Quyon belts Kars in the final at Gil Read tourney in Carp
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By Jeff Maguire
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EMC Sports - The teams who currently top the standings in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) clashed in the final of the third annual Gil Read Memorial Men's Fastpitch Tournament in Carp Sunday. When the dust settled it was the No. 2 team who came out on top!
Mike Gauthier, Kemptville EMC
Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) clashed in the final of the third annual Gil Read Memorial Men's Fastpitch Tournament in Carp Sunday. Quyon Combat Flyers blasted Kars Aces 8-1 in the finale of the 10-team event which is being called "by far the best yet" by organizers. Above, third inning action.
Quyon Combat Flyers blasted Kars Aces 8-1 in the finale of the 10-team event which is being called "by far the best yet" by organizers. The event drew fastball fans from across Eastern Ontario. Good crowds followed the action all weekend in hot, but ideal, summer weather conditions.
Combat Flyers, who are currently just one point behind Kars (formerly Ottawa Team Easton Thunder) in the GOFL race, were led by veteran pitcher Joran Graham who was outstanding during the three-day competition which began Friday night. Graham was named the tournament's most valuable player.
Quyon, the only West Quebec entry in the Ottawa men's fastball league, went undefeated in the competition to pocket $1,800 in prize money. The cash will come in handy for Flyers who have already qualified for the International Softball Congress II Tournament of Champions (TOC). That prestigious competition takes place in Midland, Michigan late next month.
Aces claimed $700 as their share of the tournament prize money by finishing runners-up.
Following round-robin play Quyon and Kars each sported perfect 4-0 marks. Kars topped the 'A' Pool while host Carp 14C Victory was second with a 2-1-1 mark. They were followed by Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric 2-2, Quebec Junior All Stars 1-3 and Roebuck Juniors (Spencerville area) who finished 0-3-1.
In the 'B' Pool Flyers were followed by pre-tournament favourite Donnacona Blue Sox (Quebec City area) 2-1-1, Barrhaven Broadway Blues 2-2, Ottawa Blitz 1-2-1 while Trend-Arlington Shamrocks were winless at 0-4.
Shamrocks, an Ottawa side, actually rode to the rescue last week. They agreed to fill out the tournament roster after Napanee Express was forced to withdraw, just days before the competition, because they weren't able to field a full team.
The tournament semi finals saw Kars double Donnacona 8-4 while Quyon downed Carp 4-1.
In the Kars-Donnacona clash Brad Porter, who is undefeated in GOFL this season with a 9-0 record and two saves, was the winning pitcher. Graham earned the mound victory for Quyon in their win over the hosts.
In the final, which was ended after five innings by the mercy rule, Graham's pitching shut down the usually potent Kars' line-up.
Six of the 10 teams entered in the tournament are GOFL members. Only Donnacona, Quebec Junior All Stars, Roebuck and Trend-Arlington were imported for the event.
The competition was moved to Carp this year from Carlington Park in west-central Ottawa after rental fees for city-owned facilities skyrocketed. That prompted tournament organizers to seek another venue.
The annual venture is named in memory of Gil Read a long-time coach from the Ottawa area who died tragically in 2007.
Securing Donnacona to play in the event was considered a coup for organizers led by Chris Read and his cousin Al who plays for Carp 14C Victory.
Chris, son of the late Gil Read, credits his cousin Al who he calls "the chief organizer.
"Al worked really hard putting this together," Chris told the EMC.
As for semi finalists Donnacona, they have won several major tournaments in recent years.
Among Sox successes was capturing the 2008 Eastern Ontario Challenge Cup ISC II Qualifier which was played in Fitzroy Harbour. They defeated Team Easton (now Kars) 1-0 in the tournament final and did it in style, with their pitcher throwing a no-hitter.
The September 2008 triumph gave Donnacona a berth in the ISC tournament, played in the Quad Cities area of western Illinois and eastern Iowa last August. Canadian teams dominated in the huge (40 team) event with three, including Blue Sox, reaching the semi finals. Port Elgin (Ontario) won the competition.
Quyon and Team Easton also qualified for last August's TOC in the United States.
All proceeds from last weekend's event in Carp go to the memorial foundation named in memory of Gil Read. The foundation is working to help less fortunate children compete in sports across the city of Ottawa. Because of contributions from the foundation children who cannot afford skates to play hockey or shoulder pads to play football can now do so.
To follow the GOFL throughout the season visit the Eastern Ontario Fastball Blog at: www.fitzroyfastball.blogspot.com
Watch for a follow-up story on the success of the Gil Read Memorial tournament in a future edition of the EMC!
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