Minor Pioneers UCLL champs
The Williamsburg Minor Pioneers won the Upper Canada Little League Championship on Sun., July 28, after defeating the Winchester Red in the final. It was a seesaw battle and either team could have won but it was the Pioneers who pulled it off with a 13-12 win. The champions are: lying in front, Ethan Nelson; front from left, Carter Froats, Austin Workman, Donovan Shaver, Simon Martens, James Barrie; back from left, Reed McCadden, Charlie Chafe, Christian Markell, Callum Larocque, Emmett Lemire, coaches, Brian Shaver, Todd Larocque, Mike McCadden and Jason Martens. Moore photo

WILLIAMSBURG—The Williamsburg Minor Pioneers played for the Upper Canada Little League championship as they hosted the tournament on the weekend of July 25-28. They opened the tournament against the Kemptville Wildcats on Thursday night and were supposed to play the Winchester Blue Sox on Sunday morning but they failed to show up; they went on to play the Winchester Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Pioneers 13 Red Sox 12

The Williamsburg Minor Pioneers welcomed the Winchester Red Sox to the J. C. Whitteker Ball Park on Sun., July 28, for the championship game of the Upper Canada Little League. The Pioneers kind of lucked out in their previous game as the Winchester Blue Sox didn’t show up. 

The Red Sox got to the final by knocking off the first place Blue Sox on Thursday night and the Kemptville Wildcats earlier in the day. The Red Sox started things off with two runs in the top of the first inning but the Pioneers answered with a single in the bottom of the inning. The Red Sox took a 2-1 lead into the second inning. 

The Red Sox got five batters to the plate in the top of the second inning but were unable to cash them in. The Pioneers tied the game with a single in the bottom of the second.

The Red Sox retook the lead with a single in the top of the third inning but the Pioneers answered with three runs in the bottom of the third retaking the lead 5-3. 

The Red Sox scored the maximum five runs in the top of the fourth inning retaking the lead 8-5 but the Pioneers answered again with four runs in the bottom of the fourth making it 9-8. 

The Pioneers’ pitcher Ethan Nelson struck out the side in the top of the fifth inning and the Pioneers added a single in the bottom of the fifth, taking a 10-8 lead into the sixth and final inning. 

The Red Sox retook the lead scoring four runs in the top of the sixth inning and looked like they were heading for the championship leading by two runs. The Pioneers loaded up the bases and this time they would take advantage scoring three runs, squeaking out a 13-12 victory and winning the Upper Canada Little League championship. 

Scoring the runs for the Pioneers were Carter Froats, Donovan Shaver, Reed McCadden, Austin Workman and Emmett Lemire with two each and Ethan Nelson, James Barrie and Simon Martens with singles. Pitching for the Pioneers were Shaver in the first and the second, Lemire in the third and fourth, Nelson in the fifth and Nelson and McCadden in the sixth.  

Pioneers vs Blue Sox

The Williamsburg Minor Pioneers played the Winchester Blue Sox in game two of the round robin portion of the Upper Canada Little League championship on Sun., July 28, at the J. C. Whitteker Ball Park. The Pioneers showed up for their 10 a.m. game but the Winchester Blue Sox did not, so the Pioneers ended up with a bye to the championship game. 

The Pioneers went over to the other diamond to watch the game between the Winchester Red Sox and the Kemptville Wildcats to see who they would face in the final. The Red Sox pulled off the victory by four runs to earn a spot in the final.

The Williamsburg Minor Pioneers welcomed the Kemptville Wildcats on Thurs., July 26, to the J. C. Whitteker Ball Park for the Upper Canada Little League championship playoff tournament. The Pioneers’ pitcher, Reed McCadden pitched the third inning of the game allowing one run but struck out the other three en route to a 10-4 victory over the Wildcats to move to the championship game. Moore photo

Pioneers 10 Wildcats 4

The Williamsburg Minor Pioneers welcomed the Kemptville Wildcats to the J. C. Whitteker Ball Park on Thurs., July 25 for the first game of a round robin playoff for the Upper Canada Little League championship tournament. The Pioneers went into the tournament in the number two seed and the Wildcats finished the regular season in fourth.

The Winchester Blue Sox finished in first and the the Winchester Red Sox finished in third place. The Wildcats got on the board first, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning but the Pioneers matched the Wildcats with three runs in the bottom of the first, taking a three-all draw into the second inning. 

The Pioneers’ pitcher Emmett Lemire struck out three of the four batters he faced, not allowing the Wildcats to score in the top of the second inning. The Pioneers took advantage scoring four runs in the bottom of the second taking a 7-3 lead into the third inning. 

The Wildcats scored a single in the top of the third inning and held the Pioneers off the score sheet in the bottom of the third, closing the gap to three. 

The Pioneers’ pitcher, Ethan Nelson sat down three Wildcat batters all by strike outs in the top of the fourth inning. The Pioneers exploded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth taking a 10-4 lead into the fifth inning. 

The Wildcats only got four to the dish in the top of the fifth but could not get any home as the Pioneers hung on to take the game 10-4. 

Scoring the runs for the Pioneers were Ethan Nelson, Carter Froats and Charle Chafe each with a pair and Donovan Shaver, Christian Markell, Callum Larocque and James Barrie all scored singles. Pitching for the Pioneers were Lemire in the first and second inning, Reed McCadden in the third and Nelson in the fourth and fifth.