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Sarnia, ON – The Sarnia Senior Braves
qualified for the final of the 2011 Michigan Cup
Baseball Championship with a 9-3 semi-final victory
over the Pontiac Parkers this past weekend in St.
Clair Shores, MI.
The Braves, who finished with a Canadian record of
41-9, took part in the Ontario 'AAA' Eliminations,
and were Western Counties Baseball League and Thames
Valley Tournament Champions prior to accepting an
invite to the end of season American event.
“When we began our 2nd season of operation in 2011,
we had some specific goals in mind, and we have
achieved each and every one of them to this point,”
says coach Scott Finnie. “We hit the gym on January
2nd and will be playing for the Michigan Cup title
exactly nine months later. That is the type of
program we wanted to bring back to the city. There
is a strong baseball tradition in Sarnia and I know
I speak for the entire squad when I say that we are
proud to be able to add to it. It would be great to
end the year on a high note.”
Nick Baljeu tossed a nine-inning complete game
against the Parkers who are the 15-time defending
Pontiac region champions and were undefeated heading
into the game. Baljeu struck out six and allowed
just seven hits. Dwayne Amyotte, James Grant and
Baljeu each scored twice for the Braves while Wade
Babula, Greg Sinclair and Lance Hart scored once
apiece.
The Braves advanced to the semi-final with a 5-1 win
over the Michigan Tigers at Manz Field in Detroit,
childhood field of former Detroit Tigers great
Willie Horton.
Mike Hyde tossed the complete game against the Ann
Arbor region champions, striking out eight. Baljeu
again scored twice with Amyotte, Grant and Thingstad
each counting once.
Sarnia’s pitching has had an exceptional season thus
far, and proved it again in the Michigan Cup with
Jeff Jones, Joel Ainsworth, and Brian Riedel
combining to strike out 18 in 14 innings of work
over the rest of the tournament, while allowing just
two runs against.
The Braves will conclude their 2011 season when they
travel to Fraser Field in Detroit to take on the St.
Clair Shores Red Sox in the Championship Final on
Sunday, October 2nd at 3:30pm.
Follow Sarniasports on twitter
@sarniasports.
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