Bantam Sox enjoy perfect run to title

The Elks Lodge 341 Bantam Black Sox capped off a perfect weekend with a dramatic victory over Mancelona on Sunday afternoon in the Sports Gold International Challenge.

A sacrifice bunt by Corey Jackson that led to an error scored Ben Elliot from second base in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the locals the championship.

The Black Sox also received another quality start from their pitching staff as tournament most valuable player Ryan McDonald went the distance giving up just five hits in the win. McDonald helped his own cause with a pair of hits in the win.

"The pitching has been great all weekend," said Black Sox coach Jason Rooley. "Both pitchers (McDonald and Mancelona's Greg Blanco) threw a great game. They threw a lot of strikes. And the defense didn't have to make too many big plays.

"It was great," Rooley continued. "Our last hitter came through in the clutch and got the small ball down after we struggled to do it in the sixth."

Kory Lafreniere also reached base three times for the Black Sox with a single, double and a walk in the win. Ryan Crawley had a pair of hits for Mancelona in the loss.

Mancelona, who sealed a berth in the championship with a 5-0 victory over Sault, Michigan earlier in the day, took a 1-0 lead in the first inning though the two teams traded runs throughout the game. Sunday's other game saw Marquette defeat Valley East 19-4.

McDonald finished the weekend with nine hits including a three-run homerun in a 13-0 win over Valley East on Saturday. That was in addition to his pitching performance on Sunday.

"Ryan McDonald had an outstanding weekend," Rooley said of his MVP performance. "He showed everybody what he can do. Not everybody has noticed him yet but now he's coming around and he's a great player."

Rooley went on to say that he was satisfied with his team's performance all weekend en route to the title.

"It was a great weekend," said Rooley. "(Our pitchers) threw a lot of strikes with great pitching. The hitting came through when we needed it and we're starting to come around right when we needed it getting ready for our OBA's."

The Bantam Black Sox next see action at home on Labour Day weekend when they host the Ontario Baseball Association championships which features some of the top teams from around Ontario.

*** SPORTS GOLD INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE RECAP:

Friday, July 28th

Soo Black Sox 9, Sault, MI 3 Mancelona 19, Valley East 0 Soo Black Sox 16, Marquette 1

Saturday, July 29th

Valley East 9, Sault, MI 8 Marquette 13, Sault MI 12 Mancelona 12, Marquette 2 Soo Black Sox 13, Valley East 0 Soo Black Sox 11, Mancelona 9 (9 Innings)

Sunday, July 30th

Marquette 19, Valley East 4 Mancelona 5, Sault, MI 0 Championship: Soo Black Sox 3, Mancelona 2

*** TOURNAMENT STANDINGS:

Soo Black Sox: 5-0 Mancelona: 4-1 Marquette: 2-2 Valley East: 1-3 Sault, MI: 0-4

***