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Brewers split weekend with NDBL’s top team

July 30, 2015   ·   0 Comments

By Jake Courtepatte
The Bolton Brewers may be starting to hit their stride in the AAA Greater Toronto Baseball League, but it may be too little, too late.
A valiant effort came up just short of a comeback last Wednesday against the 14-7 Leaside Leafs, who led the Brewers 9-0 at the midway point of the third inning. Adam Wallace led the way, reaching base three times while the Brewers mounted six unanswered runs, with the score 9-6 through five innings of play.
Unfortunately, it would be as close as they would get, with Leaside putting up four in the sixth inning. Nick Boyd and John Hutchinson still crossed the plate for the Brewers, but it wasn’t enough, going down by a score of 13-8.
An even more difficult task was at hand Saturday for Bolton, in a double-header with the league-leading East York Bulldogs on the road.
Game one had East York flexing their pitching muscle, sending ace Ryan Semenuk to the mound. Bolton put up a good fight, knocking eight hits off the pitcher through five innings, but rarely was second base seen by the Brewers. Brett Chater, Mike Wallace and Brendan Lyons were the only players to cross the plate.
A six-run inning for the Bulldogs is what sunk Brewers’ starting pitcher Nick Boyd, who despite cruising to the end of the seventh, couldn’t get the run support to match. Bulldogs took it 8-3.
Greg Keenan earned his first win and Nick Boyd his first save of the year in the second game of the double-header, a game where the Bolton bats shone more than they have all season.
They exploded for four runs in the first, and continued playing multi-run innings until the end of the fourth, up 11-7 in a high-scoring affair. With one out in the ninth, and the score now 11-9, Boyd came in to relieve middleman Matt Blacklaws to close out the win. He allowed one hit through the final two outs in the clutch victory.
After a disastrous start to their first full AAA season, the Brewers put up a record of 3-4 in July.
The Brewers had more wins in July than they achieved in May and June combined.
Four games remain in the regular season, and they will likely need to win them all to stand any chance of a playoff run.
The GTBL will be taking a break from regular season play for provincial elimination in Windsor this coming Civic Weekend. The Brewers drew Mississauga in the first round of the 22-team playoff, kicking off Friday evening.
They pick back up in league play next Thursday against the basement-dwelling Martingrove Sox.
For stats, schedules, and more information, visit www.gtbl.ca

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