NYBA 13U Select – BMBI Select Tournament

Over the May 27-29th weekend, the 13U Select travelled to Brampton to play in a 12-team tournament (their first as a team). This team combines four players from last year’s 13U Select, four players from last year’s 13U Select Team 2, and four players who are new to Select baseball.

It was a hectic, but fun weekend. Following two innings of play on Friday night, the first game was delayed by a thunderstorm. The team returned Saturday morning, started a new game and played to a tie against Toronto Playgrounds. In the second game of that day, we met Whitby. The bats really came alive and the result was our first win of the tournament. In our third “outing” of the day, we picked up play in the top of the 3rd inning of the game that had been delayed 24 hours earlier. It was not until later that evening that we realized that our two pitchers had in fact just combined to throw a no-hitter against Brampton Team 2!!

The results of Friday and Saturday allowed the team to advance to the semi-finals on Sunday morning when they played Brampton Team 1. After yet another well-pitched game (only two hits allowed this game), we came away with a 10-3 victory. This led to the championship game where the team would once again face Toronto Playgrounds. In another great game, solid work from the mound was again key. Both teams displayed great athleticism and executed key plays from the infield. In the end, NYBA 13U Select came away with a 6-4 championship win (and some nice hardware for their effort)!

Important lessons learned from these three days:

• important team bonding can occur when sheltered from a thunderstorm,
• Spikeball is a great way to pass the time
• sunscreen is important (especially for coaches!)
• ice cream drumsticks are apparently a great way to prepare for a big game!

Baseball-wise, when a team pitches well, hits hard, and makes routine plays, you always give yourself a chance to compete.

Congratulations to the players of 13U Select. A special thanks to the parents who continue to support this team in so many ways.

North York Baseball Association has been providing House League and Rep/Select levels of play for boys and girls 6-18. Games are played at Bond Park in North York. NYBA is celebrating 50 years of serving the community!