Aurora Jays bested by Bolton for championship cup

September 25, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner

It wasn’t the way they wanted to end the season, but at least the senior men’s Aurora Blue Jays baseball team can say they were beaten by the best.

The Bolton Brewers made North Dufferin Baseball League History by beating the Jays 4 – 0 in game five to win their fifth consecutive Strother Cup on Thursday, a league record.

After winning game four, the Jays were hoping to keep the momentum – and the series – going in game five.
Long-time Jay, Rob Wilson, said his team basically beat themselves.

“The wheels fell off when we missed a fly ball in the infield; there were a couple defensive mistakes,” he said. “I think Bolton was just too much for us and we were a little depleted in the lineup. That team is first in the league for a reason and they made us pay for it.”

The first three innings of the game were scoreless, but the Jays had their chances. Unfortunately, the team couldn’t cash in any of the multiple runners they had on base early in the game.

Unable to make a mark on the scoreboard, the Brewers eventually took advantage and took a 1 – 0 lead in the fourth inning.
Ted Beadle admitted it was frustrating that his team missed out on so many opportunities.

“They pitched really well and were mixing speed and location really well,” he said. “We left the bases loaded three times, which was really rough, so we didn’t really have our clutch hitting at all. That was kind of the downfall. If we had a few clutch hits there we would have been alright.”

It would be more of the same from there on. The Brewers added another run in the fifth inning and two in the sixth inning to give them a 4 – 0 advantage, while the Jays left another five runners on the bases in the final three innings.

Pitcher Ian Milne came out for another decent start, giving his team an early chance to best the Brewers. But, again, the Jays offence offered no support.

Despite the loss, Teddy ‘Ball Game’ Beadle said the last couple years with the Jays have been a blast and he looks forward to coming back and trying to take away Bolton’s reign next year.

“I love playing for the Jays,” he said. “The group of guys we have is pretty awesome, so it would be hard to leave. It’s pretty far for me to drive every time, but everybody is just so good on the team, it would be hard to play for anybody else.”

He added that seeing Bolton’s dominance is motivating for him to try and help his team win a championship of their own.

“They’re a good ball team and fully deserving of winning. I think it was a pretty positive season, but we’re definitely looking to improve on it. You always want to win, that’s for sure. That cup looks pretty sweet.”

Wilson agreed with his teammate, but also said he knew his team could have been better.

“They’re a team that we know we can beat, but…it’s just about trying to play to our own level and we didn’t,” he said. “I wouldn’t say the season was a success, but I will say we had a good season. While we didn’t have the result we were aiming for, I still think we can all be proud as a team.”

Wilson said when you don’t win a championship, it is easy to look at the negatives, but he’s adamant that the team took a step forward overall.

“We picked up some great new players, guys from both out of town and guys that are coming into that senior age and we have a lot more depth. I fully expect for us to compete for an OBA title and a league title next year.”
He also gave a shout out to the Brewers.

“They’re a great team, they deserve to win and they deserve to reap the rewards of their success for the last five years and be recognized for that.