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24 -The Canadian Champion, Friday, September 7, 2001 -,Mi*dget Red Sox capture Ontario IA' titie Milton defeats Belleville twice to clinch the gold By STEVE LeBLANC The Champion Revenge is rarely as sweet or mnemot able as il was for the midget Red Sox Sunday. Avenging a sltm defeat that carne in round three oflieir double- knockotit tournament in Brantford, Jeff Hiarper's charges secured consecutive pay back victortes over Belleville to reign suprerne ai the Onitrio 'A' championsliips. Maktng this [eus aIl the more rcwardtng is the tact that the ieam's nuicleus had two previous cracks ail provincial gold -two years ago as rntdget freshrmnt and six years ago as miajor peewees -bui had corne up short hoth limes. -I look three kicks ai the can îo finally do il, said a jubilant Harper. "lie ting that stands out l'or ne is how evervone con- tribîîîed. We were kind of shut down offenstvely, but wc got great pitcbiîtg and defense front a itunter of guys.- The Milton Chrysier Dodge sponsored rnidgets -wlto joined their senior counterparts iii the winner's cîrcle last weekersd. cap- turing thieir fîrst provinctal crown stnce 1993 -cliitched the titie by blatsking Belleville 3-0I. As wttb tbe fotir wins deltvered earlier itt the totritamnt. stand- otît pitching and delense paved the way to victory -the Red Soxs 3(lth and final one of the season. Michael Volpe out-dueled Belleville's Team Ontario ace wîtb a four-hit, niste-strikeout gemn through six innings. Having reacbed bis allotted out total with just one framne remaining. be handed things over to Kevin Cooper --wbose cotiorts managed three rou- ttne grounders with little difficulty to, seal the deal. Volpe also stood talt at the plate wiUi tbree bits, including a triple to bring home Ryan MeManus - who was pincb. running for Evan Jeans. The veteran catcher had hemn drilîrd with an 85 MIPH fastball in Uic back to reach base for the ninth time at the tourna- ment. Scott Connolly and Conan O'Brien casbed in Uic second and third runs. which were scored respectively by Volpe and Andrew Kirkland. Defensively. Andrew Pepper led an errorless campaign by initi- ating a pair of double plays in Uic fourth and fiftb. Milton bad to don its proverbial rally cap carlier in the day dur- ing Uie initial return engagement witb Belleville. Down 2-I aflter three innings, the local lads battled back to prevail 5-2.* O'Brien's three-run borner in the ftfth higblighted Uic reversai of fortune for Uic eventual champs - who shut out Belleville over the final Il innings of their Sunday double-header to take Uic gold. Rob Angus went downtown to spark the rally white flawless fielding and a solid complete-gamne effort from Steve Spiers fac- tored beavily into Uic win. This marked Uie second of two comeback victories for Milton Sunday. The ftrst came against anoUier provincial team hurler and Photo by GRAHAM PAINE MiIton's midgets proudly display their Imedals and trophy secured at test weekend's Ontario 'A' championship ln Brantford. The Red Sox won five of six gamnes ta clinch the gold. bis teatnmates from Sault Ste. Marie. The Red Sox offered the weekend's most dramatic climax in this one, scoring three times in their [ast at-bat to squeak by 5-4. Volpe provided the heroics, connecting on a two-out hit that brought in Jeans. Just about every player contributed to ihis exhilarating tri- umph, with runs thee and four scored by Kirkland and Ryan Harper. RBI were posted by Jeans and Paul Duif. Jeans reacbed base safely ail four tirnes up white Angus made the defensive play of the morning clash - gunning down a runner at third base fromn deep centre fteld. Mark Black laid down the tag. The Red Sox's tbree straight do-or-die victories followed their only blem-ish of the weekend - a 5-4 setback to Belleville Saturday. A sbaky start made the difference in tbis one a.s the rnidgets were hammered for ftve runs on balf-a-dozen bits in the opening fratre. Harper settled down after the ftrst and delivered five sbutout innings - fanning six banters along the way -to keep things tight. Prior to that, the champs tumned back challenges from Brantford and Sudbury -beating both 4-3. Chris Dumencu cemented the latter win with three shutout innings white leading offensively with a two-run double was Cooper. Harper put the finishing touches on the ftrst round victory by scoring frorn second base on a wild pitch 10 the backstop punc-' tuating the extra-innings showdown. Black and Jeans added singles in the toumament opening win. Also part of thc provtncial championship squad were pinch bit- ter Reg Taylor and rntddle reltever James MacDonald. Assisttng Harper on the bench this year were coaches Larry Black and Gary Cooper. The midgets were both provincial and regular season champions this year and ftnished with an overail record of 30-9-I1. For resuits on thte senior Red Sox' Ontario 'D' championship -victory, see page 25. <JIIoP&Skate JP * "~IWe Know - The Score... EQUIPMENT ln Stock Now!9 e skates e sticks e helmets * clothing e gloves e pads & much more! 90-7872 18 Thm o Rd. i t #6 ilo rý ri[Clarke",s Golf www.clarkesgolf.com FINs £>'Ualoq, 25 -30", 1141.. 1 iiii ; à Il Milloil