Stingers Minor Bantam News

• Tryout Information for 2010 season
  The Stingers Minor Bantams still have a few roster spots open and tryouts will continue on Thursday nights at David & Mary Thompson Collegiate Institute from 8:15 to 10:00pm. Any newcomers should call 416-452-7598 or e-mail coach Mike Campitelli.



• Stingers win at St. Mary's Hall of Fame Classic
  July 26 - When Tom Valke, President and CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame, offered a last-minute invitation to the Stingers '96s to enter the St. Mary's Minor Ball Association's Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Classic Tournament - they quickly said yes. And it's a good thing they did as the team came home as tournament champions.
  
  There were eight teams at the tourney, held July 24-26, including a mixed bag of county ball teams and rep teams, and a full program of activities besides baseball. "What a blast!," said coach Mike Campitelli. "The kids got to swim in the Quarry swimming pool and got a personalized tour of the Hall of Fame."
  
  The Stingers lost their Friday opener against the hometown St. Mary's squad, 8-7 in the bottom of the seventh, thanks to some powerful hitting by the home team. The Stingers went on to win the next three games earning them a rematch with St. Mary's Sunday's final. "It was a real thrill for the kids, receiving their medals from the town's mayor," said Campitelli.
  
  

• Peewees trip to London: another close one but no cigar
  June 14 - The Stingers put in another great tournament showing in London this past weekend. The Boys in Black finished first in their division after the round robin segment on Saturday, with strong pitching from Campitelli, Ing, Mcbratney, Harrington, Hudjin and big Sammy Salemi.
  
  Looking forward to facing league rivals Vaughan Viking in the finals, the Stingers first had to make their way through a very strong Cambridge team in the semis. They lost a heartbreaking 6-5 game to the eventual champs (who mercied Vaughan in the finals) and advanced once again to the Consolation finals where, once again, they came up one run short, losing 7-6 to Brantford, who they had beaten 8-1 the previous day.
  
  The good news is the Stingers outscored their opponents 42-29 for the tournament while the pitching staff held their opponents to a combined .200 batting average against.
  
  They'll re-group to face Richmond Hill at home on Tuesday and head to Bond Park on Friday to face the mighty North York Blues.
• Stinger relievers couldn't find strike zone
  June 9 -The Stingers Peewees had their hands full Tuesday at Neilson Park, losing to the Etobicoke Rangers after walking a total of 16 batters over six innings.

  Starter Matthew Ing pitched a jewel but received little in the way of defensive support and was chased from the game after three and a third innings, down 3-0. The relief staff had a hard time finding the strike zone and as a result walked in a total of seven runs. The good news is that the Stingers sent 12 batters to the plate in the bottom of the sixth, scoring seven runs. The late charge wasn't enough however and the game was called due to time.

  The boys are off to London this weekend and hope to put in a good showing.

• Stingers run out of race track
  June 8 - The Stingers lost an 8-7 heartbreaker Monday against the Vaughan Vikings. With a suprising "shortened" curfew imposed, the squad's sixth-inning two-out rally of four runs left the squad just short of a win.
  
  Their downfall was defensive errors and not enough time. Starter Josh Campitelli gave up only a single earned run on one base hit over three innings and reliever Kyle McBratney gave up only two earned runs over two innings.
  
  After falling behind 8-3 on five unearned runs, the Stingers' bats came alive in the top half of the sixth as they scored four runs with two out. It took amazing fielding by the Vikings to finally stop the charge and shut the game down.
  
  The boys look forward to a rematch with the Vikings this weekend at a tournament in London. In the meantime, they will regroup and play host to Etobicoke Tuesday night at Neilson Park.
• Stingers hitters lead the way against North Toronto
  June 7 - With solid hitting form Patrick Harrington, Matthew Ing and Sam Deinum, the Stingers Peeweees chalked up a win today, beating North Toronto 13-10 at Sentinel Park. The boys jumped out to an early 9-2 lead but the pitching staff had a hard time finding the strike zone and NT whittled away at the lead with five runs on walks and a few timely hits.
  
  By the end of the fifth, the game was tied 9-9. The Stingers struck back late in the game with four runs but North Toronto refused to give in. With one out in the bottom of the seventh, the bases loaded and the go-ahead run at the plate, the Stingers called on Patrick Harrington to shut them down. Harrington made short work of NT by striking out the last two batters on six pitches.
  
  The Peewees continue their road trip Monday night in Vaughan and then it's back home to face Etobicoke on Tuesday night at Neilson Park.

Stingers celebrate their fine showing in Kingston
• Peewees reach consolation final in Kingston
  June 1 - The Stingers made a definite impression in Kingston this weekend going 3 and 3 in sub-zero temperatures. After the round-robin segment of the tournament, they advanced to the semifinal. After losing to North York the team moved on to the consolation semis where rookie Pitchers Axel Steger and Mrugen Mehta lead the squad to an 11- 2 thrashing of Oshawa. The boys played Kingston in the finals, who they had beat handily the night before 9-3, but the weather and a lack of eligible pitching arms after five games finally caught up with them. After seven hard-fought innings, they came out on the losing end of an 8-4 match. Honorable mention: the pitching staff held the opposition to a combined batting average of .208 while the Stinger offence ran up a total of 32 runs with base hits from every member of the squad!
  The team faces the mighty Markham Mariners at Neilson this Tuesday night at Neilson Park.
• Season opens with a tie against North Toronto
  May 23 - The Peewee Stingers opened their season on Saturday, May 23, with a hard fought seven-innings against North Toronto. The two teams battled to a 6-6 tie. Among the many key highlights of the game were lead off hitter Axel Steger, who went 3 for 3 at the plate with a walk and a run. Starting pitcher Sam Salemi went four complete innings giving up only two unearned runs and striking out 6 along the way. Also of note were rookies Mrugen Mehta (with four RBI's) and Brandon Nason with a clutch pinch hit in the fifth.
  
  The Stingers face East York this Tuesday then it's off to Kingston on the weekend for a tournament.