44 km of roads in Ward 2 Port Hope.
?It was a great bonding experience for the boys,? he remarked.
As for on the field, Beckett believes the pre-game warm-up is key to success and he is pleased to have assistance from Rob Majdell ?who spends a significant amount of time with my players before every game and practice teaching them proper warm-up, throwing and running techniques.?
Having lost pitchers from last year who didn?t return, the River Rats have been required this season to develop a new pitching staff with a collection of players who hadn?t pitched much previously.
Meanwhile, the club has also been offensively challenged, although showed great progress in the wins over Clarington and Brockville.
?Even with the minor defensive errors during these games, the boys have figured out how to keep their heads in the game and apply what they?ve learned and overcome (deficits),? Beckett said.
Beckett said his club is building towards the Ontario Baseball Association bantam ?B? championship tournament Labour Day weekend in Woodstock when they?ll finally face teams of an equal classification.
?Playing in the current EOBA loop has been tough this year, but thankfully I have the support of the parents who understand what we're up against,? Beckett remarked. ?However I believe that if we take what we've learned from these higher calibre teams and apply and execute these principles, we'll be in good shape for the OBA?s.
?We just want to make sure everyone is contributing and enjoying themselves,? the coach added.
jeff.gard@sunmedia.ca
Source: http://www.northumberlandtoday.com/2013/07/24/eastern-ontario-baseball
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