At the midway point of the season, local teams find themselves on top 

By Robert Belardi 

We're at the midway mark of the 2021-2022 North Dufferin Baseball League season and Caledon ball clubs find themselves at the top of the ranks. 

The Caledon Nationals Jr. currently holds a 6-1 record, good for first place in the junior division.

The Bolton Brewers, are hanging in there in second place with a 7-4-1 record on the year, five points back of the Ivy Rangers who are first in the standings. 

Last week, the Nationals Jr. took down the Georgina Bulldogs on the road 5-0 and then came back home to win a tight match against the Orangeville Bengals Jr. 6-5. 

For much of the Nationals Jr. season, tight games have been seldom for this particular group. In their seven games so far, the Nationals Jr. have won five games by more than five runs.

“They're seeing the ball well and hitting it. If you like the pitch, just take it and go no matter what the count is,” said Nationals head coach Bill O'Neil. 

“We had strong hitters last year and I think they're even stronger this year. Some of the guys are pretty good hitters, I've got to say that much.” 

In their second year with the team and in the NDBL, Logan Hart and Chris Zanchetta have vastly improved. Hart is posting a .429 batting average and Zanchetta is just behind him with .389 at the plate. 

Daniel Amodeo leads the team with 10 hits so far throughout the year. Five Nationals Jr. players, like Reid Deibert, Brayden Grech, Cameron O'Neil, Josh Catalanotto and Mark Sharples, have all hit one home run. 

The Nationals Jr. will head on the road to take on the Barrie Baycats Jr. Friday night. First pitch is at Lennox Park at 7:30 p.m.

The Bolton Brewers in the senior division are coming off two excellent victories last week. 

The Brewers defeated the Barrie Angels 11-5 last Thursday, before their double-header against the Midland Mariners over the weekend.

The Brewers defeated the Mariners 12-2 before drawing the next outing 5-5. 

With Brett Chater, Carter Burnside and Amin Juorez leading the charge offensively and Nick Hodgson pitching a clinic every time he steps out on the mound, the Brewers have an excellent chance to repeat as champions. 

However, head coach Mike Wallace says he does want to see the boys focused at all times. 

“I think it's kind of showing up and getting a little bit more focused. We've played New Lowell, Ivy, Clearview, Barrie and we've come away with wins against the top teams. And then, we've played some of the middle-tier of the standings and we haven't been successful,” Wallace said. “It's almost like we're playing to our competition. I think we just need to show up a little more focused.” 

The Brewers' next opponent is the Mansfield Cubs on Thursday night, a team which is currently near the bottom in the league standings. 

First pitch is at 7:00 p.m. at North Hill Park in Bolton.