Atlantic champs
Summerside Chevys score early, make key defensive plays when needed to beat St. John’s Capitals
Brandon Condon won his final minor baseball game Sunday in Stratford.
The 18-year-old Kensington native threw a three-hitter and had a single to help lead the Summerside Team One Chevys to a 13-1 victory over the St. John’s Capitals from Newfoundland and Labrador in the Atlantic midget AA final. The game was called after six innings on the mercy rule.
“It’s surreal,” Condon said. “This caps it off, for sure, to end my career in midget and minor baseball.”
Condon drove in the first run of the game with a hard shot in the top of the first inning that was called an error on the second baseman.
The Chevys scored two runs in each of the first three innings to give Condon some early breathing room.
“It was great,” he said of the run support. “I came into the game and I wasn’t feeling the best. My arm’s pretty sore, so coming in with some insurance (runs) right away was great.” After walking two batters and hitting a third Condon induced a ground ball to shortstop Dawson McCormack to strand the bases loaded in the bottom of the third.
The Capitals threatened again in the fourth, but ran themselves out of the inning. With runners on second and third and one out, Condon fielded a comebacker, checked the runner at third and threw to first for the second out. The runner at second broke for third and Chevys first baseman Josh Myers had them hung out in no-man’s land. He threw to catcher Elijah Hood, who fired to third baseman Ben MacDougall, who tagged the runner out to end the threat as Summerside maintained its 6-0 lead.
“That was a big momentum swing,” Hood said. “We kind of got fired up after that.”
After getting the first two outs in the fifth the Chevys made back-to-back errors. A walk loaded the bases and another free pass scored the Capitals lone run as Condon got a fly ball to centre to end the inning and strand three more runners.
“I’m just glad I could get out of it,” Condon said of some of the Capitals glorious scoring chances.
Hood, the Chevys leadoff hitter, started the sixth with a single. Morgan Crosman was hit by a pitch, bringing the three-hole hitter, Condon, to the dish. He calmly laid down a bunt to move the runners up 90 feet.
“I’m just here to play a role,” he said. “If those guys need to get over (to) second and third base, I’m willing to do it.” MacDougall was hit by a pitch to load the bases before Myers hit an 0-2 pitch for an RBI single. Connor Jones walked to drive another in. Isaac Compton hit a two-out single and Brett Caissie followed with a two-run single that scored a third when the throw home missed the mark as the Chevys had a bat-around sixth.
Condon finished the Capitals in the sixth by getting a strike out, a ground ball to first and ended the game with his third K of the contest.
“He was throwing his guts out for us,” Hood said. “He was close on his pitch count, so he wanted to get it done with real quick. . .
“He pitched a hell of a game.” Hood was named the game MVP, going 3-for- 5 with a triple, two singles, three runs and an RBI. He was one of four additions to the Chevys lineup for the Atlantics. He had played in the Atlantics the past two seasons with the Charlottetown Royals.
“After losing to (St. John’s) the last two years it felt good to finally beat them,” he said. The Chevys had thought they had clinched first place and would play in the championship game when they left the field on Saturday. Organizers reviewed the scores and determined the Capitals would get the bye as runs scored in extra innings didn’t count in the three-way tie-breaker.
“I woke up this morning with a couple of text messages saying we were playing at 11:30, so I hustled down here,” Condon admitted.
“Honestly, I think it helped us,” Hood said, referring to the momentum it built by winning the first game Sunday. “We came out swinging that game and it just carried over into the second (game).” Summerside defeated Fredericton 8-1 in the semifinal.