The Niagara Metros would like to take some webspace to send out congratulations to a couple of very deserving Ontario baseball organizations this week. 

First of all, a hearty congrats to the Milton Red Sox for coming home with the C.O.M.B.L. Playoff Championship on Sunday.  Milton won both their games on Saturday (in walkoff fashion) 2-1 over the Metros and then 2 hours later, 4-3 over Glanbrook.  Those two wins put the Sox in the finals, and it was the Oakville A's who won their way back, to meet them.  In fact, the A's did win game 1 of the finals by a score of 10-6, but Milton prevailed in the second game by an 8-0 count.  Congratulations, by the way, go out to the A's for their great showing in the "Final 4 Weekend" as well.  It's a tough task to win 3 games in a day, but the Oakville boys gave it a great run. 

So, here's a "tip of the cap" to the Red Sox, who are not only one of the best teams, but also one of the best teams to play against.  They are a class act and reflective of their stellar management and coaching staff, led by El Mooro, Bonesy, and Mike Austen.  Way to go, guys!

As if that weren't enough, yesterday we got the news that the Windsor Stars emerged from the Canadian Senior Baseball Championships with the Gold Medal!  Wow...it's a long time coming, but I'm sure it's well worth the wait for Smitty, Kritter, and all the boys on the team.  You guys always represent Ontario well, but this year was something special. 

After running the table at the London Tournament, The Hap Walters tourney, and the Eliminations, the Stars went 6-1 at Nationals...defeating British Columbia 8-2 in the Gold Medal game (behind John Picco's second win of the weekend).  The Stars' only loss was to the host team from Chatham, New Brunswick, and they rolled up wins over Manitoba, Nova Scotia 2, B.C. (in the round robin), Alberta, and New Brunswick in the semi-finals.  By the way, in that semi-final win over N.B., former Metros' lefty Mike Czerwieniec went the distance on the mound for Windsor, tossing a 3-hitter in a 6-1 victory.

We should also send out congrats to our league-mates, the Mississauga Twins, who also participated at Nationals (as Ontario 2).  The Twins went 1-3 in the round-robin, failing to advance to the medal round.  But two of their losses came in extra innings and they played very well in all 4 games.  As young as the Twins are, their future looks very bright indeed.  Way to go, guys!


DID YOU NOTICE THE NEW MATERIAL ON THE WEBSITE?

As we normally do at this time of year, we begin our website updates, and will continue to add new and updated material throughout the fall.  First up are the 2011 Statistics, which we have finalized and posted to the site.  Our stats are inclusive of all games played by Niagara, in the entire year (regular season, tournament, and playoffs)  Just go to the "Standings / Stats" page of the website, and click on the link for the statistic you want to view.  There are some impressive numbers there.

Also this week, we took 13 new pictures from our League Playoff Tournament, and posted them to our website. There are some great "action shots" in this submission!  Just scroll to the bottom of the "Photo Album" page, and enjoy!

That's all for now, talk to you next week.
 

In a Niagara Metros season that featured very good offensive production on a nearly daily basis, it was that element of their game that failed to show up on Saturday.  The result was a doubleheader loss in the Final Four Tourney of the C.O.M.B.L. Playoffs, dropping a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Milton Red Sox, and a 10-0 shellacking at the hands of the Oakville A's.  In the two games, the Metros managed just 1 unearned run and 8 hits, to end their season quickly and quietly.

In game 1, the Metros scored their only run of the weekend in the 1st inning, and held that 1-0 lead into the 5th, hoping that their "ace", Geoff Strong, could hold off the Sox the rest of the way.  But Milton scored an unearned run of their own in the 5th to tie it, and then got a game-winning RBI single from Steve Lauzon in the bottom of the 7th, to win in walk-off fashion 2-1.  On the game-winning play, Metros' outfielder Dan Proctor made a strong throw to the plate in an attempt to catch the Red Sox baserunner.  But the ball took a hop to the 3rd base side of the plate, and catcher Jono Marcheterre couldn't bring the ball back to the plate soon enough to nab the sliding Milton runner, on a very close play.

The winning pitcher was Ian Zettle, who did not allow a Metros baserunner after the 4th inning.  He gave up 5 hits and a walk while striking out 4.  Strong was equally effective for Niagara, going the distance and allowing just 1 earned run on 7 hits.  He did not walk a batter and struck out 8, to finish the season with 101 K's (only the 2nd Metros' pitcher ever to eclipse the 100 strikeout mark).

Lauzon added another single to his game-winner for a 2-hit game, while James Bruce added a double for Milton.  For Niagara, the 5 hits (all singles) were shared by Evan Baglieri, Jonathan Paul, Marcheterre, Kamil Oubayan, and Geordan Dennahower.

The loss sent the Metros into a do-or-die game with the Oakville A's, who also lost their first game of the weekend 2-1, to the Glanbrook Grizzlies.  Unfortunately for Niagara, the bats continued to slumber and the A's pounded out 14 hits to win by a 10-0 count.

Andrew Kotalak homered and singled, while Conrad Bach and Matt Griffin collected 3 hits each to lead the A's offense.  The Metros managed just 3 singles of their own, with Jono Marcheterre, Geoff Strong and Geordan Dennahower doing the honours.

The winning pitcher was Gord Robertson for the A's who went the distance for the shutout, allowing just 4 Metros baserunners.  Brian Kusey took the loss on the Metros' mound.  Kusey went 3 2/3 innings, and allowed 7 runs on 8 hits, while striking out 4.  T.J. Tavender finished up, allowing 3 runs and 6 hits, striking out 1.

The two losses brings the Metros' 2011 season to an end...a season in which the team overachieved almost all year.  In what was a rebuilding year for a team that featured no less than 10 junior-aged players as regular contributors, the Metros competed all year long.  They won the Strathroy Tourney in June, made it to Sunday (for the first time in 4 years) at the Elimination Tourney in early August, and made it the the Final Four in the C.O.M.B.L. Playoffs.  The final record of 20 wins, 23 losses, and 1 tie, while being the first sub-.500 record in the team's history, is also a great place to start for a young team that should only improve over the next few years.  Congratulations, guys.
  

After a long, hot summer (and very wet spring), it has come down to this weekend, in the C.O.M.B.L.  The "Final Four" weekend...a 4-team double knockout tourney for "all the marbles" in the league playoffs.  The four teams that have won their way to this weekend (with their pre-tournament seedings) are the Milton Red Sox (2), Glanbrook Grizzlies (3), Oakville A's (4) and Niagara Metros (6).

The schedule for the weekend has Oakville playing Glanbrook at 10:00 and the Metros facing Milton at 12:30 on Saturday.  The two winners will then meet at 3:00, with the two losing teams facing off at 5:30.  All of the games are at Nelson Park in Burlington.  The winner of the 3:00 game will be undefeated after 2 games, and will go directly to the finals on Sunday, while the loser of the 5:30 game will be eliminated.  The two teams that are 1-1 after Saturday will play at 9:00 Sunday morning, with that winner facing the team that advanced to the finals on Saturday.  Of course, the advancing team would have a loss, and would have to beat the team waiting for them, twice, to win the title.

Best of luck to all the teams, but especially the Niagara Metros in their quest for league playoff supremacy!  Should be a great weekend of baseball.


A COUPLE OF THINGS TO CHECK OUT

It has been a roller-coaster ride for the Niagara Metros all season long, but one thing that has been consistent has been the play of their young team offensively.  This has been one of the most productive offensive teams in the club's 27-year history, and the team members are starting to be recognized for their efforts.

The first such recognition comes from the Ontario Senior Baseball Blogspot, a website dedicated to raising the level of interest and increasing discussion, regarding Senior "AAA" Baseball in Ontario.  The website, which self-admittedly is not "Official", recently posted a story listing their year-end nominees for various awards...such as M.V.P., Cy Young, Top Rookie, Most Improved, and Manager of the Year.  The Metros are one of the teams that have been acknowledged as having a number of people who have had seasons worthy of consideration for such awards.  To read the story click on this link and scroll down to the story entitled "Award Candidates".  It is very nice to receive such high praise and nice comments from someone as knowledgeable as the webmaster of this site.  "G"...thanks a lot!

Also this week, check out our new "Baseball Film Feature".  It is a brand new film put together by MLB, with the cooperation of the Cleveland Indians.  It's called "O'Hara's 6: The Bullpen Mafia", and it's an obvious parody of the "Oceans 11" films.  Together, Mike O'Hara and the entire Indians bullpen plot the ways they can secure the World Series trophy in 2011.  Each of the bullpen pitchers takes on a role in this "heist", as they assault all the other teams that stand in their way of the coveted prize.  It's 4 and a half minutes of fun.  Take the time to check it out...by scrolling to the bottom of this page, and pressing "Play".  Enjoy!

The Niagara Metros followed a similar script, as they won two games on the weekend, and advanced to the C.O.M.B.L. "Final Four" Championship.  On Saturday, the Metros trailed the Burlington Brants 4-0 after 4 innings, before scoring 2 in the 5th, 2 in the 6th and one in extra innings to emerge with a 5-4 victory.  On Sunday, they found themselves down 3-0 in the 3rd, but exploded for 4 runs in the bottom of the 3rd, and added 2 more in the 4th and 1 in the 5th, as they held off the Brampton Battlecats 7-5.

In the first game, as mentioned, the Metros rallied late and scored the winning run in the 8th, to make a winner of pitcher Brian Kusey.  Kusey, who threw his second straight complete game, allowed 4 early runs, and then shut the door over the final 4 innings.  He allowed just 5 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 6, to pick up his 4th win of the season.  Reliever Eric Bryce took the loss for the Brants.

Niagara managed 8 hits in the game, with rookie Ricky Ferri leading the way, collecting 3 singles and a pair of stolen bases.  Taylor Anderson, who was playing in his final game of the year before heading to school in West Virginia, added a double and a single along with an RBI.  Dan Proctor doubled and added an RBI Sac Fly, while Chris Pickles and Geordan Dennahower rounded out the offense with singles.  Geoff Strong and Andrew Sorochan picked up RBI's, and Evan Baglieri, whom the Brants did not pitch to, walked four times (twice intentionally).  Jon Amendola drove in all four Burlington runs with a 3-run HR and an RBI double.

The win over Burlington advanced the Niagara club to Sunday, and a matchup with the Brampton Battlecats.  And once again, the Metros came from behind to win 7-5, scoring all of their runs from the 3rd inning on.  Metros' starter Chris Pickles went 5 innings and kept his team in the game long enough to pick up his 4th win of the season.  Pickles allowed 5 runs (3 earned) on 9 hits, but once again did not walk anyone.  He struck out 1.  Brandon Beattie did a nice job in relief to pick up his 4th save of the year.  He pitched the final 2 innings and did not allow a run or a hit.  He walked 2 and struck out 1.  Starter Mike Burke took the loss for the Battlecats.  

Niagara collected 11 hits in this one, with Jono Marcheterre leading the way, collecting a triple, 2 singles and an RBI.  Andrew Sorochan doubled and singled twice, and added 2 RBI's, while Evan Baglieri finally got a pitch to hit, and deposited it into the trees beyond the leftfield fence, for a 2-run HR.  It was Baglieri's 15th HR, and 66th RBI of the year.  Dan Proctor hit an RBI-double, and Jonathan Paul added another double, while Ricky Ferri and Kamil Oubayan chipped in with singles.  Mike Gareri homered, doubled and singled for Brampton.

As mentioned, the two wins puts Niagara into the C.O.M.B.L. Playoff Championships, next weekend.  On Saturday (August 27th) at 12:30, they take on the Milton Red Sox, and depending on the outcome of that game, will play again on Saturday at either 3:00 or 5:30.  The double-knockout tourney will wrap up on Sunday, as the league will declare it's 2011 Playoff Champions.  All of the games are at Nelson Park in Burlington.  Best of luck, boys.
   

With a cloud of dust and a "Safe" call at the plate, the Glanbrook Grizzlies completed their comeback, as last year's C.O.M.B.L. Playoff champs defeated the Niagara Metros 6-5, at Community Park last night.  The play was the culmination of one of the best-played and entertaining games of the entire season, and the fans in attendance were treated to a little bit of everything.  The Grizzlies, who trailed Niagara 5-3 entering the bottom of the 7th inning, actually mirrored the Metros' 3-run comeback in the top of the 7th, as the Niagara club erased a 3-2 Glanbrook lead.

The hero of the game for the Grizz was pitcher Mike Grilli, who not only pitched the complete game to pick up the win, but drove in the tying and winning runs with a line single in the 7th.  The hit spoiled a nice outing by Metros starter Geoff Strong, who also went the distance.  Strong battled with his control all night, walking 7...but limited Glanbrook to just 5 hits (all singles).  He struck out 6, in taking the loss.

Niagara outhit the Grizzlies 8-5 on the night, and had some heroics of their own.  The biggest hit came off the bat of catcher Jono Marcheterre, who had a similar 2-run single to that of Grilli's, to give the Metros the short-lived lead in the top of the 7th.  It was Marcheterre's second hit of the night.  Also making offensive contributions were Ricky Ferri and Taylor Anderson, who both doubled and singled, while Dan Proctor and Geordan Dennahower added singles.  Chris Pickles added an RBI...as did Evan Baglieri, whom the Grizz seemingly wanted nothing to do with, walking him 3 times.  Justin Czorny led Glanbrook with a single, and a pair of RBI's.

The loss puts Niagara into a situation where they must win or their season is over.  The next chance for them to do that is Saturday - 12:00 noon at Nelson Park in Burlington. The Metros will take on the losing team from the Milton Red Sox / Burlington Brants matchup, which will be played this evening in Clarkson.  Should Niagara survive the game on Saturday, they will make the drive back to Nelson on Sunday at 12:30, to try and extend their season into next weekend's "Final Four" Championship.
    

The C.O.M.B.L. has informed Metros' G.M. Mark Walters that the the league will be using Community Park for one of their first-round playoff games, in the 2011 Playoff tournament.  The league was looking for a more central park for this "neutral site game", but when none was found to be available, they opted for Community.  The game will be played this Thursday night (August 18th) at 7:30. 

Game #3 of the C.O.M.B.L. Playoffs will feature the number 6 seed, the Niagara Metros, versus the number 3 seed, the Glanbrook Grizzlies.  As mentioned, the game will at Community Park, beginning at 7:30, and will be a 7-inning affair.  The Metros, because of their lower placing in the final league standings, will be the visiting team.

The second and third round games will continue on the weekend, with games Saturday and Sunday at Nelson Park, in Burlington.  Teams must win two games to advance to the final four, which will also consist of a double-knockout tourney.  The "final four" weekend will also take place at Nelson Park, on August 27th and 28th.



METROS STATISTICS UPDATED

If you click on "Standings / Stats" to the left of this page, you'll find the links to the Metros 2011 Batting, Pitching and Fielding statistics.  They have been updated to include all of the games played thus far this season.  There will be one more update on these stats pages, following the completion of the C.O.M.B.L. Playoffs.  Check them out!



GREAT NEW BASEBALL VIDEO POSTED

In case you missed it, last week we posted a new "Baseball Film Feature" on the website.  The new flick is in two parts, and features the 1993 Toronto Blue Jays World Series victory in Game 6.  Remember, "touch 'em all, Joe Carter...you'll never hit a bigger home run in your life"?  That's the film we have for you.  If you are too young to remember that day, or if you just want to reminisce about the great days of Toronto Blue Jays history, it's worth the 12 minutes to watch both films.  Just scroll to the bottom of the page, and press "Play".
   

Despite playing their 5th game in 5 days, the Niagara Metros played inspired baseball last night, as they came from behind to defeat the always tough Oakville A's 8-6, in Oakville.  The Metros trailed 5-1 after 2, and 6-3 after 3, but that was all the A's would get...and the Metros kept chipping away at the lead before scoring 2 in the 7th and 1 in the 8th to win going away.

The highlight for Niagara was the performance of their star catcher Evan Baglieri, who doubled and homered.  It was Baglieri's 14th HR of the season, breaking the All-Time team record of 13, set by Frank Keltos in 1992.  The solo shot, which gave the Metros a 2-run lead in the 8th, also extended his own team RBI record (another Keltos record which he broke two weeks ago) to 63.

Perhaps lost in the excitement of Baglieri's record was the remarkable pitching performance of Brian Kusey, who won his 3rd game of the year.  Kusey, pitching on just 3 day's rest, became the first Metros' pitcher this season to go the 9-inning distance.  After getting off to a shaky start, he settled in, and with the help of 4 incredible defensive plays behind him, the young righthander shut out the powerful A's over the final 6 frames.  Overall, Kusey allowed 6 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 7.  A's reliever Alex Hawley took the loss.

In addition to Baglieri's two-hit game, Niagara's 11-hit attack was paced by Andrew Sorochan, who went 4 for 4, with a walk and 2 RBI's. Taylor Anderson and Geoff Strong added a pair of singles each, with Strong driving in a run.  Kamil Oubayan hit a single and chipped in with 3 RBI's, while Brandon Beattie added an RBI on a groundout.  Jeff Jarockis collected 3 hits to lead Oakville.

With the win, the Metros wrap up their regular season finishing with a record of 11-16-1, good for 3rd place in the Johnson Division.  Oakville drops back to .500, at 13-13-1.  As mentioned in previous stories, the Niagara club will be heading to the playoffs, but are unsure of where, when or who they will be playing.  The league will complete their regular season early this week, and the matchups and playoff locations won't be set until that process is complete.  Please check back here to metrosbaseball.ca, to get the updated information by Tuesday or Wednesday.
      

The Niagara Metros made a trip to the old town of Campbellville on Saturday, to take on the Milton Red Sox in a twinbill...and when the dust had settled, the teams had split the two games.  Milton won the first game 9-3, and Niagara took the second game 13-10.  

In game one, the final score did not really reflect the type of game it was, as Milton took a 3-2 lead into the 7th and final inning.  But the Red Sox scored a pair of runs off a tiring Metros starter, Chris Pickles, and then got back-to-back HR's, to blow the game open.  Milton ended up with 6 runs in the frame, while Niagara countered with one...to make the final 9-3.

As mentioned, Pickles was the starter and losing pitcher for the Metros, as he went 6 2/3 innings, and allowed 9 runs (8 earned) on 13 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 4.  Brian Kusey picked up the final out in relief.  Ian Zettle went the distance on the mound for the Red Sox.  

Kevin Cooper homered and singled, picking up 3 RBI's to lead the Milton offense in game 1.  Niagara collected 9 hits, with Andrew Sorochan setting the pace, hitting a 2-run HR and a single.  Evan Baglieri, Taylor Anderson and Geordan Dennahower added a double and a single each, and Dan Proctor picked up an RBI-single.

In game 2, the Metros trailed the Red Sox 3-2 after 3 innings of play, but scored 6 runs in the 4th and 5 more in the 6th to roll to a 13-6 lead.  Milton wouldn't quit though, and managed to score 4 runs in the 7th, and left the tying run on base when the game ended with a score of 13-10.

The highlights of the game for Niagara were two towering HR's...a 2-run blast by Sorochan (for his 2nd HR on the day) and a Grand Slam HR by Geoff Strong.  Kamil Oubayan picked up a big 2-run single, while Evan Baglieri added an RBI-single and a Sac Fly for another RBI.  Taylor Anderson added an RBI-single and 3 walks, while Ricky Ferri and Chris Pickles picked up a single each.  Strong and Sorochan added singles to their HR's, to round out the Metros' 9-hit attack.  Kevin Cooper hit a pair of doubles for Milton.

The Metros, who had used up all their pitchers with the "4 games in 4 days" run, called on a couple of position players to help them on the mound.  Dan Proctor started and went the first 3 innings.  He allowed 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 hits and 2 walks.  He struck out 2.  Ricky Ferri pitched the final 4 innings and earned the win.  He allowed 7 runs (5 earned) on 5 hits, while walking 5 and striking out 4.  Milton starter Scott McTrach took the loss.

The split gives Niagara a record of 10-16-1 with one game left to play, while Milton goes to 16-11, and maintains their hold on first place in the Johnson Division.  Niagara hits the road one more time to finish up the regular season.  That game is later today, as they play in Oakville versus the A's.  Game time is 7:00.  When the C.O.M.B.L. season ends on Monday, the playoff pairings will be sorted out, and we'll let you know where, when and who the Metros' will meet.  Stay tuned.
        

The Niagara Metros closed out their regular season at Community Park last night, and broke their four game losing string in the process, emerging with an 11-7 win over the Burlington Brants.  The Brants didn't make it easy though.  Niagara opened up an 8-0 lead after 3 innings, and it looked as though the Metros would put it away in a 7-inning mercy.  But to their credit, Burlington fought back to score 2 in the 4th and 2 in the 6th, to cut the lead in half.  Niagara scored two more in the bottom of the 6th and another in the 7th, and then hung on as the Brants got 3 more late runs (thanks to a couple of Metros errors), to make the final 11-7.

Niagara had their hitting shoes on last night, as they collected 16 of them, while the Brants managed 7 of their own.  In fact, 7 Metros collected two hits each...led by Jonathan Paul, who doubled and singled, adding an RBI.  Dan Proctor picked up 3 RBI's on the strength of a pair of singles, while Kamil Oubayan picked up a pair of hits and a pair of RBI's.  Taylor Anderson, Jono Marcheterre and Chris Pickles all had two singles and an RBI, while Ricky Ferri also had a pair of singles and 3 runs, along with his 22nd stolen base of the year.   Anthony Vacca, in his final game of the season (before returning to school in South Carolina) added an RBI single, and Andrew Sorochan rounded out the offense with a single.  Jay Hewitt collected a pair of doubles and a single for Burlington.

All of the offense helped Geoff Strong win his 4th game of the season.  Strong went 6 innings, and allowed 4 runs (3 earned) on 4 hits and 4 walks.  He struck out 9.  Brandon Beattie earned a 3-inning save, as he finished up allowing 3 runs (just 1 earned).  He gave up 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out a pair.  Brants starter, C.J. Cabrero took the loss.

The win was the Metros' 9th of the year, against 15 losses, while Burlington dropped to 9-12-2, still good for 3rd place in the Johnson Division.  The Metros wrap up their regular season this weekend, with 3 games.  Saturday they travel to Campbellville, to take on the Milton Red Sox in a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 noon.  Then on Sunday the team goes to Oakville to take on the A's in the final makeup game of the C.O.M.B.L. regular season.  The playoffs will begin next Thursday and Friday, with matchups and venues not decided at this point.  Check back here early next week for updated information on the playoff tourney.

The Niagara Metros and Oakville A's have finally gotten their rainout rescheduled from the 16th of May, and it will make for quite a crowded final 5 days of the season.  The game will be played Sunday night (August 14) at Oakville Park...with a special game time of 7:00 (not the usual 7:30).  The additional game will mean that the Niagara club will play five games over the next 5 days...beginning tonight in Burlington.  After tonight, the team will return home for their final home game of the season on Thursday, as the Burlington Brants return the favour, and play the Metros at Community Park.  That game starts at 7:30.

Then on the weekend, Niagara travels to Campbellville, to take on the "homeless" Milton Red Sox in a doubleheader.  First game in that twinbill is set for 12:00 noon.  Finally, the makeup game that we mentioned off the top...Sunday night in Oakville...will wrap up the Metros' regular season.  Playoffs, although not set yet, will likely begin next Thursday or Friday at an out-of-town venue.

In the meantime, we hope to see everyone in attendance for the final home game of the year on Thursday.  That's at Community Park - 7:30 versus Burlington.


AN AWESOME NEW BASEBALL FILM FEATURE!

Hey, did you check out our new "Baseball Film Feature" yet?  It is a great retrospective look back at the 1993 World Series victory by the Toronto Blue Jays over the Philadelphia Phillies.  The film goes into so much detail about the decisive Game 6, that it actually takes two films to tell the complete story.  Find yourself 12 minutes of uninterrupted time, and watch these two films together.  If you lived it, the memories of Joe Carter's walk-off blast will bring chills to you, and if you're too young to remember, this is a great glimpse into one of the greatest moments in World Series history.  And probably the greatest moment in Blue Jays history.  Just scroll to the bottom of this page and press "Play" on both films.  You won't regret it! 

For the 24th time in team history, the Niagara Metros took to the "concrete playground" of Kerry and Sandi Hedden's residence for the "bash of the summer" - Metromania.  Once again a great time was had by all...and the players would like to thank the Heddens for opening up their home to the zoo animals.  It was a fantastic night...in fact one of the better ones, in recent years!  Dustin Turner came out of semi-retirement with the Metros to claim his 5th straight Belly-Flop competition, while the girls and guys took to some keggling in the Basement Bowling Tourney.  Jono Marcheterre won the "Name Game", in an upset over finalist Mark Walters, and surprisingly while there were a few mishaps with food spillage, no one displayed any "previously eaten food, or drink".  Good job folks.  Check out the new photos from the party and the Belly-Flop Competition, in our "Photo Album".  Just scroll to the bottom of the page.

Just a reminder, that the on-field season continues with 4 games this week.  Wednesday and Thursday, the Burlington Brants and Metros play a home-and-home series, with Niagara hosting the Brants on Thursday.  Game time at Community Park is slated for 7:30.  Then on Saturday, the Metros travel to Campbellville, for a doubleheader with the "homeless" Milton Red Sox.  First pitch for the first of two 7-inning games, is 12:00 noon.
   

The Etobicoke Rangers rallied for 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning and then hung on to defeat the Niagara Metros 5-4, in Etobicoke last night.  The story of the game for the Metros was their inability to cash runners in scoring position...something that they've been very proficient at, this season.  Niagara outhit Etobicoke 14-10 on the night, but left 12 runners on base, including 7 in scoring position.  Meanwhile, the Rangers got a big 2-run single from Mark Capone to cap their winning rally, and erase a 3-2 Niagara lead.

The late runs made a winner of reliever Shawn Silk, while Metros' reliever Ricky Ferri absorbed the loss.  Before that, the two starters, Andrew Hyde for Etobicoke and Geoff Strong for Niagara pitched very well, and made for a very entertaining and well-played game.  Strong went 7 innings and allowed 2 runs on 8 hits, walking 3.  He struck out 12.  Hyde went 6, and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits.

Taylor Anderson had a big night at the plate for the Metros, as he collected a double and 3 singles, driving in a run.  Anthony Vacca had 3 singles and a pair of RBI's, while Chris Pickles added 3 hits of his own.  Dan Proctor, Jonathan Paul, Jono Marcheterre and Strong added singles, while Ferri collected 3 walks and a pair of runs.  Jeff Altpeter had a double and a pair of singles for the Rangers.

With the win, Etobicoke improves to a game over .500 at 10-9-2, while Niagara drops to 8-14-1.  Next week the Metros have 4 games, as the regular C.O.M.B.L. season winds down.  The first of those games is Wednesday night in Burlington...before the two teams turn around on Thursday night to play the second of a home and home set.  Game time at Community Park is set for 7:30.

The Niagara Metros caught a few people by surprise this past weekend at the Ontario Senior Elimination Tourney, by winning two games and advancing to Sunday for the first time since 2008.  The young but scrappy club played inspired baseball, defeating the East York Bulldogs 1-0, and the Tecumseh Thunder 12-5, while dropping a couple of close games...4-3 to the Markham Mariners, and 8-5 to the tournament semi-finalists, the Newmarket Hawks.  The pre-tournament 18th-ranked Metros finished in a tie for 9th place in the 24 team field.

In Friday night's opening game, it was the "Geoff Strong show", as the Metros' righthander tossed a 4-hit shutout to blank East York 1-0.  Strong went the complete game, and was in total control, allowing only one baserunner to get to 3rd base in the contest.  He walked none and struck out 4, for his first shutout of the season. 

The Metros scored the only run they would need in the 3rd inning, when they combined an East York error with their only two hits of the game, to load the bases.  Anthony Vacca then drew a walk, to force in the only run of the game.  The two Metros' hits came off the bats of Chris Pickles and Ricky Ferri, to spoil a great outing by Bulldogs' hurler, Mark Sikorski.

In game 2, Niagara found themselves up against perennial powerhouse, the Markham Mariners...and in fact held a 3-1 lead after 4 innings.  But Markham tied it in the 5th, scored the decisive run in the 6th and then hung on to win 4-3.  The Mariners' Steve Horsley went the distance on the mound for the win, while the loss went to Metros' starter Brian Kusey.  Kusey went 5 1/3 innings and allowed 4 runs on 10 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 7.  Brandon Beattie tossed 1 2/3 innings, and allowed just a pair of walks.  

Shane Moore had 3 hits and the game-winning RBI to lead Markham, while Jono Marcheterre led the Metros with a pair of singles.  Taylor Anderson collected a 2-run single, while Anthony Vacca, Evan Baglieri and Chris Pickles rounded out the Metros' 6-hit attack.

In game 3, the Metros' offense came to life in a big way, as they scored 8 first-inning runs, en route to a 12-5 victory over the Tecumseh Thunder, in Tecumseh.  Niagara's 17-hit barrage was led by Andrew Sorochan, who clubbed 2 HR's and a double, driving in a pair.  Evan Baglieri also collected a pair of RBI's, with a HR, single and 2 walks.  Ricky Ferri collected 4 singles, while Taylor Anderson doubled and singled twice for 2 RBI's.  Kamil Oubayan also had a big day with 3 hits and an RBI, while Jonathan Paul and Dan Proctor chipped in with a 2-run singles each.

The benificiary of all the offense was starting and winning pitcher, Chris Pickles.  Pickles tossed his 2nd complete game of the year, allowing 5 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits.  He walked 4 and struck out 3, to improve to 3-2 on the year.

The win over Tecumseh put the Metros into Sunday's tilt against the Newmarket Hawks, and although the Metros lost 8-5, they gave the eventual semi-finalists all they could handle.  Niagara sent veteran Jonathan Paul to the mound for his first start of the season.  Paul, who has been dealing with arm problems for a number of years, gave the club a solid start, but for the first time on the weekend the defence was suspect, as the Metros allowed 3 unearned runs.  Paul went 3 1/3 innings and allowed 4 runs (2 earned) on just 2 hits.  He struck out 4.  Brandon Beattie, Andrew Neustaedter, Neil Campbell and Ricky Ferri followed Paul to the mound, in an effort to quell the powerful Newmarket attack.  The relievers combined to allow 3 runs (2 earned) on 8 hits, walking 3 and striking out 1.

The Metros managed 7 hits in this one, with Dan proctor collecting 2 of them.  Paul hit a 2-run double, while Jono Marcheterre, Geoff Strong, Ferri and Taylor Anderson collected singles.  Kamil Oubayan had 3 walks and Andrew Sorochan, Marcheterre and Strong picked up RBI's.

The tournement wrapped up on Monday, as the Windsor Stars proved once again, that they are the best in Ontario.  They won their 6th title in the last 7 years, as the edged the Metros' league-mates, the Mississauga Twins by a 6-5 count in the finals.  Both the Stars and the Twins have won the right to represent Ontario at the Canadian Senior Baseball Championships later this month in Miramichi, New Brunswick.  The Metros would like to congratulate the Stars, and especially the C.O.M.B.L.'s best, the Mississauga Twins, for their fine showing at this year's Elims.  Best of luck to both teams in New Brunswick.  As for the Metros, they return to regular league action this coming Thursday night, as the Glanbrook Grizzlies come to town.  Game time at Community Park is 7:30.