Provincial baseball tournament action held locally (7 photos)

The Ontario Baseball Association Bantam ‘A’ championship was held locally over the weekend but didn’t quite wrap up thanks to Mother Nature.

Thanks to heavy rain on Friday and Saturday, tournament organizers were forced to adjust the schedule numerous times to make sure the 12-team double-elimination tournament.

Organizers were forced to schedule games Monday in order to get the tournament in.

The local entry in the tournament, the Elks 341 Bantam Black Sox finished the tournament 0-2 after losses to Sudbury and Markham.

The locals dropped a 5-0 decision to Sudbury on Friday morning before losing 13-2 to Markham in a game that began on Friday night before being forced to conclude on Saturday because of rain.

With Sunday being the first dry day of the weekend, action began early Sunday morning and wrapping up shortly before midnight.

The day finished with four teams remaining and London-Tecumsehs and Markham earning spots in the final game of the tournament on Monday afternoon.

After a pair of early-morning games on Monday that saw Markham and London-Tecumsehs victorious, three teams (with Aurora being the third) were left in the tournament.

A draw game Markham the bye into the final where they would face the winner of a game between the other two teams. London would eventually advance after battling back from a 6-2 deficit to win 7-6.

In the final, Markham would take the lead before a lightning strike forced umpires to delay the game in the top of the third inning. With the game already delayed heavy rains began. After consultation with the Baseball Ontario office, tournament organizers and coaches from both Markham and London would eventually decide the game be postponed.

The game will resume in a neutral site in southern Ontario, likely this weekend, meaning the teams will have to wait a few more days before deciding the OBA title.

Photo by Kenneth Armstrong/SooToday.com