The Pickering Red Sox travelled to Windsor for the annual elimination tournament. The team battled hard all weekend but ended up being eliminated on the Saturday afternoon game to a determined Brampton team. The tournament was eventually won by the Sarnia Braves who beat the Thornhill Reds in a nail biter for the honour of representing Ontario at this years Nationals.
in the first game of the tournament the Red Sox faced a familiar foe in the Leaside Leafs. The Red Sox got out to a 2 run lead on an rbi single by Glenn Reeves however the Leafs scored two in the 5th and two in the 6th to win the game 4-2. Shaun Slemko took the loss in relief of Mark Cheeseman who pitched 5 innings.
The next game of the tournament was against another GTBL team, the Martingrove White Sox. The Red Sox made quick work of the opposition in this one winning the game 11-1. Ryan Clarke got the win in his first Senior Elimination tournament pitching the complete game. Denis Hucal hit a 2 run home run to ignite the offence.
The next morning at beautiful Woodslee Park, the Red Sox took to the field against the Erindale Cardinals. In a rematch of two years ago, the team exacted some revenge in eliminating the Cardinals by a score of 3-1. Steve Horsley pitched a complete game 2 hitter striking out 9 for the win.
In the final game for the Red Sox, the boys jumped out to an early 5-1 lead before giving up 6 unanswered runs in the 4th and eliminating the Red Sox from provincial contention. Patrick Vecchairelli took the loss. Shaun Slemko pitched 3 scoreless innings in relief.
The Red Sox will continue their season this Wednesday vs Martingrove and then a double header vs the Thornhill Reds on Sunday. The GTBL playoffs will be set to begin. Playoff matchups will be finalized at the end of next week and will begin around the 19thf August.