STITTSVILLE — After winning three straight games to close out June—including a monumental victory over the Gatineau Expos at Sanscartier that put the team firmly into the pennant race at the halfway point of the season—the SweatSox managed just one victory in July, finishing the month 1-6.
It was the SweatSox’s second-worst July record ever, surpassed only by the catastrophic 1-8 mark posted in July 2017. Remarkably, the SweatSox have even managed to do better during their Tier 1 year, when they went an impressive 1-4 in July 2016.
Here’s how it all went down.
Game Zero: City of Ottawa 1, SweatSox 0
July technically began with a game that never happened.
The SweatSox were scheduled to open the month against the Aylmer Bulldogs at Kinsmen on July 2, but the aftermath of the massive Canada Day storm and flooding forced the City of Ottawa to postpone its planned July 1 fireworks in Kanata until July 2.
Unfortunately for the SweatSox, that meant their baseball game was collateral damage.
City of Ottawa Program Coordinator within the Centralized Allocations Division Dillon Wait reportedly moved quickly once he learned exactly who was being inconvenienced.
“Once I heard it was the SweatSox getting screwed, I immediately cancelled the July 2 fireworks and moved them to the following weekend,” Wait said. “Unfortunately, by that point it was already too late to save the game. We sincerely apologize to the SweatSox for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
The City of Ottawa issued an official apology to the SweatSox, although it remains unclear whether the organization will ever emotionally recover.
Rockets 9, SweatSox 5
The July 7 return to action at Southgate did little to suggest that the month was going to improve.
The SweatSox jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, only to watch it disappear as the Rockets steadily took control. Kent Johnston provided the bulk of the offensive production with three hits, but the rest of the lineup struggled to generate enough to keep pace.
Andrew Hierlihy endured a particularly difficult evening, going 0-for-4 and coming tantalizingly close to the dreaded golden sombrero, ultimately avoiding it only because his fourth at-bat resulted in a groundout to short.
Josh Ramage started on the mound and took the loss before giving way to James Paul, Larry Pawelek and Mark Bond.
At the other end, Rockets starter Max Mueller went the distance to pick up the complete-game victory.
“I’m honestly not sure how or why I keep dominating the SweatSox,” Mueller said. “But I’ll take it.”
The SweatSox, meanwhile, presumably would have preferred he stop.
Rockets 11, SweatSox 8
Five days later, the Rockets completed the season sweep with an 11-8 victory at the Sportsplex in what was billed, at least by someone, as old timers night.
The game featured a pitching matchup for the ages, with 67-year-old Larry Pawelek taking the mound for the SweatSox against 69-year-old Mike Bayley of the Rockets.
Unfortunately, the ages were more impressive than the first inning.
Pawelek surrendered seven runs in the opening frame before settling down, but despite the early deficit, the SweatSox mounted a gritty comeback and eventually worked their way back into the game.
The late stages turned into a battle of the bullpens, with Rockets reliever Ty Murphy getting the better of Cory Bond to preserve the victory.
With the win, the Rockets completed the season sweep (3-0), prompting Rockets manager Tom Toll to offer his own assessment of the supposed rivalry.
“Some people call this a rivalry,” Toll said. “But how can it be a rivalry when we win every game?”
It was a fair question.
Lynx 12, SweatSox 11
The SweatSox finally appeared to have July figured out on July 17 at Heritage.
They just forgot to finish the job.
Leading 11-7 heading into the final inning, the SweatSox were three outs away from getting back into the win column. Instead, the Lynx rallied for five runs and stunned the SweatSox 12-11.
Ramage turned in five decent innings on the mound, but also found himself among the offensive leaders. He, Pawelek and Ron Martelle each collected three hits.
Unfortunately, 11 runs proved insufficient.
“I shouldn’t have to do all the pitching and all the hitting,” Ramage said afterward. “Somebody else has to step up and do something.”
The quote may have been directed at his teammates.
It may also have been directed at the bullpen.
Coyotes 12, SweatSox 1
If the Lynx loss was painful, the July 22 meeting with the Coyotes at Southgate was considerably less complicated.
It was simply a beatdown.
The 12-1 loss marked the SweatSox’s first four-game regular-season losing streak since 2023 and their first mercy-rule defeat since the Padres had their way with us late in 2024.
Coyotes pitcher Jonny Trafford was nearly untouchable, throwing four innings of one-hit, shutout baseball while also collecting three hits at the plate.
The SweatSox, meanwhile, struggled in every facet of the game.
They couldn’t pitch.
They couldn’t hit.
They couldn’t field.
Craig Cornell led the defensive misery with three errors.
“Three errors? Look, I’ve been playing this game for a long time. At 53, I’m just trying to make sure everybody gets their money’s worth. Three errors is basically me giving the other team some complimentary baserunners. You’re welcome.”
The offensive futility was summed up succinctly by Ramage.
“That’s all we got, one god damn hit?”
Yes, Josh.
That was, in fact, all they got.
SweatSox 16, Knights 13
Twenty-four hours later, the SweatSox rediscovered the concept of winning.
The Knights were the unfortunate recipients.
The SweatSox exploded to a 16-3 lead at Kinsmen and appeared to be cruising toward a five-inning mercy-rule victory. They were reportedly one blown strike call away from ending the game early.
Instead, the Knights kept playing.
And kept scoring.
And kept scoring.
By the seventh inning, the Knights had brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate before the SweatSox finally slammed the door and escaped with a 16-13 victory.
James Paul, Andrew Hierlihy, Mark Bond and Trevor Williams each collected three hits, while Steve Brown drove in three runs.
The victory ended the four-game losing streak, although it did not exactly inspire confidence in the club’s ability to protect a lead.
Eric White, who happened to be in town for the weekend and had hoped to get some light mound work in, watched the bullpen situation deteriorate with increasing frustration.
“I threw seven innings and probably 200 pitches,” White said. “Why did Cory sub the entire bullpen out of the game when we were up 13? He needs to anticipate these kinds of things.”
White’s comments were not directed at anyone in particular.
Except Cory.
Bats 11, SweatSox 8
The SweatSox returned to Kinsmen on July 26 for what can only be described as an emergency baseball operation.
Despite carrying a 20-man roster, the SweatSox could only get seven players confirmed for the game.
So they dusted off the Rolodex.
Enter the “Angry Dragon” Joe Majic and Xavier “Lil Phil” Leduc.
Neither had been playing baseball in years—or, in Leduc’s case, apparently ever—but both represented themselves remarkably well under the circumstances.
Against the first-place Bats, the undermanned SweatSox somehow remained competitive throughout a back-and-forth contest before eventually falling 11-8.
Ramage led the offense with three hits.
But the highlight of the night belonged to CBond.
With two strikes, Bond struck out on a dropped third strike and began a slow, painful journey toward first base—while still holding his bat.
Bats catcher Max Rose was so distracted by the spectacle that his concentration disappeared entirely.
“I felt so sorry for this crazy injured old man that I lost all focus,” Rose said. “I bounced a terrible throw to first, and then it got kicked all the way to the fence.”
Bond was only safe by a step, and was later asked why he didn’t simply drop the bat.
“If Pedro Cerrano was allowed to do it, then so could I,” Bond explained.
In reality, however, there was a much simpler explanation.
He just didn’t want to bend down and try to pick it up.
Fortunately for Bond, it worked.
Barons 11, SweatSox 1
The month ended exactly the way the Coyotes game had: badly.
The SweatSox travelled to Faulkner on July 30 and were mercy-ruled 11-1 by the Barons in another five-inning demolition.
It was the SweatSox’s first game at Faulkner since June 21, 2018, when they faced the Dukes in a game that ended in particularly memorable fashion:
With two out and three errors already committed in the inning, SweatSox infielder Chris Lidstone literally kicked a Trevor Williams routine grounder to second, allowing Mike Pignat of the Dukes to score the walk-off run.
Pignat and Williams, of course, were both members of the SweatSox years later, because apparently the NCBL has a very long memory.
Back in the present day, it was a different Josh for the Barons doing the damage.
Barons starter Josh Van Noort dominated the SweatSox, allowing just two hits while striking out seven.
Barons manager Josh Primeau was pleased with the result—and perhaps the collective contribution from the Josh community.
“When one Josh wins, all Josh’s win,” Primeau said. “Except for Ramage.”
The SweatSox could offer little argument.
A July to Forget
And so ended one of the ugliest months in recent SweatSox history.
The team went 1-6, lost four straight for the first time since 2023, suffered its first mercy-rule loss since 2024, got swept by the Rockets, nearly blew a 13-run lead against the Knights, lost to the first-place Bats while operating with what amounted to a skeleton crew, and finished the month with another five-inning mercy-rule defeat.
Still, SweatSox Manager Cory Bond insists the month should not be viewed as a sign of things to come.
“You don’t want to peak too soon in the summer,” Bond said. “We clearly took that philosophy very seriously. The plan now is to reset the tone in August and come into the playoffs on an upward trajectory.”
There is, at least, still an opportunity to change the narrative.
The SweatSox (8-10-1) kick off August with their third and final regular-season matchup against the Lumberjacks (8-10). The season series is tied 1-1, and there is considerably more at stake than simply bragging rights.
The winner will officially secure a spot in the 2026 Tier 3 playoffs. The loser will have some work to do, or hope for some help further down in the standings.
Final SweatSox in July Notes/Thoughts:
- Black Dick, White Dick, Small Dick. Bye Dick.
- A monsoon can’t take Kinsmen out, but a fireworks show can.
- Josh wants some action in his cornhole.
- James needs to keep his SweatSox schedule updated.
- James put James as late.
- A 70-foot trench is 1 foot too many.
- A midnight Dominos run always hits the spot.
- Hot dogs are not sandwiches.
- Coke Zero > Poop > Pepsi Zero.
- 1 cooler cannot contain Trevor.
- Nothing gets Josh ready for a game quite like beer, gatorade, and cocaine.
- If “In, with beer” has 0 votes, that means nobody is bringing beer.
- The Dukes will always bring extra beer and also forget everything else.
- Mike spent a week in Timmons one night.
- A beer after a walk-off grand slam is nice, unless you’re Cornwall.
- Blue Jays are not in fact blue. We aren’t quite sure if Cardinals are actually red though.
- Kent is leadoff because OBP.
- A golden sombrero always fires the boys up.
- The lineup for gas after a Kinsmen game is always crazy.
- Pinecrest is going to the Canadians! Congrats Geoff.
- Wanna know what’s worse than a dog getting sprayed by a skunk? Three dogs getting sprayed by a skunk.
- Chaun always gets a free sub on “C” Day.
- Where can you get a good calzone?
- Anal > Gut feelings > Analytics
- Breakfast first, then grass.
- Cory may have been patient zero on the explosive diarrhea parasite.
- There were 3 future SweatSox on the 1997 Marlins.
- Now that Josh is hitting the ball further, he needs to learn how to slide.
- Kent would take his kid in the national tourney over qualifying for beer league playoffs.
- Craig always has a Plan B.
