Twice the Thunder Bay Selects appeared to have the Cape Breton Cubs on the ropes.
Twice the host Selects gloves – and some timely hitting by the Cubs – got in the way of a national championship.
On Thursday night the Cubs rallied from four runs down in the fourth and two runs down in the sixth, ultimately scoring three in their final at bat to score a 9-8 win at Baseball Central and bring home Nova Scotia’s first Canadian Senior Little League crown.
Selects manager Mike McAllister said the team managed to overcome its fielding woes earlier in the week, but against a team like Cape Breton, offering up free chances was bound to cost them.
“That’s something that was going on for the last few games and it was something we were never able to shut down and tighten up our D,” a dejected McAllister said.
Take the decisive sixth inning.
Patrick Lahey, Cape Breton’s No. 9 hitter, doubled to open the inning. Tyler Slade stepped up to the plate and promptly grounded to second, a ball that was thrown away by Thunder Bay’s Tyler Kitching, putting runners on the corner.
Kenzie Lahey, who was hit hard in three innings on the mound, made up for it in a hurry, singling to score his brother Patrick, pulling the Cubs to within a run at 8-7.
Jordan Sampson grounded to short off Selects reliever Max Rydholm, plating Slade.
Jordan Breen followed with a fielder’s choice to second that allowed Kenzie Lahey to scamper home with the championship winning run.
“We didn’t stop. This is just unreal,” said Kenzie Lahey, who capped his tournament with a 3-for-4 night, scoring twice and driving in three.
“It means everything, really.”
His manager, Derrick Hanna, said it was quite the way to win a championship.
“That was huge. We were down but we weren’t out,” he said. “We’ve got a tea, that can come back at any given time.”
The win was made that much more sweet for the Cubs, who edged Saskatchewan 6-5 in extra innings to earn a spot in the final, after losing the first-place battle to Thunder Bay a night earlier and having to settle for the second seed entering the four-team playoff round.
The loss, their only one of the tournament, opened some eyes, he said.
“We had a pretty good run there for three or four games. Things rolled pretty smoothly for us. It’s good to have a little bit of a loss. The loss actually helped us,” Hanna said.
The Cubs took the early lead, scoring a pair on Thunder Bay starter Dan DelPaggio in the first.
But the Selects fought back in the third to tie the game 2-2, a Bryson Aube sacrifice fly scoring Brennan Tienhaara, who tripled with two outs down the right-field line.
The broke it open in the fourth, Tienhaara’s three-run single to right clearing the bases. He’d later come home on an Aube fielder’s choice.
The Cubs responded with four of their own in the bottom half of the inning, helped out by a throwing error by Selects third baseman Turner Santin that allowed two Cape Breton runners to advance to second and third. Kenzie Lahey promptly singled to left to draw the Cubs to within one. A Sampson double evened the score once again.
A two-out rally in the top of the sixth put the Selects on top again.
With two aboard, designated hitter Tommy Biley singled to right, easily scoring Tienhaara. An aggressive Aube rounded third and kept going when the throw from right went astray, giving Thunder Bay an 8-6 lead.
Rydholm, a 14-year-old who joined the senior ranks a year early, was charged with the loss. Patrick Lahey, who gave up just one hit in two innings of work, earned the win.
Thunder Bay advanced to the final with a wild 14-13 win over Quebec, won with bases-loaded, walk-off walk by Tyler Minoletti.
The Cubs next travel to Bangor, Me. for the Senior Little League World Series, which gets under way on Sunday.
