On a night where the last thing on everyone's mind was a baseball game, the Newmarket Hawks and the Thornhill Reds locked horns in Greater Toronto Baseball League action last night at Don McKnight Field in Newmarket. The final score on the evening was 8-1 for Newmarket but the game offered an opportunity for players, coaches and fans to remember good friend and teammate Daniel Lehmkuhl. 

Prior to the game last night, the teams held an on field ceremony to honour the life of Dan. Lehmkuhl started his GTBL career with Thornhill Reds and then moved over to the Newmarket Hawks later in his career. He was also active on the GTBL Executive as the secretary. Dan's wife, Laura, as well as his two children, Maddie and Jack, were all on hand for the moving pre-game presentation. Dan's father Peter was also present for the presentation as well. 

Hawks skipper Matt Richard lead off the ceremony by addressing the crowd of about 150 or so people who had gathered at the park thanking them for coming to the field to celebrate Dan. The who's who of GTBL were present that evening as a number of former Hawks and Reds were present as well as a number of current players from around the league. He then called upon Thornhill Reds skipper and GTBL League President Nolan Revin to come up and say a few words on behalf of the Reds and the league. It was at that point that Revin announced that the league would be re-naming the GTBL Playoff MVP Trophy the Daniel Lehmkuhl GTBL Playoff Trophy.

Following that announcement, Richard then unvailed a home plate sized plaque that will remain at Don McKnight Field so that future generations of younger players coming through the Newmarket system can remember Dan and all of his amazing qualities. To wrap up the festivities, Dan's son Jack trotted out to the same mound that he dad stood on for so many years and threw out the opening pitch. Former Hawks 3B Chris Bloom caught the pitch which was a sweet looking fastball that split the plate in half at the knees for a strike. 

The CABC made the trek to Newmarket that night to live stream this contest between the two teams. The opening inning saw both clubs doning forest green t-shirts with the number 12 on the back and Dan's familiar nickname Letch across the top of the shirt. We spent a good part of the night chatting with coaches and players on the livestream as we covered the action on the field. 

In the 4th inning, we chatted with Reds bench boss Nolan Revin who gave a few thoughts about his team so far this year. He also talked about some of his memories of Dan and the re-naming of the League Playoff MVP award. "As a league, we wanted to find a way that we can honour Dan's memory and having this award will help keep his legacy alive each year" said Revin. "He was such a fierce competitor on the field and always gave 100% everytime he played a game." Revin wrapped up his comments before the game stating "We love you Dan, we miss you and we hope that Newmarket is healing during this difficult time"

In the 5th inning, we were able to have a chat with Hawks bench boss Matt Richard. He talked about the state of the Newmarket club thus far in 2024 which included a tournament win at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament two weeks ago in Sarnia. He also shared some thoughts about Dan and what he meant to him as a player and a close friend. "Dan was such a competitor on the field but he was so much more than that to us" said Richard. "He was a guy that the younger players on the team looked up to and wanted to be like when they got older. He had a true love for family, friends and the game of baseball and we will miss him dearly."

As far as the action on the field, the Hawks got things rolling early in the first inning as they used a pair of Thornhill errors and a Bryn Sanford RBI single to grab a 2-0 lead. They would add onto that in the home half of the second inning as CF Darcy Moore belted a 3-run HR to left center field to extend the lead to 5-0. Troy McLoughlin would drive in another Newmarket run in the 4th inning with a single to center field. 

The Reds would get their only run of the game in the seventh inning on an Argenis Paz RBI groundout to cut the lead to 6-1. Newmarket would tack on two more runs in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 8-1 which would be the final score in this contest. Andrew Raponi, the 2nd of five Newmarket hurlers on the evening, would pick up the win in this game. Reds starting pitcher Chadwick Cameron would take the loss. 

On behalf of both teams, they wish to thank everyone for attending the game last night and for remembering their good friend and teammate Dan Lehmkuhl. The support and love was certainly felt around the park all night long!!