Outstanding Association Recognition
WOBA presented
Listowel Minor Baseball with a recognition award for their outstanding 2017 OBA season, winning 5 OBA Provincial championships; rookie, mosquito, bantam, midget & senior, and a finalist placing in Peewee C. Listowel is tied with only one other Provincial local, Mississauga North's 2012 results to acquiring this many championship and finalist wins in a season.
Dear Baseball Fans,
It is my sincere pleasure, on behalf of the Minor Baseball Executive Committee, to acknowledge the efforts of all our players, coaches, parents, and volunteers during another amazing summer of baseball and softball here in Listowel. And while any season spent on the diamond should be considered a success, this year, several of our local teams went on to experience the thrill of victory in their respective Provincial Tournaments. So I would like to extend additional congratulations to our Rookie, Mosquito, Bantam, and Midget Teams who, along with our Senior Legionnaires, all captured Ontario Titles in 2017. These accomplishments are truly outstanding and thanks to a Minor Baseball Organization that continues to register record numbers of players and foster talent with caring and knowledgeable coaches, this level of achievement is possible each and every season. Listowel Minor Baseball is also proud to have these generous corporate sponsors who rally behind our program and make it easy for our kids to grow their love of the game.
Yours in baseball,
President
LMBA
Mathew Harrison
ROOKIE ‘D’ CHAMPIONS – The Listowel Rookie OBA club ran the table on the competition at the OBA ‘D’ finals on Labour Day weekend, going 6-0 while giving up only 16 runs all weekend. Rookie OBA team members: Tate Berfelz, Jaxon McLaughlin, Kaleb Schouten, Kai Wick, Liam Biesinger, Henry Meulensteen, Cody Frook, Ethan Culling, Owen Ottens, Ryan Antoniadis, Preston Henhoeffer, Noah Kaye. Coaches: Curt McLaughlin, Chad Kaye and Curt Berfelz.
MOSQUITO ‘C’ CHAMPIONS – The Listowel Mosquito OBA squad won the provincial ‘C’ championship in Essex over the Labour Day weekend, blanking Dorchester 10-0 in the Sept. 3 final. Team members include: Tyson Moran, Austin McCourt, Jesse Coombs, Tate Vader, Keenan Werth, Owen Leary, Jacob Wilken, Teague Vader, Zander Baggio, Zach Hallam and Dax Vader. The coaching staff includes Kyle Hollinger, Vince Leary, Brady Werth and Greg Vader.
BANTAM ‘C’ CHAMPIONS – The Listowel Bantams added an
OBA championship to their WOBA and ICBA wins earlier in August after taking the provincial ‘C’ baseball title in Port Dover over the Labour Day weekend. OBA championship player roster, back row from left: Brett Long, Trevor Reading, Keegan Long, Brett Armstrong, Seth Reading, Nich Verbeek, Sam Town, Lucas Baggio, Zach Harrow, Mike Smith, Pete Verbeek. Front row: Garrett Golley, Josh Jacklin, Ceryne Bierling, Bret Smith, Chet Hudson.
MIDGET ‘D’ CHAMPIONS – The Listowel Midgets capped off their 2017 baseball season with a provincial ‘D’ championship at the OBA finals in Wallaceburg on Aug. 25-27. Listowel swept all five of its opponents en route to the title. Pictured, back row from left: Coach Dave Johnson, Brett MacLeod, Riley Kuepfer, Michael Uptigrove, Coach Dean Wall, Lucas Jamieson, Denver Turnbull, Blair Johnson, Alex McFadden, Bryan Richardson, head coach Matt MacLeod. Front row: Brandon Wall, Will Calder,
Reid Gooding, Travis Bannerman, Zack Boertien, coach Jeff Bannerman.
ESSEX – One week removed of coming up just short against Cambridge in the ICBA finals, the Listowel Mosquitos rebounded with an Ontario Baseball Association ‘C’ championship. Listowel blanked Dorchester 10-0 in the tournament final in Essex, nearly 24 hours after Dorchester edged the Mosquitos 1-0 in the final round robin game – the team’s only blemish during provincials. Listowel rolled through the rest of the preliminary round,
beating Uxbridge, Ingersoll and Port Lambton. The Mosquito OBA club
topped Hanover 11-4 in the semifinals on Sept. 3, before clinching the provincial title in convincing fashion over Dorchester.
“A special thanks goes out to all the fans who supported the team all weekend, as they witnessed this group’s first all- Ontario championship,” said coach Kyle Hollinger.
PORT DOVER – It was a clean sweep for the Listowel Bantams in 2017. The club won the WOBA, ICBA and OBA championships in consecutive weekends to cement its spot as the top club in Ontario’s ‘C’ division. The Bantams only surrendered nine total runs in their OBA bid, beating Port Dover, Wyoming and Belle River in the preliminary round on Sept. 1-2. Things got tighter versus Amherstburg in the semifinals but Listowel came away with a 1-0
victory, followed by a 4-2 triumph over Belle River in the tournament finale on Sept. 3.
WALLACEBURG – Listowel entered the Ontario Baseball Association
Midget ‘D’ championships in Wallaceburg on Aug. 25-27 as one of the favourites to win it all, and the local club didn’t disappoint. Listowel went 5-0 in the tournament to capture the provincial championship, culminating in
7-3 extra-innings victory over Belle River in the final. The Midgets opened their OBA run with an 8-1 win over Woodslee on Aug. 25, then beat up Dresden 13-2 and Belle River 7-2 on Aug. 26. A tight 5-4 win over Amherstburg in the semifinal propelled Listowel into the finals. “This weekend was the most exciting baseball we have been a part of, and the coaches and parents are really proud of this team on and off the field,”
said head coach Matt MacLeod. “They are deserving champions.”
WALLACEBURG – The Listowel Rookie OBA squad capped off its undefeated regular season (11-0-2) with a provincial championship over the Labour Day weekend in Wallaceburg. Listowel gave up only 16 runs all weekend while scoring an incredible 74 runs over its six games. The Rookies met Wyoming twice and beat them twice, first in Game 4 by a score of 16-1 and then had
another dominating performance in the OBA final, winning 11-3. “This was a special team,” said coach Curt McLaughlin. “I had numerous compliments all year and weekend on the effort our boys give and how we play the game the right way.”
OBA Rookie ‘D’ Championship:
Listowel 8, Strathroy 2
Listowel 21, Blenheim 3
Listowel 12, Dresden 3
Listowel 16, Wyoming 1
Listowel 6, Woodslee 4
Listowel 11, Wyoming 3
OBA Mosquito ‘C’ Championship:
Listowel 17, Uxbridge 9
Listowel 7, Ingersoll 5
Listowel 13, Port Lambton 4
Listowel 0, Dorchester 1
Listowel 11, Hanover 4
Listowel 10, Dorchester 0
OBA Bantam ‘C’ Championship:
Listowel 16, Port Dover 1
Listowel 11, Wyoming 4
Listowel 6, Belle River 2
Listowel 1, Amherstburg 0
Listowel 4, Belle River 2
OBA Midget ‘D’ Championship:
Listowel 8, Woodslee 1
Listowel 13, Dresden 2
Listowel 7, Belle River 2
Listowel 5, Amherstburg 4
Listowel 7, Belle River 3