St. Marys – The London Badgers showed no mercy to the debut of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame teams in the 18 & under and 16 & under divisions of the Premier Baseball League of Ontario (PBLO) on Saturday April 30/05.

At St. Marys Cement Company Field in St. Marys, the elder Badger squad came back with two out in the final inning to tie the first game and went on to win in extra innings 8-7, and then completed the sweep by defeating the Hall of Fame 6-1 in the second game.

At City Wide Park in London, the 16 & under Hall of Fame team lost 8-6 in their season opener, and were shutout out 6-0 in game two.

In St. Marys, Matt Bogue and Kris Hodges scored in the first inning to put the Hall in front.  Paul Bahous scored on a wild pitch in the fifth and Kyle Fisher doubled home James Bruce in the sixth to give the Hall a 4-1 lead heading into the final inning.  With two out and two strikes on potentially the final hitter of the game, London rallied to tie, and then scored four more times in the top of the eighth.  However, Bogue, Bruce, Hodges and Fisher all singled in the bottom half, but the Hall's comeback was snuffed as the game-tying run was left stranded at third base.  Robert Ramsdale allowed eight hits and struck out seven over seven innings, while Mark Hancock was touched for four runs in the final frame.

London scored a pair of runs in the first, third and seventh innings in the second game of the doubleheader, while the Hall's only serious scoring threat was mounted in the sixth starting with consecutive singles by Bruce, Hodges, Fisher and Hancock.  Hodges was a perfect three-for-three at the plate, while Bruce chipped in with a pair of base hits.  PJ McColl allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings, and Phillip Cave gave up the final two runs in the seventh.

The under 16 team spotted the Badgers a three run lead, but scored five in the fourth inning to take the lead.  However, they surrendered five runs in the bottom of the same inning en route to the loss in their first game.  Jeremy Jayaweera took the loss in relief of Joel Slack.  Seven members of the team got into the offensive production, with Slack's two hits leading the way.

Game two was scoreless through three and a half innings behind the solid pitching of Mitch Clarke, but London broke it open with three runs in the fourth and piled on three more in the sixth to close out the scoring.   The Hall was held to just three hits on a cold, windy afternoon in London.

Both squads go at it again Sunday, changing home venues.  The 18 & unders battle at 10:00am at City Wide Park in London, while the 16 & under squads play a twin bill in St. Marys beginning at 11:00am.

ST MARYS – 3 May 2005

June 24 – 9th Annual Celebrity Golf Classic

June 25 – 2005 Induction Ceremony

2005 SUMMER CAMPS for Boys & Girls

* Week-long camps (drop off Sunday, pick-up Saturday), including accommodation & meals
        * Focus on baseball FUNdamentals, swimming, soccer & tennis, trip to SkyDome
        * Social Justice and Cultural Awareness programs incorporated
        * Baseball Celebrities to take part