8U Lakers cap memorable season with OBA title

The Leamington 8U Lakers rode an unbeaten streak into the championship game of the OBA 8U ‘B’ tournament on the weekend and came away with the title, despite a valiant effort from their opponents — the Simcoe Giants.

The Lakers showed no signs of slowing down as the well-coached team made play-after-play on route to their title win. Even a heavy downpour in the middle of their semi-final game against Chatham Sunday morning didn’t dampen their spirits. They returned to the diamond with a 10-0 lead and managed to finish off their guests in a 14-1 victory.

Head coach Steve O’Neil was ecstatic as he promised to hold true to his challenge of allowing the players to shave his head if they won the championship.

The Lakers were dominant all season as they won two big tournaments along the way, all while gauging their opposition and knowing what to expect this past weekend. Their final record for the season was 44-8-1.

Being the host team, they were eager to put on a show for the 100+ fans that showed up all weekend to root them on.

They started the tournament off right with a 15-2 mercy win over Georgina on Friday morning and followed that with a 15-1drubbing of Grimsby later in the day.

On Saturday morning, August 24, the Lakers met up with Chatham and came away with an 18-6 win, setting them up for a showdown with their county rivals from Kingsville in a match of two unbeaten teams.

The Lakers showed no sign of slowing down as they beat the Knights 16-1, sending them to the semi-finals on Sunday morning.

Simcoe drew the bye as Leamington was tasked with facing Chatham once more. The Lakers broke the game open in the second inning just before the rain came and the game’s final two innings were delayed by an hour while crews worked on the diamonds.

They resumed and beat Chatham, setting the stage for a hard-fought final.

Simcoe held the potent Leamington offense to a slim 3-2 lead for much of the game, but the Lakers decided to put things away in the fifth as they went up 7-2. A late Simcoe rally in the sixth pulled the Giants within three, but the reliable Lakers’ defence came through for a 7-4 victory and the Ontario title.

O’Neil was proud of his charges and told them so after the game.

“I’m so proud of the work and effort these players and families put into this season in accomplishing all their team goals,” he said. “The team motto was to play for the name on the front of the jersey and not on the back. They definitely did that.”