Joey Payeur
Vaughan Wilson and his teammates saw the train coming—and couldn’t wait for it to reach the station.
Unfortunately for him and the rest of the Pinewood Expos, the train left without them for its next stop down the line.
The Northern Ontario Selects downed the Expos 6-2 on Saturday night in a losers’ bracket meeting of two teams made up of Rainy River District Fastball League players to end Pinewood’s stay in the ‘A’ Division of the 2016 North American Fastpitch Association World Series in North Mankato, Mn.
Wilson, a member of the defending RRDFL champion Barwick Blue Knights, said the thrill of the two local squads facing off on such a big stage, with so much on the line, was off the charts.
“We knew we were going to meet up with the Selects and everyone was amped up for it,” the shortstop noted.
“Playing down there against people you’ve never seen before is cool, but there’s always some small element of surprise,” he added.
“So seeing the Selects was awesome for me because I knew exactly what to expect.”
Wilson said the game started off like a touchy subject in the House of Commons.
“Both sides were roaring and the energy level was somewhere around 11,” he recalled.
The Expos led 2-1 after the first—putting numerous runners on base against Selects’ starter Jaden Gustafson (Fort Frances Braves) while limiting the damage done by the potent first four batters in their lineup in Dakota Andy (Braves), Kevin Gemmell (Knights), and Travis and Jesse Tom (Braves).
But the Selects notched three in the third to pull ahead 4-2, then tacked on two more in the sixth using some well-placed bunts and head’s up base-running.
“I felt that we gave ourselves the opportunity to win,” said Wilson.
“We had base runners in scoring position,” he noted.
“But like our pitchers did all weekend, Jaden clutched up and got the outs when he had to.”
Gustafson avenged losing to Sight & Sound Wolves’ starter John Desaulniers earlier in the week in the RRDFL playoffs by out-duelling him with a five-hit gem.
He also led the Selects with two RBIs.
Mike Parisien (Braves) and Chris Bourgeois (Stratton Eagles) added two hits apiece for the Selects.
Desaulniers, meanwhile, allowed five hits while fanning 12 in also going the distance.
The Selects opened the tournament Thursday with an 8-7, extra-inning loss to Len’s Automotive to drop down to the losers’ bracket.
Then they blew a 4-0 lead in falling 7-4 to Oetman Excavating (Michigan) to push themselves to the brink of elimination.
But the Selects strung together six-straight wins to climb back into contention.
The first victim was Nebraska’s Roca Tavern, who were blasted 12-1 by the locals in four innings.
Brandon McGinnis (Braves) homered twice in that one, with Gemmell and Travis Tom also going deep.
Tom held Roca to just one hit while striking out seven.
Then after crushing SME Threshers (N.D.) 12-1, the Selects beat Jonny’s FP (Mn.) 10-3 keyed by a four-run fourth inning.
McGinnis homered and had four RBIs while Jesse Tom, Gemmell, and Andy also homered.
Gustafson threw an eight-hit complete game to earn the win
Once they upended the Expos, it was on to a 6-2 defeat of Scarlett’s (S.D.)
The Tom brothers and Parisien each cracked two hits, with Parisien adding two RBIs in that one.
With the tournament running well behind scheduled, it was well after midnight when the Selects squared off against the Boston-based SeaDogs for the right to get back into the winners’ bracket.
Tied at 4-4 after three innings, the Selects scored six unanswered runs en route to a 10-4 victory in a game which didn’t finish until about 3:30 a.m.
Jesse Tom homered and had two RBIs while Travis Tom gave up just six hits and one walk while striking out 11.
With an agonizing 8 a.m. start time for their winners’ bracket elimination game against the Beaumont Coyotes (Calif.), there wasn’t enough good fortune or good coffee in the world to lift the Selects through.
The better-rested Coyotes, who hadn’t played since 7 p.m. the previous evening, chalked up four runs in the first and six more in the second en route to an 11-2 triumph that send the Selects home having tied for fifth place overall in the 44-team field.
Gemmell, called into emergency pitching duty with Gustafson and Tom both taxed to their limit, gave up seven hits and five walks in his two innings of work before being relieved.
The Knights’ starting catcher did provide the only offence for his team with a two-run homer in the third.
As for the Expos, they couldn’t have had an unluckier draw to open the tourney as faced the eventual champion Taft Buzzards (Calif.)—putting up a good fight before losing 5-2.
“We were disappointed but we weren’t hitting the panic button,” noted Wilson, who deemed his team to have the liveliest bench of any squad at the tournament.
“Pearse Jackson [Knights], Rob McGinnis [Windey’s Warriors], and Derek McKinnon [Wolves] had the opposition laughing with their unique, Canadian, and/or grocery-themed chatter that comes from God knows where,” he chuckled.
“One time they even had the umpire stop the game to regain his composure after a poutine-themed string of chatter.
“That’s a big part of our team,” Wilson said.
The East Coast Renegades (N.Y.) then doubled Pinewood 8-4, with Ryder Woolsey (Knights) and Matt Cheetham (Wolves) belting homers in a losing cause.
Murray Armstrong (Eagles) took the loss.
With no more room for error, the Expos whipped Castle Rock FP (Mn.) 10-3 in five innings, with Desaulniers surrendering six hits in getting the win while Todd Desaulniers racked up two hits and four RBIs.
The Expos then nipped Lifetime Seamless Gutters (Wis.) 6-5—rallying from a 3-0 deficit thanks to Jackson’s homer and three RBIs.
Pinewood kept rolling by rocking Midwest Sioux (S.D.) 8-0 in five innings, with John Desaulniers pitching a one-hit masterpiece while also homering.
“I would just like to emphasize that our pitchers pitched their [butts] off,” Wilson stressed.
“It’s easy to follow a fly ball into the fence or lay out for a ground ball when they’re throwing everything they have all day.”
Players from both local teams also combined to make up the Northern Ontario Selects group that competed in the U23 division.
The young Selects finished third in Pool ‘A’ of the eight-team category before losing 12-6 in the consolation semi-finals to the Peguis Redmen Jrs. (Man.)
The Redmen built a 9-0 lead before allowing the Selects to answer with five in the fourth before scoring three in the fifth to stem the tide.
McGinnis had two RBIs against Peguis while Nick Wepruk scored a run.
