Brewers fall in Game Seven as Knights lift Strother Cup

September 29, 2022 · 0 Comments

By Robert Belardi

The New Lowell Knights were crowned Strother Cup champions this past Saturday after defeating the Bolton Brewers 3-2 in game seven.

All tied up at one in the bottom of the sixth, the Knights scored two runs to take the lead.

Down 3-1 at the top of the seventh, Brewers infielder Amin Juorez’s RBI single, gave the Brewers a fighting chance to tie things up. Knights closer Jake Nicholson was up to the task and took care of business, Juorez was left stranded, and the Knights won it all.

It was a nail-biting Game Seven on both ends, but the Brewers, dominated the game with 12 hits on the day. The problem? They just couldn’t bring home the runs they needed.

“We just kept on leaving guys. Second and third. Bases loaded. We left a small village on base, unfortunately,” head coach, Mike Wallace told The Citizen.

“It’s tough not to get frustrated. We’re getting all of our chances. It was just one of those situations where the lead-off hitter in the inning wouldn’t get a hit and the next guy would. Then the next batter would get out and the next guy would get a hit. Now we have runners on first and third with two out, we just couldn’t get that next hit type of thing. We all knew when we left the diamond our numbers really showed we should have won. But, you got to give them credit. They pitched themselves out of jams and they made the plays.”

In recapping the season, Wallace said the injury bug really plagued the group of guys this year.

Between himself, Drew Volkey and Brett Chater; who bat first second and third in the order, these three players couldn’t see the field all at once this year. Other players who went down with injuries at some point throughout the year were Trent Barwick, Mike Bonsignore and Nick Pettinaro.

“It would have been nice to win it, on the notion that a lot of guys stepped up and filled in for everyone. It was tough to lose that one, just because of all the effort everyone put into it. This was our most total team effort, where in other years we were able to ride someone who really got hot,” Wallace said.

Moving into the offseason, Wallace confirmed the core group of players are going to return. For the most part, he will have to see what happens with the upcoming talent that will come out of the Caledon Jr. Nationals and other players from elite programs. Wallace said the Brewers should have a stronger team next year.

The group will reconvene this winter for some indoor training and conditioning to prepare for the 2023 NDBL season.