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Wednesday, June 17, 2009 Orono Weekly Times - 9 Eagles take on elite teams in a pinch by Chris Stark Busy week for Eagles The Kendal Eagles had an unexpectedly busy week. On Tuesday night they defeated the Whitby Canadians 7-2. Eagle pitchers, Jason Carroll, Russ Hunt, and Jay Hamilton combined to shutdown the Canadian's offence. Later in the week, after the Windsor Stars dropped out of the Oshawa 'A' Tournament -a tournament where elite senior teams gauge their chances of winning the Ontario Elimination Tournament and representing Ontario in the National Championships -- the Eagles were asked if they could help out and fill in for the missing team. After some quick rescheduling, the boys were off to Kinsmen Stadium for a game Friday night. The first game was against the Etobicoke Rangers, who are ranked as one of the topfive teams in Ontario. The Eagle bats came alive and knocked out eleven hits, and the birds found themselves with a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. (In tournaments, teams play only seven innings.) Etobicoke was showing some signs of panic and the Eagles were looking very confident. However, the Eagles' relief pitching couldn't hold the lead and Etobicoke took a 5-3 lead into the seventh. But, the photo supplied The Kendal Eagles 1983 OBA Champs (front row): Dwight Woodward, Dave Pultz, Kirk Woodward, Jim Stacey, Jerry Thompson, Denis Knapp, Pete Henderson, Mike Robinson, Glenn Foster; (back row) Brian Foster, Steve West, Guy Parks, Dave Strutt, Keith Powell, Jim Newton, Bill Bickell, Bill Robinson, Scott Robinson, Murray O'Brien, Eric Moore, Bob Foster, John Robinson. Eagles refused to fade away quietly into the night. They loaded the bases in the final frame. Unfortunately, they couldn't push across a single run and gave Etobicoke a 5-3 win. This was the third consecutive game against an 'A' team where the Eagles had played very well and had put themselves in position for a possible victory. The second game of the tournament was against East York. The final score was East York 5, Kendal 0. The "The Eagles earned the respect of a few of the best Senior `A' level clubs in Ontario." final game, against Leaside, found the Eagles with a short bench because of prior commitments and injuries. The Eagles dropped this game by a score of 8-2. Although all three games in the tournament resulted in losses, the Eagles earned the respect of a few of the best Senior 'A' level clubs in Ontario. Heads should be held high and Kendal should be confident going into this Wednesday's game in Port Hope against the Flyers, game time 7:30 pm. This Friday's game in Oshawa has been cancelled due to a scheduling mishap. Send your sports news to ORONO WEEKLY TIMES 905-983-5301 40th Season History 1983 Senior 'C' Championship by Chris Stark By 1983, the Ontario Baseball Championships had changed formats from a best of three series to a double knockout tournament. The '83 Eagles were off to the OBA Championships in Wyoming, a small town south east of Sarnia. The birds' Billy Bickell took to the hill in the opener and picked up a 4-3 win against a tough North Bay squad. In the second game, the Eagles were up against the home town Wyoming club. Eagle right hander Jim Stacey went the distance and the boys in blue took the game 7-6. In the undefeated game Kendal squared off with Clinton and lefty, Keith Powell took to the mound. He allowed only a single run in a dominant performance and the Eagles took the game easily, 6-1. This earned them a direct entry into the finals. A scrappy Staynor team defeated North Bay and Clinton on Sunday to reach the finals. In the first game of the finals, the Eagles bats fell silent and wasted a terrific pitching effort by Eric Moore. Staynor won the game 3-0. This made the next game a "winner take all" situation. It was another close game and the Eagles got another strong performance from their durable lefthander, Keith Powell. Late in the game the birds found themselves in a 2-2 tie with veteran Steve West on third base. In what would become a signature move in all of Kendal's future OBA Championships, the Eagles tried a 'suicide squeeze' play. John "Rooster" Robinson put down the squeeze bunt, plating West and give the Eagles a 3-2 lead that they wouldn't relinquish. The Eagles would come close to a few other OBA championship's, but would have to wait over a decade before they would don the gold championship medallions again. Call 905-433-1121 or 1-800-452-0688. To volunteer call 905-723-4461 distresscentredurham.com