Bolton Brewers in tight race to hold on to lead in standings

July 24, 2014 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner
It’s not easy being at the top, and the Bolton Brewers senior men’s baseball team is finally starting to realize that.
There are two teams nipping at their heels in the North Dufferin Baseball League standings with just a week left in regular season play.
Owners of an impressive 18-4-4 record, the Brewers are currently tied with Ivy with 36 points for first and the streaking Aurora Jays are right behind them with 35 points and three games in hand.
“We’re a little disappointed that we’ve dropped a couple games that we feel we should have won, but overall we’ve won a lot more than we’ve lost and we just have to pick it up for playoffs,” said manager Mike Wallace.
Last Friday, the Brewers were hoping to create a little breathing room for themselves when they squared off against Ivy.
The Brewers came out to an early 1–0 lead in the top of the first, but Ivy stormed back in the second inning, tagging Brewers’ pitcher Zack Riddell for three runs.
The Brewers would add another run in the seventh in a comeback attempt, but weren’t able to manufacture the tying run and the Brewers were forced to accept a 3–2 loss.
“It was a close one,” Wallace said. “We just couldn’t hit with runners in scoring position. A couple times we had the bases loaded with less than two outs and we came out with nothing.”
Two nights later, the Brewers went back on the road looking to get back in the win column.
Andrew White pitched a gem for the Brewers to give his team a chance, while Corey Ramirez drove in two runs with a double to pace the offense. Travis Rumney then scored Brent Chater on a sacrifice fly to cap off a 3–0 victory for the side.
One of the best teams in the league, Wallace said his club is still looking to improve in a few key areas before the playoffs begin.
“I think it’s quite obviously in our losses that we seem to have the one bad inning fielding and then the other team capitalizes,” he said. “It’s a little more consistent fielding, and then just driving in more runs, getting guys on base and then it’s just a matter of getting them across the plate.”
This week, the Brewers will look to build momentum with games against the Aurora Jays and Angus Black Sox.
Bolton Dodgers
The Bolton Dodgers’ playoff hopes are a little bit murkier this week after notching a tie and a loss last week against teams surrounding them in the standings.
The Dodgers currently sit three points out of a playoff position with just five games remaining in the season and a handful of other teams in the hunt.
To start off the week, the Dodgers visited the Barrie Angels last Wednesday and were forced to settle for a 4–4 tie.
Ron Dipalma pitched a solid game, going six and two-thirds of an inning and allowed his team to build a lead through most of the game. However, it was a late rally by Barrie in the seventh inning where they tied things up.
Their next test was against the Orangeville Giants, who are neck-and-neck with the Dodgers in the standings, Sunday afternoon.
Right off the bat, it was a tough one for the Dodgers, with Orangeville racking up a 5–0 lead after five innings. Bolton attempted to get back in the game, but had dug themselves in too deep a hole and ended up suffering a 12–2 loss.
Time is running out on their playoff hopes, but player/manager Andrew English said the team still has confidence it can get back on the right track.
“We’re still only three points out of a playoff spot, so losing Saturday really hurt,” he said. “If we had won that one, it would have given us a nice little boost in the standings to get in the playoffs, so it’s just blown opportunities, which just adds insult to injury, but mathematically we’re still in it and hopefully we can get a solid finish to the season.”
This week the Dodgers will look to rebound against the Angus Black Sox and the Midland Indians.
For more information, visit www.ndbl.ca