By Kaitlyn LeBoutillier
The East Nepean Eagles fell one game short of winning a second consecutive senior-level Canadian Little League Baseball championship, but the family feeling on the team held strong despite the 8-5 defeat to Quebec’s Mirabel Diamond on Sunday at the Nepean Sportsplex.
“Things will go wrong, that’s for sure, there’s no doubt about it, and when things go wrong for others, they’ll feel down and I’ll always try to be there for them because I love them like family,” states Eagles pitcher/shortstop Reid Maika. “Obviously, sometimes things will go wrong in my game too, and I was down because of the outcome, and my teammates… they were all there for me, comforting me and trying to cheer me up, giving me hugs and all that.”
The Eagles hosted five teams from across the country for the July 14-21 nationals, one year after they’d earned a national title on their home diamond over the same Mirabel rival.
“The major reason our team has had success has been without a doubt because we’ve been with each other the majority of our baseball careers, and through that, it has created a brotherhood mentality,” Maika underlines. “When one player is down, there are 12 other great people on the bench to help cheer him up and get him back in the game.”
The Eagles’ core has been together since they started playing back in the coach-pitch days. The reason they’ve remained teammates for so long, particularly when there are many other routes to take in competitive baseball, is because of the bond they’ve built, Maika signals.
“We’re all talented ball players, hard-working, good lads to be around. I mean, there’s nobody I’d rather play ball with than these guys,” he adds. “Our team is a team made of a bunch of great lads who all play for each other. We don’t have any ‘me-me-me’ guys, we’re all ‘we-we-we.’ We win as a team, we lose as a team.”
The Eagles went 4-1 to place second behind undefeated Mirabel in the round robin portion of the tournament. This included a tight 4-2 win over the Upper Ottawa Valley River Cats, who represented Ontario at the event, with East Nepean granted a host berth.
The Eagles won their semi-final contest 8-3 over Mount Seymour, while Mirabel took out the River Cats, who went on to take the bronze medal.
The crowd was a sea of green as East Nepean players, coaches, and community members of all ages were there to take in the Sunday afternoon final.
“The crowds helped us feel more pumped up and get the adrenaline pumping during the game, which can only help us. Especially when the loud cheering from our fans can rattle the other team’s pitchers and fielders and cause them to make mistakes,” notes Maika, while saluting the volunteer coordinators, grounds crew and others involved in making the week-long tournament possible.
The home team struck first, capitalizing on Quebec’s misplays to take a 2-0 lead after one inning. But Diamond pushed back, scoring three in the top of the second. The teams continued trading runs until they reached a 5-5 stalemate after five innings, with pitcher Nolan Beelen performing strongly to keep his team in the game.
Quebec eventually pushed ahead 7-5 in the sixth and added on one more in the seventh, while the Eagles could not get anything going against the Diamond’s strong pitching in their final at-bat.
Following the game, there was understandable disappointment, however, throughout the crowd, there was a feeling of pride, with parents telling their kids to be proud of how far they’ve come, to community members taking in what their organization has accomplished.
“It felt unbelievable to play in front of all of those people who came out to watch us,” Maika highlights. “Especially because for years and years, this group of boys that I consider family, we have been grinding nonstop – from winter training in batting cages and pitching mounds, to strength training, and on-field practices every day we possibly can.
“Having them here for us shows that our hard work and dedication aren’t going unnoticed, which is something to be proud of.”
At the July 18-24 Ontario Little League majors tournament in Windsor, the Eagles won two contests before getting eliminated with a second loss to Windsor South Canadians 2-1 in the double-defeat championship.
Earlier, Cornwall River Rats defeated Orleans 8-7 in the Ontario Little League junior championship game. Host Kingston Colts won the Ontario intermediate title with a 2-0 decision over Oakville Whitecaps.
The Ontario Little League minors tournament will be hosted at Pinecrest in Ottawa from July 27-Aug. 2.
– with files from Martin Cleary
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