Southgate, ON — The Orleans Lynx bested the SweatSox 3-1 Tuesday night at Southgate, a field the Bytown Battalion once famously described as “simply not a baseball diamond.” This game featured strong pitching from both sides, but a pivotal missed opportunity in the 5th inning and a late Lynx surge sealed the Sox’s fate.
With the loss, the SweatSox fall to 2-2, while the Lynx improve to 2-1 on the season.
Facing a familiar foe in Lynx manager John Mendonca — a former Dukes and SweatSox player who seemingly had the entire Sox playbook in his back pocket — the Lynx entered the matchup with a strategic advantage.
“I’m honestly shocked it took the Barons 11 tries to beat these guys,” Mendonca said postgame. “It took us 1. This was the easiest game I’ve ever managed. Knowing every trick they had made this basically a live-action scouting report.”
The SweatSox struck first in the 3rd inning, when Josh Ramage singled home Nick Henderson to give the home team a brief 1-0 lead. But the Lynx quickly responded in the 4th, tying the game on a bang-bang play at the plate when Ryan Bradley slid just under the Phil Leduc tag.
With the game tied 1-1 in the top of the 5th, the SweatSox threatened with runners on first and second and nobody out, bringing the top of their order to the plate. But the rally fizzled out after a failed bunt attempt, marking the game’s turning point.
“It’s baseball,” left-fielder Jaspreet Sanghra said. “You get your shot and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way. But that one stung.”
The Lynx capitalized in the top of the 7th, scoring two runs off SweatSox starter Eric White to put this one away.
White, making his second start of the season, was once again brilliant on the mound, throwing a complete-game six-hitter with seven strikeouts and two walks. But he took the tough-luck loss, dropping to 1-1 on the year.
The winning pitcher, Dave Rotari — who played for the SweatSox in 2022/23 — spun a complete-game gem of his own. Over seven innings, Rotari gave up just one run on six hits while striking out three.
“Pitching against these guys? Easiest outing of my career,” Rotari said. “Honestly, I spent most of the game setting my pal Phil [Leduc] up for that catcher’s interference call. Executed it perfectly to start the 7th. Textbook stuff.”
Offensively, Ramage led the way for the SweatSox, going 2-for-3 with the team’s only RBI. Nick Henderson, Eric White, and I, Shaun Keay, each chipped in with a hit.
Defensively, Henderson was a rock at second base, collecting three putouts and four assists to earn Defensive Player of the Game honors. At shortstop, Geoff Nolan went hitless at the plate with two strikeouts, but contributed two assists and two putouts in the field.
“Sure, I made three errors,” said Nolan postgame, unprompted. “But somehow my fielding percentage still went up. That’s a good day at the office in my books.”
Notably absent from Tuesday’s contest were Craig Cornell, who was busy getting a “reverse haircut” in preparation for a smooth border crossing in 14 days, and the marathon-bound duo of Mark Bond and Kent Johnston, who have reportedly locked themselves in a protective bubble—like a pair of Moops—to avoid any pre-race injuries.
“I’m in that same marathon,” said Trevor Williams, who was present and accounted for in the dugout. “But clearly I’m just built different.”
Adding insult to injury, the SweatSox will be without the reigning Tier 3 MVP Eric White in their next outing Friday night at Kinsmen Field for their first-ever game against the Gladiators. White was ejected in the seventh inning following a mild verbal confrontation with the umpire in our dugout, and will serve an automatic one-game suspension.
“I want to sincerely apologize to the umpires, Mark Keeping, Bill Beelen, the Operations Committee, the National Capital Baseball League, and especially to Cory Bond,” said White Wednesday morning, reflecting on his seventh-inning ejection. “The man’s already juggling lineups, beer schedules, and peanut pickups—and now I’ve gone and added more paperwork to his pile. That’s on me. I’ll be better, and I’ll make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
Final SweatSox vs Lynx Notes/Thoughts:
- Phil’s defense was pretty awesome last game vs the Lumberjacks, and Eric’s dominance was so strong I didn’t even know how to put it into words, so I didn’t. My bad.
- I just don’t write these things like I used to.
- Nobody kisses NCBL ass quite like Cory.
- When the mercy clinching run crosses the plate, the game is over, most of the time.
- Nothing fires Larry up more than a gameday phone call.
- Trevor’s hip is only at 100% now, it should be higher.
- There was no better light-heavyweight women’s champion than Mark Bond.
- Kanata Ribfest isn’t quite the same since they relocated to a parking lot and/or soccer field near the Marshes.
- Mike noticed the new fence they built near the dugouts. Not a fan.
- Don’t ever listen to the other team when they say a ball is out of play.
- You can’t sneak a daisy duke past a fellow duker.
- Eric is no longer fast enough to score from 1st on single to shallow outfield.
- The SweatSox are not good hosts: Not enough back up balls on hand, and very slow to turn on the lights. What kind of organization are we running here?
- Nolan is our Soto.
- Craig was right about small ball all along: Inning killers.
- We lost to a team with a dude that uses a gift bag for his baseball stuff.
- Cheeseburgers are for winners.
- It’s easy to get confused when collapsing (or not collapsing) a DH, especially in Tier 1.
- The “Kanata” Kanata Athletics don’t travel further east than Parkdale.
- Ned Isakoff was, and probably still is, a Commie.
- Kanata Little League should just fold, and make Ottawa West vs East Nepean a best-of-three.
- There should be a Dubble Bubble air freshener. Now that’s a good idea.
#FORNORM