Dan DelPaggi said he just wanted to put the ball in play.
It was the seventh inning and the Thunder Bay Selects were clinging to a one-run lead over a Cape Breton Cubs squad that had already proven it could score runs in bunches, piling on five in the bottom of the third Wednesday to take a three-run lead in the round-robin finale of the Canadian Senior Little League Championship at Baseball Central
DelPaggi delivered, cracking a triple to deep right-field to score pitcher Max Rydholm, who had earlier legged out a lead-off infield single.
An alert DelPaggi then raced home when the throw from right-field sailed over the head of Cape Breton catcher Jordan Sampson, stretching the Thunder Bay lead to three.
Rydholm calmly returned to the mound for a second inning of work and set the previously unbeaten Cubs down in order, the 8-5 win claiming the top seed in Thursday’s semifinals.
Cape Breton (5-1) had to settle for second, though they finished tied atop the standings with the host Selects.
It was a battle, DelPaggi said.
“It’s always nice coming back in games, but especially when you take first. It’s a great feeling,” he said, after a 2-for-3 performance that also saw him cross the plate twice, double home the tying run in the fifth and then score the eventual winning run a batter later on an infield single off the bat of teammate Brandon Gillies.
Finishing first is a great way to hit the playoffs running, he added.
“It’s a great spot being first and playing the fourth-place team. We’ve got a lot of momentum going here,” DelPaggio said.
“It’s a great feeling. Hopefully some teams are feeling a bit intimdated, seeing what we can do.”
The Selects will take on Valleyfield at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
The Quebec team was the only opponent to get the better of Thunder Bay in the round robin, edging them 5-4 on Sunday.
Coach Mike McAllister said he’s not reading too much into where the Selects finished, as proud as he might be with what they’ve accomplished this week.
“It feels good to finish first, but it’s just a spot tomorrow. There are four good teams here that tomorrow could be representing Canada. It’s going to be a battle, but we’re ready for that.”
Making contact at the plate will be the key to any success they might have going forward, especially against Quebec.
“When we played Quebec we pitched well, played some decent defence … But we’ve got to hit better against them. Today we got our bats back after we lost them a little bit in the middle of the tournament. If we hit tomorrow, I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
The Selects struck first in the third, Ryan Nason and Bryson Aube collecting RBI singles.
But Cape Breton, seeking Nova Scotia’s first title at senior nationals, stormed back in the bottom half of the inning scoring five of their own, Patrick Lahey’s two-out loop single to centre scoring two to break the 2-2 tie. Tyler MacKinnon then plated Lahey as the Cubs took a 5-2 lead.
Tommy Biley, who gave up two runs on four hits over two innings, was credited with the win, the loss going to Cape Breton’s Kenzie Lahey. Rydholm collected the save.
Notes: NHLer Robert Bortuzzo, a defenceman with the Pittsburgh Penguins, was among the fans taking in the action Wednesday … Cape Breton and Saskatchwan will meet in Thursday’s other semifinal, slated to begin at 10 a.m. Cape Breton beat them 6-5 earlier in the week.
