The following article is going to take an in-depth look at the 16 teams that will take part in the 2024 Ontario Men's AAA Elimination Tournament which will take place in the Windsor/Tecumseh, ON area.
 

For those of you that have known me for awhile, you know I am not a big predictions person. My manidate with what I am doing is meant to spread the word about Men's AAA Baseball across the country. Hence, this article is meant to put a spotlight on the teams attending the tournament this year 

 

We will take a look at each of the opening round match-ups and break down each team and their progress to date so far this season. Records that are indicated for teams are their overall record for the summer (including exhibition and tournament play)

 

Game #1: Ilderton RIverhawks (17-3-2) vs Windsor Stars (15-11)

Previous Match-Ups: Ilderton 0 vs Windsor 5 (CABC Gold Bat Tournament)

 

Ilderton has had a pretty good season so far but they are sure to have their hands full with the back-to-back provinical champions. The Riverhawks are undeatefed in league play (10-0-1) and had a pair of exhibition game wins over the London Badgers 18U club as well as the Wyoming Cattlebarons of the MOSBL. In tournament play, They were 1-1 at a rain shortened Vaughan Tournament, 2-0-1 at the Hap Walters Tournament narrowly missing the playoffs and they were 2-1 at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament bowing out in the quarter-finals to the Thornhill Reds.

 

Key Players: Dalton Crosswell, Will Pollard, Antolin Morales, Jordan Camara

Key Pitchers: Jordan Townshend, Leo Labine, Josh Krautner, Ryan Beckett

 

The Windsor Stars enter this year's Elimination Tournament as the defending champs from 2022 and 2023. The Stars just concluded their Can-Am regular season finishing in 3rd spot with an 11-8 record. They played one exhibition game against the Lombard Orioles from Chicago back in July dropping that game 8-4. They just took on the Windsor Selects 22U club in a Best of 3 League Semi-Final and swept them 2-0 in that series. They also attended the CABC Gold Bat Tournament and went 2-1 in round robin play before dropping a tight 5-3 decision to the Newmarket Hawks in the semi-finals. 

 

Key Players: Jake Lumley, Carter Reh, Noah Renaud, Jacob Prsa

Key Pitchers: Jack Zimmerman, Josh Shepley, Kimani Bailey, Chris Renaud

 

Game #2: Oakville A's (7-16-2) vs Erindale Cardinals (8-17-2)

Previous Match-Ups: Erindale 8 vs Oakville 14 (May 10th)

                                     Oakville 12 vs Erindale 2 (June 3rd)

                                     Oakville 10 vs Erindale 11 (July 8th)

                                     Erindale 7 vs Oakville 1 (July 25th)

 

The Oakville A's enter the Eliminations this year on a bit of a slide right now. They had a good start to their season but have struggled a bit over the past few weeks both in league and tournament play. They are currently sitting at a record of 5-13-1 in COBA Major League action which has them 5th overall in the standings. They were 1-1-1 at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament including a big 5-3 extra inning win over Newmarket. At the Hap Walters Tournament, they were 1-2 including a forfeit win and didn't advance out of the round robib portion of the tournament. 

 

Key Players: Dan Beaver, Nick Jaeggin, Maiya Takao, Vic Christensen

Key Pitchers: Peter Zytner, Cam Cook, Cody Donaldson, Riley McKinnon

 

The Erindale Cardinals have also had a bit of a down year this season. After a bit of a slow start, the Cards have been showing a little bit of life over the past few weeks of league play. Right now, they have a 4-16-2 record in COBA Major League action. At the Vaughan Tournament, they were 2-0 with wins over Ajax and Brampton before the rains came into town and wipe out the rest of the games. At the Hap Walters, the club was 2-1 including a forfeit win in their last round robin game and missed advancing to the playoff round. 

 

Key Players: Chris Novia, Pip Murray-Smith, Aaron Palmer, Jason Woodford

Key Pitchers: John Dewolfe, Eric Alcaraz, Easton Kirkpatrick, Andrew Mullin

 

Game #3: Milton Red Sox (7-15-1) vs Leaside Leafs (11-14-0)

Previous Match-Ups: N/A

 

The Milton Red Sox are currently sitting in the middle of the pack within the COBA Major Baseball League right now. The Red Sox currently have a record of 7-12-1 in league play which is good for 4th place overall in the loop. They have been pretty quiet on the tournament front as they have only attended one tournament during the 2024 season. They ended up going 0-3 at the Hap Walters Tournament but all three games were pretty tight including three run losses to East York and Newmarket

Key Players: Sean Alp, Aaron Nash, Liam Buckley, Liam Butchereit

Key Pitchers: Chris Cloes, Kyle Clark, Dylan Clark, Gabriel Braun

 

The Leaside Leafs currently find themselves in the middle of the pack in the Greater Toronto League standings this summer. After a bit of a slow start to the year which saw the team only with one win in their first eight games, the Leafs have been playing some better baseball over the last few weeks to impove their record to 9-10 in league play. They have attended two tournaments this year going 0-3 at the CABC Gold Bat Tournanment and then went 2-1 at the Hap Walters Tournament and narrowly missed out on making the playoff round. 

 

Key Players: Joe Woods, Kevin Henry, Michael de Luca, Noah Kauffman

Key Pitchers: Jorge Frugoni, Andrew Morales, Noah Falkenberg, Justin Fuller

 

Game #4: Etobicoke Rangers (23-6) vs Ajax Spartans (7-14-1) 

Previous Match-Ups: N/A

 

The Etobicoke Rangers cureently find themselves in a very familiar spot -- atop of the league standings in the COBA Major League. The Rangers had a bit of a so-so start to the year but a 15-game winning streak in league play have propelled their league record to a whopping 19-4 right now. They have attended a pair of tournament so far this year as they went 1-2 at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament in Sarnia missing out on the playoff round. They also attended the Hap Walters Tournament and went 3-0 and were named co-champions as the final versus the Milton Mets 22U was wiped out by rain. 

 

Key Players: Mark Capone, Michael Ferracuti, Alex Thrower, Hunter Bisser

Key Pitchers: Andrew Hyde, Owen Boone, Ronan Hayes, Mark Rizzotto

 

The Ajax Spartans have had a bit of an up-and-down season this year as they currently sit at the bottom of the standings for the Greater Toronto League. They currently sit with a record of 5-11-1 in league play which has them in 6th place overall in the league. They have also attended a pair of tournaments this year as well as they went 0-2 at the Vaughan Vikings Tournament in June missing out on the playoff round. They also attended the annual Hap Walters Tournament hosted by the COBA Major League and went 2-1 there inclduing wins over Brampton and Milton 

 

Key Players: Jesse Dynes, Sean Molony, Jeremy Marinelli, Jack Bowman

Key Pitchers: Peter Nash, Josh Essery, Pat Vecchiarelli, Brad Binns

 

Game #5: Newmarket Hawks (19-5-2) vs East York Bulldogs (10-13-1)

Previous Match-Ups: Newmarket 2 vs East York 5 (June 17th)

                                   East York 5 vs Newmarket 7 (July 6th)

                                   Newmarket 8 vs East York 0 (July 6th)

                                   East York 0 vs Newmarket 10 (July 9th)

 

The Newmarket Hawks have been one of the hottest teams in Men's AAA Baseball in Ontario this summer. They had a bit of a slow start to the summer as Mother Nature didn't seem to want to let them on the field. Currently they are sitting with a league record of 12-4 which has them at the top of the standings for the Greater Toronto League. The Hawks have gotten lots of tournament action as well as they have attended three this year. They were 1-0 in Vaughan before rain wiped out play. They were 1-1-1 in Sarnia before going 3-0 on Sunday and taking the CABC Gold Bat Tournament crown for this year. At the Hap Walters Tournament, they were 2-0-1 and narrowly missed out on the playoff round based on run differential. 

 

Key Players: Darcy Moore, Troy McLaughlin, Cooper Tompkinson, Bryn Sanford

Key Pitchers: Christian Mullen, Josh Appel, Andrew Raponi, Carson Hepburn

 

The East York Bulldogs came out of the gates red hot in 2024 as they were 5-0-1 early in league play and one of the top teams in the country. Since then, the Bulldogs have come back down to earth a little bit as they are now sitting with a 9-11-1 record in league play good for 3rd place in the Greater Toronto League. The East York club have been pretty quiet on the tournament front this summer as they have only attneded one tournament this season. They played at the Hap Walters Tournament this season and they went 1-1 in round robin play and had to forfeit their last game due to lack of players.

 

Key Players: Anthony Fera, Brandon Nieva, Jacob Mahoney, Peter Samonas

Key Pitchers: Niall Windeler, Logan Kerry, Dustin Lawson, JUstin Newbold

 

Game #6: Burlington Brants (12-11-2) vs Sarnia Brigade (7-10) 

Previous Match-Ups: N/A

 

The Burlington Brants have been having a pretty respectable season so far in 2024. They were off to a hot start in COBA Major League play this year but have fallen back into the pack as they currently sit with a 9-9-1 record good for 3rd spot overall in the loop. The Brants have also played in two tournaments this year and have seen some moderate success as they went 1-1-1 at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament in Sarnia narrowly missing out on the playoff round. They also attended the Hap Walters Tournament going 2-1 there and, again, narrowly missing out on the playoff round. 

 

Key Players: Tim Sogan, Max Von Gemmingen, Bill Reaume, Corrie Morrison

Key Pitchers: Joel Connors, Jordan Leishmann, Trevor Woodjetts, Jordan Rienzo

 

The Sarnia Brigade will make their way back to the Ontario Elimination Tournament this year. The Tanks are having a bit of an off year in league play as they have struggled to get some wins and currently sit with a record of 3-9 in their league. That being said, when the chips are on the table, as they were at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament, they still have a very dangerous lineup. The Sarnia club attended the Gold Bat this year as their only tournament play but were 4-1 during thr tournament as they dropped a tight 5-2 game in the championship final to the Newmarket Hawks. 

 

Key Players: Kyle Moloney, Quinton Johnston, Mike Damchuk, Ron Oneson

Key Pitchers: Kaden Grey, Seth Ainsworth, Alex McLean, Derek Masse

 

Game #7: Thornhill Reds (12-16) vs Kendal Eagles (11-10) 

Previous Match-Ups: Thornhill 16 vs Kendal 6 (May 26th)

                                     Thornhill 9 vs Kendal 4 (May 26th)

                                     Kendal 13 vs Thornhill 1 (July 17th)

 

The Thornhill Reds have been having a respectable year so far as they ramp up for the Elimination Tournament this weekend. The 2019 Elims Finalists had a very good start to the year in league play but have been trending downwards a bit over the past few weeks as they currently sit with a league record of 8-10 and are in 5th place in the Greater Toronto League. They have also attended three tournaments this year going 1-1 at the Vaughan Tournament. They went 3-2 at the CABC Gold Bat Tournament making a semi-final appearnace and went 0-3 at the Hap Walters Tournament which included a forfeited game on the Sunday at the tournament. 

 

Key Players: Kravice Batts, Zach Lampreia, Brendan Colley, Russell McGibbons

Key Pitchers: Chadwick Cameron, Philip Arturi, Joseph Handley, Max Dieks

 

The Kendal Eagles have been trending up over the past few weeks in league play. After a very slow start that saw the club drop their first four games, they have gone on a bit of a tear as of late as they are 11-3 since then and sport an 11-7 record overall good for 2nd place in the Greater Toronto League standings. The Eagles have not been very active on the tournament scene in 2024 as they have only attended one tournament this season. They went to the Hap Walters Tournament and went 0-3 which included a forfeited game on the Sunday of the tournament. 

 

Key Players: Riley Davenport, Mitch Wilbur, Griffin Oliver, Logan Stewart

Key Pitchers: Jackson Painter, Jayson Wilbur, Nathan Long, Quin McLane

 

Game #8: Windsor Athletics (4-16) vs Brampton Royals (18-11) 

Previous Match-Ups: N/A

 

The Windsor Athletics had a bit of a tough year in the Can-Am League in the Windsor area. They were competitive and battled through some tough games against some of the best teams in the province but ended up with a 2-14 record in the end in league play. They attended one tournament this year in Sarnia for the CABC Gold Bat and perfomred very well going 2-1 including wins over Leaside and Etobicoke. They made it to the quarter-finals dorpping a 12-2 deicison to the eventual champions the Newmarket Hawks. 

 

Key Players: Chris Ronaldi-Ross, Frank Jeney, Justin Kelly-Boxe, Jake Colombe

Key Pitchers: Kyle Trudell, Mitch Zimmerman, Zach Versoza, Isaac Harris

 

The Brampton Royals have been having a good season so far in 2024. They have been doing their best Jekyl and Hyde though as they have been really good in league play but have been struggling a bit in tournament play. In the COBA Major League, they currently sit with a record of 17-4 and sit a game and a half back of Etobicoke in 2nd place. Tournaments, however, have been a different story. They went to the Vuaghan Tournament going 1-1 before the rains hit. They also attended the CABC Gold Bat and the Hap Walters Tournament and while playing some very competitive games in both tournaments they went 0-3 at both and missed the playoff round. 

 

Key Players: Joe Ferreira, Vic Speciale, Sam Lebel, Aidan Murphy

Key Pitchers: Aidan Murphy, Matt Bardoel, Arman Lakhani, Myles Swartz

                                  

The tournament will kick off on Friday, August 2nd at 1pm with four games taking place. The final will be on Monday, August 5th at 10:00am at Cullen Field at the Mic Mac Sports Complex. The champion will earn a spot at the 2024 Canadian Men's Baseball Championship just around the corner in Tecumseh, ON.

 

The CABC will be onsite for Friday and Saturday (and possibly Sunday morning) streaming games live during those days on their national stream on Facebook. On Friday, we will be streaming the Ilderton Riverhawks vs Windsor Stars at 1pm @ Cullen Field. At 4pm, we will shift over to Lacasse Park as we will cover the Burlington Brants vs Sarnai Brigade game. 

 

Wishing the best of luck to all 16 teams this coming weekend in their pursuit of an Ontario Men's AAA Provincial Championship!!