After four years in the finals against the Sight & Sound Wolves out of Fort Frances, the Stratton Eagles finally broke through last night with a 9-6 victory to clinch the final.
Delayed due to team injuries and weather, the final was pushed late and shifted to the lighted Couchiching First Nation ball diamond to accommodate the shorter evenings.
The blustery weather largely kept the ball inside the park, but an early grand slam by Austin Jack put the Eagles ahead in the second inning, and they never looked back.
Murray Armstrong pitched five strong innings for the Eagles, and Travis Tom took to the circle to close things out, holding the Wolves to six runs over seven innings.
The Eagles and Wolves have faced off in the final series of the Rainy River District Fastball League four years in a row. Armstrong was lost for words after finally hoisting the trophy.
“I don’t know, I just don’t know what to say here,” he said. “But finally, finally.”
Eagles manager Andy McCormick praised the pitcher who has been slinging fastballs since before many of his teammates were born.
“What can you say about a legend like Murray? Murray Armstrong has been in this league pitching in five different decades before he got up to this spot, and I’ve heard other teams say, wow, he just keeps getting better,” McCormick said.
“This guy’s 59 years old at this point, and nobody could accuse him of slowing down; that’s for sure. He carries us through our season most of the time, and every once in a while, we have to bring in somebody to help out. He’s the true MVP.”
McCormick also praised Jack, whose grand slam put the Eagles in front after the Wolves had taken the lead.
“Austin played with us a few years ago and to help grow the league he moved over to Manitou to help out with the team there, but he made his way back to us, and we’re happy to have him join,” he said. “He came up big tonight.”
The change in schedule could have put the Eagles in a tough spot as they lost two players who had been with the team throughout the summer to education requirements, as they headed to Thunder Bay to start school this week.
“With the weather and some injuries and stuff, we kind of pushed back our playoffs a couple of times, and it got pushed back to the point where we ended up losing a couple players going to play hockey, going to post-secondary education,” McCormick said. “We missed having them here tonight. They’ve been a big part of this from the very beginning, unfortunately, but we’ll get to celebrate with them.”
