By Kaitlyn LeBoutillier
It was home sweet home for the Ottawa West Twins and the East Nepean Eagles as the host club and the hometown district 2 representatives met in the Little League Ontario minor division championship final at Pinecrest Park.
The two local youth baseball teams were on a collision course throughout the July 27-31 event, each winning their daily contests by no less than three runs to setup the all-Ottawa final.
The Twins and Eagles ensured the championship would be won by a team from the nation’s capital with their respective 10-4 and 4-0 victories over Kingston and Oakville in the semi-final round.
“When we started with these kids in fall and winter, that’s what we told them – the goal is to be the best team in the province,” Ottawa West coach Randy Baker told the Ottawa Sports Pages after his team’s semi-final win, noting the squad had been working together for 10 months in the lead-up to the provincials.
“We’re on the field seven days a week, either a game or a practice” once the final 12-player team is selected in May, Baker added. “Their path has been long.”
Bolstered by a Ewan Baltare RBI triple in a big Twins fifth inning, starting pitcher Aaron Aquino went the distance for Ottawa West in the semi. Aquino shared that when pitching he tries to “get mad” on the mound and that helped him to stay focused.
Baker said that heading into the final match-up, the only advice he had for his Ottawa West team came from a phase he heard a parent tell their kid a long time ago: “I love watching you play.”
“At this point, we’ve done all the work we can do with them,” he explained. “They know everything that they know. We’re not going to do anything in the next 24 hours to make them better. So it’s just about, frankly, telling them to go out and enjoy the moment, because it is something that they’ll remember for a long time.”
Like Ottawa West, the Eagles enjoyed a magnificent pitching of their own in the semi-final round. Xander Kapustiak tossed a six-inning no-hitter to lead East Nepean to their shutout win in the semi on 78 total pitches.
Aside from top-notch pitching, the Eagles employed good old-fashion fun as a key to their success. After every extra-base hit, the team would break out their trademark dancing on the bases and in the dugout.
The baseball gods ultimately showed their appreciation for the gestures in the championship game that went down to the wire.
Ottawa West got out to a quick start, scoring two runs early, and starting pitcher John Trainor held the Eagles to just one run over the first 5 1/3 innings. But East Nepean wound up scoring three runs in its final at-bat to secure a 4-2 come-from-behind victory and the Ontario championship to go with it.
“Congratulations to the players, the coaches and to the family and friends who have supported the team in getting to this place,” East Nepean Little League wrote on Facebook.
Baker saluted the efforts of all the organizers behind the tournament, from scorekeepers to grounds crew, canteen workers, and volunteers across all positions that helped the event run smoothly.
“We travel a lot,” Aquino noted, echoing his coach’s appreciation for having the event in town.
“We can sleep on our own beds, which is nice,” highlighted Baker, whose post-tournament plans included a little bit of rest away from the diamond.
“There is no break from when school’s out until now,” he signalled. “When this is over is when we’ll take the foot off the gas a little bit and let people take vacation, because the truth of the matter is that a whole bunch of these kids are also elite hockey players. They’ll start all-star tryouts in like two weeks, so it’s constant for them.”
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