NEWS RELEASE
NIAGARA DISTRICT BASEBALL ASSOCIATION
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While their quest for a perfect season came to an end recently, the Beamsville Yellow Jackets remain the class of the Niagara District Baseball Association’s senior men’s league.
Beamsville suffered its first loss of the season recently, falling to the Merritton Alliance 7-3. Still, the team is comfortably in first place and will get a first round bye when the playoffs get underway this fall following a brief pause for the OBAs.
There’s still some jockeying for position among the remaining four teams. The Welland Pioneers (11-9) and the Alliance (12-10) are fighting for second spot. Meanwhile, the bottom four are tightly packed together. Fort Erie (10-12) leads the way, followed by St. Catharines at 9-14-1, Niagara Falls (7-14-1) and Thorold (7-14).
Individual standouts so far this season include Xavier Whittle, a newcomer to the league playing his first year with the St. Catharines Cobras. Whittle leads the league in home runs with six, while maintaining a .415 batting average through 23 games. He’s also chipped in on the mound, with 31.1 innings of 3.80 ERA ball.
Merritton’s Cam McKnight is having a solid season on the mound, as well. He’s struck out 48 batters in 47.2 innings, with a miniscule 2.06 ERA.
As the teams look to improve their playoff positions down the stretch, they’ve also got their eyes on the upcoming provincial OBA tournaments. Thorold will be hosting the A division, playing in the 10-team tournament alongside league rivals, the Niagara Falls Expos and Welland Pioneers.
The remaining NDBA teams competing in the OBAs will be traveling out of town: St. Catharines in the C division, Merritton in the B division, and Fort Erie and Beamsville competing in the AA division.
This year the men’s OBAs will take place a week earlier than usual, running the Aug. 23-25 weekend. Locally, action will take place at Thorold’s McMillan Park and Oakes Park in Niagara Falls.
Here’s the remaining schedule for each team (some earlier rainouts still need to be rescheduled):
Merritton: At home vs. Welland, Tuesday, Aug. 13 at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Aug. 16 at Beamsville, 7:30 p.m.
Thorold: Home vs. Fort Erie, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Home vs. Niagara Falls, Thursday, Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m; Home vs. Beamsville, Sunday, Aug. 18, 12 p.m.
Fort Erie: At Thorold Anchors, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Home vs. Beamsville, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 7:30 p.m.
St. Catharines: Regular season complete.
Niagara Falls: At Thorold, Thursday, Aug. 15, 7:30 p.m.; At Welland, Sunday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m.
Welland: Home vs. Beamsville, Monday, Aug. 12, 7:30 p.m.; At Merritton, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 7:30 p.m.; Home vs. Niagara Falls, Sunday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m.
Beamsville: At Welland, Monday, Aug. 12 at 7:30 p.m.; At Fort Erie, Wednesday, Aug. 14 at 7:30 p.m.; Home vs. Merritton, Friday, Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m.; At Thorold, Sunday, Aug. 18, 12 p.m.
For more information visit ndbaseniorbaseball.com.
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