McNAB-BRAESIDE – After a summer of coaching the young West Carleton Electric fastball teams to some incredible finishes, it was time for the men to show what they could do with bats in their hands.

And what they could do is win the Ontario Amateur Softball Association Intermediate Men’s B East Provincial Championship, going undefeated no less.

The ‘Trics, as they are colloquially known, dominated in McNab-Braeside over the weekend (Aug. 17, 18) winning the east provincial championship with strong hitting and pitching. The team went 5-0 over the weekend including wins over teams that have been beating them all season long in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL).

Before the tournament, the ‘Trics had been struggling to find their game. They have won only three games and tied one after 16 games in league play in the GOFL. The ‘Trics struggled against some pretty top talent at last month’s Gil Read Memorial Tournament ending out of the playoff round with a 1-3 record.

But all that was forgotten as the ‘Tric’s bats were loud and their pitching strong.

The Electric won their pool in round robin play. Their first game was an 8-2 win over Frankford with Andy Barber getting the win. The second game saw West Carleton prevail 9-2 over the Moscow Mohawks. Jeff Barber was the winning pitcher and Tom Hanna took the loss. The third game of the day saw the ‘Trics get by the Scarborough Lions 10-0. Kyle Olson got the win while Josh Dhalipal was the losing pitcher.

The semi-final on Sunday (Aug. 18) saw the Electric once again playing Frankford. This game was much closer, with West Carleton edging out a 4-3 win. Michael Cavanagh had the game winning RBI in the bottom of the seventh. Andy Barber got the win in relief of brother Jeff.

The championship game saw West Carleton face off against the Micksburg Twins. West Carleton won 9-4 to take the gold medal. Andy Barber had the win while Trevor Lahey took the loss.

Andy Barber was named tournament MVP while Trevor Lahey got the nod as top pitcher.

“We had a really good weekend,” Electric coach and player Adam Brown told West Carleton Online this morning (Aug. 19). “The bats were working very well and we had great pitching. Our core group was supplemented by some pick-ups from the Stittsville 56ers and the Fitzroy Harbour local men’s league.”

The ‘Trics had the honour of dominating in front of their title sponsor and fastball fanatics Dale and Laurie Hanna of West Carleton Electric.

Brown said it was the first time this season the team had their bats working.

“For the first time this season our bats really came alive led by Cavanagh, Andy Barber, Jeff Barber, Chris Costello and Shawn Ryan,” Brown said.

 And the timing couldn’t be better as next up for the ‘Trics is the GOFL playoffs. The team finished ninth in the nine-team league and is relegated to the play-in game. The Electric face off against I4C Victory in Manotick this Wednesday (Aug. 21) at 8 p.m. The winner advances to the GOFL playoff round. Brown says it’s nice to be heating up in time for the playoffs.

“We definitely hope this will help with playoffs,” Brown said. “It is actually a ‘play-in’ single
game to see who gets the final playoff spot in the nine-team league.

The Ottawa Valley As also played in the provincial tournament and features players from West Carleton. The As went 1-2 in the round robin, beating Moscow Mohawks 11-6 and losing to Frankford 9-6. They played in the consolation C Final on Sunday where they beat the Mohawks 15-14.

• With files from the Fitzroy Fasball Blog