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Champions
For the 3rd time in 5 years, the Burlington Bulls are OSBA Champions. With rain threatening the Bulls travelled to Kinsmen Park for Game 3 of their series with the Dodgers. Cam McKnight got the ball for the Bulls for the first time in the playoffs and faced off against Dodgers ace and hard luck loser in Game 1. Wayne Wickens. The Dodgers got on board in the first with a run and then the Bulls scored 1on a Kip Keith triple scoring Guy. Kip scored to make it 2-1. A Bulls error led to the Dodgers scoring 2 more to make it 3-2. In the 6th inning, Mousseau reached to start in the inning and got to 2nd on an errant throw. Willitts bunted him to 3rd. Tennant walked.Guy hit a grounder to SS and the Dodgers went home with it. Moose scored. Kip hit a sac fly to give Bulls 4-3 lead and then Hayes walked and Hogan cleared bases with a double. Hayes came in to pitch leading 6-3. Bulls would score one more in 7th and Dodgers got 1 back in 7th making it a 7-4 final. McKnight gets the win making him 9-0 on the season and Hayes picked up his 3rd save(2nd in playoffs)
Congrats to the Dodgers on making it back to the finals and playing a good series. Other than game 2, all the games were close and a few key plays were the difference. With the Dodgers and Bulls now having exchanged 3 game sweeps in their championship meetings, a 3rd meeting somewhere down the road would be a nice tiebreaker.
With the win, the Bulls now pass the Stars and Dodgers for most ever titles(3) and do so in convincing fashion with a 7-0 playoff run (the only time a team has gone undefeated in OSBA playoffs since the round robin was eliminated) The Bulls are also riding a 9 game playoff winning streak going back to last year finals vs Pickering.
The win caps off a remarkable season for the Bulls with a combined record of 34-4-2 -- a franchise best winning percentage.
The Bulls would like to thank their sponsor, the Burlington Bowl as well as BOMBA, Dave Buckley, Linda Johnson and scorekeeper, Cindy Lord, all of whom have been big supporters of the Bulls since 2005.
As well. a thanks to the league exective (Steve Smith, Ron Smith, Rod Holinaty, Brian Booth) for all the work they do behind the scenes in keeping the league running strong.
So, with the final out of 2009 recorded, the Bulls happily go into the off season expecting a few minor changes, but hoping that they can keep the teams core intact and have another strong showing in OSBA's 10th year.
First weekend of Championship series
Game 1 of the Dodger vs Bulls series went almost exactly like you might think. Kozak got the ball for his 3rd straight series playoff start and was cruising along till the 5th inning when Canning hit a single up the middle to break up the perfect game. Walks to Hanna and Dunn saw Kozak face his only jam of the game, but he got Dan Blea to ground out to SS ending the threat. It was the only time all game the Dodgers would have runners on base.
The Bulls were not faring much better vs Wayne Wickens. Held hitless to the 3rd when Mousseau doubled to lead off inning. He moved to 3rd on a passed ball and was driven home by Guy. Kozak and Hayes each got a hit, but that’s all the Bulls could manage and they held on for a 1-0 lead.
In Game 2, the Bulls error free defence from Game 1 was gone in the first inning. Leyland got into a bit of trouble with 2 singles, an error and a ball that kicked past the right fielder. 2 runs scored in the inning, 1 of them earned. From then on the defence stepped it up and Leyland went the next 6 innings scoreless with the defence turning 2 double plays behind him and making no further errors.
Offensively, the Bulls were hitting starter Grabowski hard in the first 2 innings, but not getting any runs. A Tennant line drive double play ended a 2nd inning rally. In the 3rd, Leyland started it with a double and Lord singled him home,. Moose walks. McKnight sac bunted them over and then Guy walked to load the bases for Kip Keith who drove the Ball for a bases clearing double.
In the 4h, a Kozak leadoff double, Leyland sacrifice, 2 walks to Moose and Cam led to Brad Guys singling home 2 and Kip singling home another 1. His 4th RBI on the day. In the 5th, yet another lead off double from Hogan started the inning and he scored on Kozak’s sacrifice fly. Final score: Bulls 8 Dodgers 2.
Kip Keith led the game 2 attack with 2 hits. Crawford killed 20 bees on the day. Hogan killed 5.
With the win, the Bulls go to 6-0 in the playoffs and are on an 8 game playoff win streak going back to the Pickering series last year.
Leyland and Kozak are both 3-0 in the playoffs and Hayes has a save. The Bulls starters have combined to give up 6 runs thus far in the playoffs.
The Bulls will travel to Whitby next Saturday to attempt to finish the series, but well aware the Dodgers will not go down without a fight and usually save their best for when they are on the brink of elimination.
Championship Preview
Brooklin Dodgers
Three years ago, when the Bulls lost to the Dodgers in 3 straight games in the finals, the general feeling was that it would be a match-up that would very likely occur many more times. The Dodgers did their part the following year with a 2nd championship, while the Bulls fell to the upstart Bengals. In 2008, the Bulls returned, but the Dodgers didn’t make the playoffs. Finally, after a long wait, the Bulls get the single team they most would have wanted to play in a best of 5 finals – the best team – the Brooklin Dodgers.
With both teams sitting with 2 championships (tied with Stars) which is most all time, they both set their sights on a 3rd and the distinction of being OSBA’s winning-est franchise.
This is the first time in OSBA history that two teams have met for a second time in the finals.
For the Dodgers, the road back to the finals has not been an easy one. They dropped both game 1’s against the Chiefs and Indians, but rallied in both cases to win 2 in a day and move on.
For the Bulls, though sitting at 4-0 in the playoffs, they have played good competition thus far in the Stars and Giants. Game 1 of the Stars series being the most memorable in a 9 inning affair in which the Bulls rallied late to win. The turning point in a series and a crucial victory with DeWolfe and Gallant slated to pitch games 2 and 3. Game 2 was a close one until the Bulls busted it open with 1 big inning. The series vs the Giants was a little more relaxed and even though the scores were close (2-0 and 3-1), the Giants managed only 4 hits and never mounted any real rallies and the Bulls early leads in both games always felt like enough.
What has changed since 2006 : For the Bulls, the team has only gotten better since 2006. They have acquired : Jamie Kozak, Chris Hayes, Kip Keith, Jeff King, Cam Kirby and Nathan Tennant. Gone from the 2005 club are Jeff McNair, Brad Johnston, Matt Langford ,Bryan Blasko and Eric Conlon
For the Dodgers, they still have the same great pitching that dominated the 2006 series. Dunn, Grabowski and Canning – and they have also added Wayne Wickens to that deadly rotation as well as offensive standout centrefielder, former D-Jack Mike Desputeaux.
Here’s how the two team have stacked up since the Bulls joined the league in 2005.
Dodgers
2005 – 13-13 (3-3 playoffs) beat Pirates 2-1 and lost to Cubs 2-1.
2006 - 15-9-2 (9-2 playoffs ) Beat Pirates 2-0, Cubs 2-1, D-Jacks 2-1 and Bulls 3-0
2007 – 16-9-3 (9-1 playoffs) Beat Chiefs 2-0, Cub 2-0, Pirates 2-0 and Bengals 3-1)
2008 – 10-15-3 – didn’t make playoffs
2009 – 15-10-1 (4-2 playoffs so far) Beat Chiefs 2-1, Indians 2-1)
69-59-9 Regular Season Record (.549 Winning Percentage)
25-8 Playoff Record (.758 Winning Percentage)
94-64-9 Total Record (.590 Winning Percentage)
0 Pennants
4 playoff Appearances
Have played in 12 playoff series and have an 11-1 record
2 OSBA Championships in 2 Championship Appearances
Bulls
2005 – 19-7 (6-2 playoffs) Beat Jays 2-1, D-Jacks 2-0 and Cubs 2-1
2006 – 19-6-1 (4-4 playoff) Beat Twins 2-0, Stars 2-1, lost to Dodgers 3-0
2007 – 23-5 (0-2 playoffs) Lost to Bengals 2-0
2008 – 24-4 (7-2 playoffs) Beat Majors 2-0, Twins 2-0 and Pirates 3-2
2009 – 23-3-1 (4-0 playoffs so far) Beat Stars 2-0, Giants 2-0)
107-25-2 Regular Season Record (.806 Winning Percentage)
21-9 Playoff Record (.700 Winning Percentage)
128-34-2 Total Record (.787 Winning Percentage)
4 Pennants
5 playoff Appearances
Have played in 12 playoff series and have an 10-2 record
2 OSBA Championships in 3 Championship Appearances
Though the Bulls have won significantly more games in that time period, teams are usually only judged by the bottom line. A Championship. For one of these teams, a 3rd title and the distinction of being known as the best team in OSBA history awaits.
Game 2
Leyland gets the ball in game 2 vs Matt Klas from the Giants. The Bulls spotted him to an early 1-0 lead when Kip Keith scored on a dropped ball by the SS. Bulls add another in the 3rd on a Kip Keith bases loaded ground ball that leads to an interference call. Kozak singles home another run in the 5th.
The Giants could never get much going offensively as they managed only one run in the 5th on a bad throw home by the Bulls usual solid infield defense. Leyland K's 10 and allows 2 hits as he goes to 2-0 in the playoffs and send the Bulls to their 4th OSBA finals where they await the the Brooklin Dodgers for a rematch of the 2006 final series.
Game 1
Game 1 was a rematch of a few weeks ago when Kozak faced Mainelli. Previously a 2-1 loser despite giving up only 2 hits, Kozak dominated from start to finish giving up another 2 hits with zero runs and never really getting into any trouble.
The Bulls opened the scoring in the first on a Kip walk. Tennant doubled, but the over aggressive Bulls had Kip cut down at the plate. A Hayes walk followed by a Hogan single loaded them out and a Kozak FC plated the first run.
The Bulls added run number 2 in the 3rd on a Cameron Kirby solo HR. His first career Bulls HR and it was a big one.
Bulls threatend in the 6th with the bases full and 1 out, but Mainelli beared down to K Hayes and got Hogan to pop out to end the threat.
Nevertheless, this one was all Kozak as he rolled to a 2-0 victory.
The win was the Bulls 5th straight playoff win in a row dating back to Games 4 and 5 of finals last year.
After the game, Chris Lord won his first ever frolf tournament at Brampton. It was a good day.
Forest Glen Preview
Back to the conference finals for the 4th time in 5 years, the Bulls are 3-0 in conference final play (beat D-Jacks in 2005, Stars in 2006 and Twins in 2008)
Their opponent is the Forest Glen Giants who, like the Bulls, have posted a better regular season record every year since they've been in the league. The two teams have met 12 times with the Bulls holding a 9-3 series edge and have never played outside of the playoffs. Other than the Brewers, the Giants are the only team in the West that the Bulls have never met in the playoffs.
Game 1 will be Saturday at the Valleys at 12PM. Games 2 and 3 will at 1PM and 3:30PM at Milcroft on Sunday.
FG Preview
Bulls beat Stars
Game 1
Stars were quick out of the gate and anxious to prove their regular season was a fluke and that they are still a force come playoffs.
Jamie Kozak matched up against Gavin Rajiva in game 1.
The Stars got on the board early as Cullen Reached on a leadoff error. He was forced at 2 on a missed Sac bunt, but DeWolfe singled Cornish to 3rd and Rajiva helped his cause with an RBI groundout.
The Bulls could get nothing going off Rajiva and were 0-11 with only a Mousseau walk and a Guy HBP reaching in the first 4 innings.
Pitman broke up the no-hitter in the 5th, but the Bulls still could not score and with both pitchers cruising, the score was 1-0 going into top of 6th.
Lord reached on a walk to lead off the 6th. Mousseau struck out and Willits singled to make it first and second. McKnight attempted a Sac Bunt which wound up a single when no one covered first. With the bases loaded, Brad Guy plated the first run with a sac fly. Kip was HBP and with 2 out and bases loaded, Hayes singled through the infield to plate 2 and give the Bulls a 3-1 lead.
The Stars would not go quietly. In the bottom of the 6th, Penney singled and Culled walked to give the Stars 2 on with no one up for the 2nd hitter. The Stars elected not to bunt and Cornish hit into a double play moving the runner to 3rd. Delwolfe double and Rajiva singled with 2 out to tie the game 3-3.
Neither team could get anything going until the top of the 9th. Guy hit a one out single. Kip doubled him to 3rd and with 1 out and runners on 2nd and 3rd for Hayes, the Stars elected to face him. The move would be costly as Hayes hit a HR into Left Centre to give the Bulls a 6-3 lead.
Hayes would relieve Kozak in the 9th and with the help of double play, preserve the save and 6-3 Bulls win.
Game 2
Jon Leyland and Johnny Dewolfe matchup in in game 2 of the series and both starters pitched great games. Leyland got into trouble in first on a reach on error by Cullen and a walk to Rajiva, but then settled in and got out of the inning. Leyland would not be in trouble again till the 7th when he Ked the last 2 batters with the bases loaded to complete the 7 inning complete game 2 hit shutout.
DeWolfe was equally strong save for one inning where the Bulls put something together. A leadoff single by Leyland. He was forced out at 2nd on a Lord sac. Mousseau popped up and with 2 out and 1 on, the Bulls rattled off 4 hits in a row. A Willits single followed by McKnight second single plated a run. Guy singled to load the bases for Kip who singled home 2. Guy scored on a wild pitch and that one 4 run inning was all the offense the Bulls would need as they won 4-0.
Bulls vs Stars
The Bulls and Stars meet for the 2nd time ever in the playoffs. The first time was 2006 in the Conference finals, when the Bulls lost game 1 in Missisauuga and then swept in Burlington the following day including a 10 inning game 2 win.
The Stars advanced to becomes the 4th seed after beating the Twins 3-1 in a one game playoff on Wednesday. Despite their poor regular season record, the Stars always field as strong team come playoffs. They have been to the west finals twice (2006 and 2007) and never lost a first round matchup before.
THis marks the Bulls 5th trip to the playoffs. 3 times in the OSBA finals and 2007 knocked off by the Bengals (the only team from the West to ever beat the Bulls in a playoff series)
The Bulls are lifetime 12-4 against the Stars, but are well aware that a playoff Stars teams, is not the same as the one they swept in regular season a few weeks back.
Bulls vs Pirates
On the labour day long weekend, the Bulls travelled to Pickering to finish up their regular season and in a rematch of last years finals. The Bulls needed just 1 point to clinch their 4th division title and did more than that coming away with a sweep and a new OSBA record for best single season (both in term of winning percentage and most wins in a 26 game schedule)
In game 1, Cam McKnight got the start for the first time since mid-July and was his usual dominant self in 4 scoreless 1 hit innings. The Bulls offence was helped by many walks and some timely hits to give the Bulls a 10-0 mercy win. Leyland pitched a scoreless 5th extending the shutout streak to 3 games. The win for Cam was his 50th as a Bull. 29 regular season, 9 playoff and 12 tournament victories.
In game 2, Jamie Kozak got the start and pitched 5 scoreless. The Bulls scored 2 in the first and then added 4 more in the 7th for a 6-0 win. Hayes pitched the last 2 for the win and the Bulls 4th straight shutout. The win was Kozak's 25th as a Bull. 17 regular season, 2 playoff and 6 tournament wins.
With the sweep the Bulls locked up the West division and also with a 22-3-1 regular season record, marks the 5th straight year the Bulls have improved on their regular season winning percentage.
2005 19 7 0 0.731
2006 19 6 1 0.750
2007 23 7 0 0.821
2008 24 4 0 0.857
2009 22 3 1 0.865
The Bulls now await a first round playoff opponent and will face winner of Twins/Stars. The Bulls are 2-0 in playoff series vs the Twins having beat them in the quarter finals of 2006 and the semi-finals of 2008. The Bulls have not played the Stars in the playoffs since beating them in the semi-finals of 2006.
Bulls vs Talons
Going into Sunday's matchup with the Talons, Oshawa had the distinction of being the only OSBA team with a winning record (4-3) vs the Bulls.
The Bulls came out with rookie Darren Payne, dominant pitcher for the GHBL Bears, and he did not dissapoint. He carried a no-hitter into the 5th and wound up allowing 3 hits over a 7 inning shutout. The Bulls scored 1 in the first and 2 in the 3rd to secure a 3-0 win. Hogan had 2 RBI's.
In Game 2, the venerable one, Kip Keith made his career high 3rd start in the year. After a leadoff double, Kip K'ed the next 3 batters and pitched well in 4 innings. He got spotted to a 6 run lead early and the Bulls tacked on 4 more for a 10-0 final. Cam McKnight picked up the save pitching the last 3 innings. It marked Cam's first time back on the mound in OSBA after an injury sustained in Ottawa. Cam looked like his old self which will be key for the Bulls as the prepare for their playoff run.
Hayes, Kip and Willitts had good days at the plate for the Bulls, as did Chris Lord who has raised his average up to .324.
The Bulls are now 5-4 vs Oshawa and 20-3-1 on the season. THis is the 3rd straight year the Bulls have topped 20 wins.
They now need 1 point vs Pickering to secure their 4th straight pennant.
Bulls vs Giants
Game 1 saw Kozak vs Mainelli and both starters pitched well. Bulls got 1 in the first inning as Kip Keith doubled and stole 3rd. He scored an a Hayes sac fly. FG got one back in the 2nd on a HR and another in the 3rd to take a 2-1 lead. That would hold up as the Bulls despite out hitting the Giants couldn't take advantage of bases loaded with 2 outs in the 6th and the leadoff man stranded at 2nd in the 7th.
In game 2, Hayes matched up against Gren. The FG defense was shoddy in the first inning and the Bulls put up 5 on a combination of some solid hits by Pitman and Hogan and 2 botched double plays. Hayes would add 2 two run HR's and pitch a complete game as the Bulls won 13-3.
The Bulls still control their own fate for the division title and need to win at least 3 of their final 4 games to get their 4th pennant.
Bulls send 5 to All Star game
The Bulls will send 5 players to the Rogers Centre for the All Star game on August 8th. Game time 8PM till whenever everyone has to leave to go watch UFC.
The 5 Bulls (as voted on by the team) are:
Kip Keith - hitting .542 with a .661 OBP. Also leads team in Stolen bases and doubles.
Jason Hogan - hitting .533 with a .611 OBP. Also has the highest percentage of tatooed body coverage of any Bull.
Cam McKnight - 6-0 with a .96 ERA. His average is comparable to his ERA... and his weight.
Jamie Kozak - hitting .312 with a .542 OBP. 4-0 with a .53 ERA. Kozak has aleady asked about the possibiliy of "huffing darts" in the dugout.
Chris Lord - hitting .267 with a .404 OBP and leading team in RBI's with 11. Lord is also the game caller who has been responsible for most of the wins this season.
Bulls vs Stars
The Bulls and Stars met around this time last year and the Bulls were short players and arms with the GHBL playoffs in full swing. The Stars swept and gave the Bulls their worst loss in regular season history.
This year, it was the Stars who were missing players as Erindale had a COBA playoff game.
Game 1 was a wet game that involved a diamond switch midway through when mound conditions got sloppy. Hayes returned to the mound for his second start and went 6 strong in the 6-3 win. Hogan and Hayes back to back doubles in the first opened up the scoring and Hayes would go on to add another 2 hits.
Following game 1, alot of the Stars left, but fortunately, there was no shortage of jogging pants for the subs to wear. Kip Keith made his second start of the year and the Bulls crusied to a 14-1 win. Kip pitched 5 innigns allowing 1 hit and striking out 6. Offensively Lord drove in 3 and Kip and Pitman each knocked home 2.
With the wins, the Bulls sit at 17-2-1, yet still find themselves in a battle for first place with the Forest Glen Giants.
Departure of BJ
For the first time in team history, the Bulls announce the mid season departure of one of their players. Brad Johnston has taken a job in Calgary and will be moving out there, thus ending his run as a Bull.
Brad is one the original 2005 Bulls and was present for a pivotal game 2 of the Bulls 9 man line-up in the 2005 Championship series.
A career .222 hitter in 98 games with the Bulls, BJ, though often missing games, always made the most of the ones he was at. BJ mostly caught Cam McKnight’s starts and also was an integral part of the Bulls tournaments run in 2008 when he moved to 3rd base in Brad Guy’s absence.
Johnston’s best year came in 2007 when he hit .290 with a .450 OBP and 12 RBI’s in 17 games.
A solid role players who always accepted his role on the team and did his best to excel at it, coming up with many key hits, sac bunts and defensive performances when need, Brad’s support and ability will be missed as the Bulls attempt to capture their 3rd championship in the 2009 season.
The Bulls wish BJ the best of luck with the move and new job and hope to see him again at some point in the future.
Bulls vs Barrie
Barrie travelled to Burlington for the first time since 2005 and brought a pretty good squad with then.
Game 1 was a pitchers duel. The Bulls scratcher out 1 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd which was more than enough for Chris Hayes in his first OSBA mound action since early 2008. Hayes had a no hitter till the 6th and allowed 1 in the 7th before shutting the door on a 2-1 Bulls victory. He scattered 3 hits and stuck out 6. Moose and Mote drove in the only 2 Bulls runs.
Game 2 was a hot affair that was supposed to see Brian Molloy make his first regular season start for the Bulls, but when he arrived late, Jeff King took to the hill and pitched 2 strong innings before Molloy relieved him and picked up the win in a 12-2 mercy. King also had the big hit in the game with a bases clearing double off the wall to score 3. Kozak, Hayes and Lord were all 2-3 and Willitts had a strong 2-2 game at the plate.
With the wins the Bulls move to a lifetime 7-0-1 vs Barrie.
Bulls vs Majors
Game 1 was all Bulls with Jamie Kozak going the distance in a 10-0 mercy victory. The Bulls were led offensively by Kyle Pitman who went 3-3 with 3 RBI’s. Kozak Kip Keith was also 2 for 3 with 3 SB’s.
Game 2 was a come from behind win. Kip Keith got his first career start and was touched up for the 4 in the first inning. That was all Kip would allow as he settled in and pitched 4 more scoreless innings before giving way to a still fresh Kozak who had only had to throw 5 innings in Game 1. The Bulls score in the 6th and Kozak came away with the win. His second on day putting him to 4-0 on the season. Offensively, Kip helps his own cause with a 4-4 day and another 2 SB’s. Bulls also got big hits from Chris Lord and Steve Mote with 2 RBI hits.
Defensively, the Bulls patch work lineup got the job done. Kip Keith, Chris Lord, Dave Willitts and Jeff King all played 3B/SS/2B with some of the regular’s out and McKnight’s injury relegating him to first base.
The Bulls 13-2-1 record is now the 2nd best in team history.
2005 13-3
2006 12-4
2007 13-3
2008 16-0
Ottawa Preview
The Bulls return to the Ottawa Tournament for the fourth straight year.
How the Season has gone so far: The Bulls are 11-2-1 in the OSBA (now a wood bat league) and were in good position to capture the OSBA Annual Tournament with a 3-0 record before the rain washed away the playoffs.
Ottawa Tournament History : In 2006, the Bulls lost a tight Friday night game, 4-3 to the Panthers. It was Hayes only loss to date as Bulls pitcher. They fell 11-0 to Kanata and basically surrendered game 3 at that point losing 6-3 to the Cardinals.
In 2007, the team cam back strong, looking to prove they were a better team than they’d showed previously. It was also their first ever wood bat experience. They got off to a rough start losing 5-1 on Friday night to the Brewers, before reeling off 4 straight wins over. 4-3 over Deuces, 4-1 over Panthers, 8-7 vs New Lowell and 2-1 vs Brewers in finals. The playoff victories over the Knights and Brewers were both walk offs and in the game vs the Knights, the Bulls came from two down in the 9th inning to score 2 to win it. Swagers was named tournament MVP.
In 2008, the Bulls looked to repeat and went 3-0 in the round robin. An 18-7 victory over the Sweat Sox,. 2-1 over New Lowell and 8-4 over the Crushers. The semi’s was another walk off win vs the Brewers, this one a 1-0 win. The finals vs the Knights had the Bulls down to their last strike when they pulled a rally together and beat the Knights 2-1 for their 2nd straight tournament championship. Kip Keith was the Bulls tournament MVP.
Overall the Bulls are 9-4 in the tournament (5-4 round robin, 4-0 playoffs)
Overall Tournament History : With deep pitching, the Bulls have always been built for tournament and since 2005, the team has won 5 tournaments and finished as finalists 2 times in posting a 42-11 Tournament record.
Who’s Missing for 2009 : The Bulls are missing a few of their regulars for this tournament. Most importantly, Kip Keith, disgruntled over being bypassed for the 2008 MVP despite hitting over .500 in the tournament. Also missing are key bats in Brad Guy, Jason Hogan and Chris Hayes. Pretty much the 1,2,3,4 hitters in the Bulls regular lineup. As well, the Bulls will be without their usual coaching staff as Dave Willitts and Chris Lord take over.
Who’s New for 2009 : Nathan Tennant, formerly a NCBL player) who know lives in Milton and plays with the Bulls. The Bulls have also added Third Basement Cameron Kirby and pitcher Brian Molloy.
Players to watch for: The Bulls will go as far as their arms can take them and with Leyland, Kozak, McKnight and Molloy, the Bulls feel confident there pitchers will give them a chance to win each game.
OSBA Tournament Recap
Well, the OSBA Tournament sort of happened on the weekend and the Bulls were once again competing.
Game 1 brought the Bulls debut of young Evan Kielty who used to play with the Bulls select team. Evan was consistent against the Brampton Royals, which was all the Bulls needed. After going 1-2-3 in the first, the Bulls put up an 8 run inning with the help of some suspect Brampton defense. Bulls would add 3 in the 5th and 2 in the 7th to come away with a 13-6 win.
Game 2 was the Bulls toughest challenge in the York Diamondjacks who were 0-1 after losing 2-1 to Clarington. It was a must win game so the Bulls saw the best from the D-Jacks in Craig Bessant. The Bulls countered with McKnight and it looked like a pitchers duel early. The Jacks got on the board in the 3rd with 3 runs (all scored from the bottom of the order) The Bulls responded with 1 in the top of 4th as Kip Keith singled and Hayes hit a grounder to bring him in. In the 5th, the Bulls tied with big 2 out singles from Pitman and Johnston. With the game tied 3-3, the Bulls took the lead in the 6th with Hogan coming up with the big hit to give the Bulls a 5-3 win. McKnight pitched the complete game and was untouched other than the 3rd inning.
At 2-0, the Bulls were into playoffs and played a positioning game with 2-0 Clarington on Sunday morning. Mark Nicholson got the start and the Bulls game him some runs to work with early. 2 in the first, 1 in the 2nd and 2 in the 3rd gave the Bulls a 5-1 lead after 3. The Cubs rallied in the 6th with 3 of their own and closed to within 1 run, but the Bulls offense got back to work scoring 2 more in the 7th and Tennant came in for the save as the Bulls won 8-5. Kip Keith had 3 doubles and scored 3 runs.
Sitting at 3-0, the Bulls were set to play the Barrie Red Sox and feeling good about their tournament chances. They had Kozak, Leyland, Hayes and Kip Keith with completely fresh arms and McKnight ready to bounce back in relief if needed. It wouldn’t matter, however, as the rains hit and the tournament was washed away. There was talk about the tourney resuming on a Saturday, but with virtually all the Bulls Saturdays already tied up with Ottawa tournament and home games… it remains to be seen if the Bulls can capture their 3rd ever OSBA tournament championship.
If the tournament doesn’t resume, the Bulls will argue that on the basis of a 3-0 record and best run differential, they should be awarded the championship. However, 3 other teams will likely to tell them to go to hell and all will split prize money and some Pan Bread coupons.
With the 3-0 record, the Bulls captured their 5th straight Pool first place seeding and moved their overall OSBA tournament record to 21-3.
200th Game
With the Bulls last game vs the Clarington Cubs during Sunday of the OSBA Tournament, the club reached it’s 200th game overall since joining OSBA in 2005 including regular season, playoffs and tournaments.
Here are more stats than you would EVER want to know about those 200 games.
W L T Total Games
Reg. Season 95 23 2 120 0.800
Tournaments 42 11 0 53 0.792
Playoffs 17 10 0 27 0.630
Total 154 44 2 200 0.775
Record vs All Teams
Teams W L T Percent Number of Games
Mississauga North Bengals 13 3 0 0.813 16
Clarington Cubs 12 3 0 0.800 15
Mississauga Stars 10 4 0 0.714 14
Ontario Diamond Jacks 10 4 0 0.714 14
Bloor Jays 9 4 0 0.692 13
Mississauga Twins 12 0 0 1.000 12
Pickering Pirates 9 3 0 0.750 12
Brooklin Dodgers 6 5 0 0.545 11
Mississauga Tigers 10 0 0 1.000 10
Forest Glen Giants 8 2 0 0.800 10
Mississauga Majors 8 2 0 0.800 10
Oshawa Talons 3 4 0 0.429 7
Ajax Indians 6 0 0 1.000 6
Barrie Brewers 5 0 1 0.917 6
Whitby Chiefs 4 1 1 0.750 6
Mississauga Jays 3 0 0 1.000 3
New Lowell Knight 3 0 0 1.000 3
Ottawa Crushers 3 0 0 1.000 3
Nepean Brewers 2 1 0 0.667 3
Brampton Royals 2 0 0 1.000 2
Ottawa Panthers 1 1 0 0.500 2
Brooklin/Whitby combination 1 1 0 0.500 2
Strathroy Royals 0 2 0 0.000 2
Thornhill 1 0 0 1.000 1
Team ING 1 0 0 1.000 1
Ottawa Sweat Sox 1 0 0 1.000 1
Scarborough Psychos 1 0 0 1.000 1
Hamilton Pirates 1 0 0 1.000 1
Peterborough 1 0 0 1.000 1
Oshawa Updogs 1 0 0 1.000 1
Martingrove White Sox 1 0 0 1.000 1
Dundas Chiefs 1 0 0 1.000 1
Deuces 1 0 0 1.000 1
Brampton Pearts 1 0 0 1.000 1
Brampton Cardinals 1 0 0 1.000 1
Brampton D-Jacks 1 0 0 1.000 1
Bolton 1 0 0 1.000 1
York 0 1 0 0.000 1
Kanata Selects 0 1 0 0.000 1
Creemore 0 1 0 0.000 1
Ottawa Cardinals 0 1 0 0.000 1
Other Stats
Wood Bat Games 33 7 1 0.817
Aluminum 121 37 1 0.764
Home 75 24 0 0.758
Away 79 20 2 0.792
Record at Diamonds
W L T Percent Number of Games
Milcroft 37 12 0.755 49
Clarington 16 1 0.941 17
Nelson 10 5 0.667 15
Ottawa 9 4 0.692 13
Ireland 9 3 0.750 12
Q-Park 7 3 0.700 10
Miss Valleys 8 0 1.000 8
Fleetwood 7 1 0.875 8
Barrie Metals 5 2 1 0.688 8
RH 4 3 0.571 7
Dana 6 0 1.000 6
Lampman 5 0 1.000 5
Ritson 4 1 0.800 5
9th Line 4 0 1.000 4
Dundas 4 0 1.000 4
Lisgar 4 0 1.000 4
Ajax Sportsplex 3 1 0.750 4
Iroquois 2 1 1 0.625 4
Kinsmen 2 2 0.500 4
Strathroy 2 2 0.500 4
Brantford 2 0 1.000 2
Kirkey 1 1 0.500 2
New Lowell 1 1 0.500 2
Woodsmere 1 1 0.500 2
Creemore 1 0 1.000 1
Record by Years
W L T Percent Number of Games
2005 29 10 0 0.744 39
2006 28 13 1 0.679 42
2007 37 9 0 0.804 46
2008 47 11 0 0.810 58
2009 13 1 1 0.900 15
Avg Runs scored per game 6.84
Avg Runs allowed per game 3.18
Number of Shutouts by Bulls 34
Number of times shutout 10
Pitcher records in those 200 Wins
McKnight 48 15 0.762
Leyland 23 10 0.697
Conlon 23 7 0.767
Kozak 22 4 0.846
Hayes 10 1 0.909
Willitts 6 2 0.750
Swagers 4 0 1.000
Pitman 3 1 0.750
Speck 2 0 1.000
Pegg 2 0 1.000
Forfeit 2 0 1.000
Webster 1 0 1.000
Southon 1 1 0.500
Shuker 1 0 1.000
Nicholon 1 0 1.000
Malyk 1 1 0.500
Mackay 1 0 1.000
Kielty 1 0 1.000
Keith 1 0 1.000
Guy 1 0 1.000
Mousseau 0 1 0.000
Killins 0 1 0.000
154 44
Number of Wins by Forfeit : 2 - Pickering and Thornhill
Bulls vs Brooklin
The Bulls travelled East for the 4th time this year for a meeting with the East leading Brooklin Dodgers.
Mark Nicholson had his first Bulls start in Game 1 and the Bulls staked him to a 1-0 lead on a Jason Hogan double, but in the bottom of the first Brooklin responded with an IF single, a dropped pop up and a bunt single to load the bases with none out. A wild pitch and a bloop single led to 3 runs. Bulls got 1 back in the 2nd and it would remain 3-2 until with 2 out in their last at bat, a 2 run single gave Brooklin the 5-2 lead. The Bulls got runners on 1st and 3rd, but could not score and fell 5-2 despite out hitting the Dodgers 7-5. Too many errors and mental mistakes cost the Bulls the ballgame.
In game 2, McKnight made his 7th start of the year and the Bulls scored 1 in the 1st and 4 in the 4th. Then added 3 more in the 6th. Key hits from Lord and King who each had 2 run hits. McKnight was effective, but the defense gave a few back as the Bulls again shaky defense made 4 errors. Final score: Bulls 8 Dodgers 5
Notes
Kip Keith’s hit steak came to and end at 20 games.
Jeff King and Jason Hogan saw their action in the field all year
McKnight is now 6-0 in 7 starts on the year
OSBA Tournament Preview
The Bulls travel to Clarington this weekend where the 6th annual OSBA Tournament will be making it’s second trip to Clarington after being in Barrie for the first 4 years.
In it’s inaugural year (2004), the OSBA Bulls did not have a team in the tournament, but many players were still there playing as part of the ICBL Bulls and ICBL Bandits who competed in the tournament. It was their first exposure to OSBA and led, in large part, to the team coming into OSBA the following year.
In 2005, the Bulls rolled through the round robin with an 11-1 win over the Jays behind McKnight. A 7-0 win over the Pickering Pirates in a game Conlon won and a 3-1 win over the Ottawa Crushers behind a Hayes win. The Crushers game was a must win the 16 team tournament and both teams were 2-0 going into that game. In the playoffs, McKnight took the ball a 2nd time and defeated Brooklin Dodgers 9-1 in a game famous for Howden’s fake bunt HR out of Dana field. In the finals, the Bulls ran into a tough Durham squad and the Chiefs got the better of Leyland and the Bulls winning 4-2.
In 2006, the Bulls crushed round robin competition. Their closest game was their first, a 9-4 win over rival Bengals with McKnight winning it. They Bulls stomped Peterborough 15-1 in a game featuring a Mousseau grand slam. Pitman and Willits combined for the win (and no-hitter) Shuker got the win in game 3 against the Brampton Royals 11-0. The playoff action would get tougher as the Bulls faced the Ottawa Crushers in the semi’s. The Bulls were down early , but some key hits and poor defense by the Crushers saw the Bulls and Hayes win 10-5. Back to the finals against Durham again, this time the Bulls got going early with the bats. Conlon pitched 6 and Hayes the last for the save as the Bulls won a close 6-5 game.
In 2007, the Bulls again came out firing in the round robin. It was a 16 team field with quarter final games added, so the Bulls needed to save some arms. They were able to do this by pitching Leyland in a Thursday night off site game vs the Hamilton Pirates which he won 11-2. Bulls then crushed the Brampton Cardinals 18-2 with Conlon getting the win and then played perhaps the worst team in OSBA tournament history in the Oshawa “softball” Updogs. Pitman’s stuff was baffling to the Updogs (or maybe they were thrown off by lack of a mat). Nevertheless, the Bulls cruised to a 19-2 win. In the quarter finals, the Bulls faced the Bengals and Kozak won it with a Swagers save 6-3. In the semi- finals, the Bulls faced the Mississauga Jays and Malyk made his first Bulls start winning 5-0. In the finals, the Bulls matched up against the undefeated Brooklin/Whitby Stars who had Theodoru from the Indians on the mound vs McKnight, It was a tight game, but the Stars came away with a 3-2 win.
In 2008, the tournament moved to Clarington and became wood bat. The Bulls round robin success continued though and they beat the Brampton Cardinals 10-0 on Friday night with Leyland winning the only game he played in the tournament. Game 2 was a dogfight with the Ottawa Diamondbacks and Conlon almost threw the game away with one big inning where a bases loaded groundball back to the mound wound up in CF. The Bulls rallied around Conlon and put up a huge inning to win 11-5. The Talons beat the Bulls and Malyk in game 3, 4-1. Still, the Bulls run differential was good enough to give them a bye past the quarter finals. Their semi-final opponent was the York Diammondjacks and the game was a close one where the Bulls triumphed 7-6 with McKnight getting the win and Kozak the save. Kozak then started the finals against the same Brooklin/Whitby Stars from the year before and the Bulls bats gave him more than enough as the Bulls won 12-2 for their second tournament victory.
The Bulls overall record is 18-3. (11-1 in Round Robin and 7-2 in playoffs)
The Bulls pitchers have done very well in the OSBA Tournament. McKnight is 4-1, Kozak 2-0 with a save, Hayes 2-0 with a save, Leyland 2-1, Pitman 2-0. Other Bulls not coming this year that have pitched for them include (Conlon 4-0,, Malyk 1-1, Shuker 1-0)
The Bulls have always had good success in tournament play with the bats led by : Hogan (.293 AVG, 3 HR’s, 19 RBI’s), Pitman (.385 AVG, 29 RBI’S), Kozak (.405 AVG), Hayes (.391 AVG, 3 HR’s, 39 RBI’s) and Keith (.471 AVG, 15 SB’s).
This year, the Bulls will be without King, Mousseau. Willitts and Guy, but have added two lefty bats (Nathan Tennant and Morgan Kielty) and the added arms of Evan Kielty, Mark Nicholson and Chris Sheriff) The Bulls are in a good position to make a run at back to back championships.
Buls Sweep Bengals
Bulls sweep Bengals
The Bulls extended their winning streak to 6 straight games with a 14-1 and 3-0 victory.
Game 1
The Bulls scratched out one early after Guy led off with a single. Kip sacrificed him to 2nd and Hayes drove him home.
Bulls would add 3 in the 3rd with a Willitts single, a Brad Guy bunt single a Hayes HBP with bases loaded and Lord driving another in.
The Bengals got a run back in 4th on a Sac Fly, but the Bulls got 2 more in the 5th with both scored on Leylands single.
In the 7th, the Bulls broke it open with the big hits from Kip and Hayes.
Leyland goes the complete games allowing 4 hits and striking out 8 to go to 3-1 on the season.
Game 2
The Bulls got one in the first with Kip Keith and Mousseau singling and Lord grounding out to get 1 home.
Leyland doubled home another in the 4th and Hayes singled one in in the 7th to give the Bulls their 3 runs. McKnight only needed one as he pitched an abslute gem. 7 innings, 2 hits and 8 strikouts on way to a 5-0 record.
Notes
- Bulls are now 11-3 lifetime vs the Bengals.
- Kip Keith extended his hit streak to 17 games with hits in both games. The streak is a career high
- Howden had a breakout day at the plate with 3 hits
- Leyland and McKnight have combined for 28 innings and 1 unearned run in the last 2 weeks.
- The Bulls 10-1-1 record is now their 2nd best start. 10-2 in 2005, 10-2 in 2006, 9-3 in 2007 and 12-0 in 2008
- Next up for the Bulls is the OSBA tournament where they are looking to defend their title
- Jamie Kozak, who has been injured since week 3, is getting closer to making his return to the lineup
- Next OSBA regular season action for the Bulls comes against the Brooklin Dodgers who hold the 2nd best record in OSBA right now at 8-3-1
- Bulls are now 4-0 vs the West this year. 6-1-1 vs East.
Bulls Sweep Cubs
The Bulls and Cubs resumed what used to be a pretty good rivalry on Sunday in Burlington at Milcroft park.
In 2005/2006, the Bulls and Cubs (then Chiefs) would meet in many key games including the finals of 2005 as well as the OSBA tournament finals in 2005 and 2006 (Cubs won in 2005, Bulls in 2006) The Cubs had not beat the Bulls since game 1 of the 2005 finals and this day was no exception.
Game 1 saw Leyland on the mound looking to rebound from a sub-par 3-1 loss last weekend where he didn’t have his best control. Leyland was virtually unhittable (and in fact) in many of the Bulls eyes did wind up with a no hitter. In the 6th inning, with a perfect game intact, Brad Guy snagged a tough grounder at 3rd Base and the quick throw sailed up the line. Both the Bulls and the Cubs scorekeepers scored it as a hit. Brad Guy’s errorless streak remains intact at 219 game (by his count) Leyland went on to walk one more batter and wound up with a complete game, 13ks, 1 hit and 1 walk.
On offense, the Bulls managed 8 hits, but couldn’t capitalize on some opportunities against Butterworth (who was also the last Cubs pitcher to beat the Bulls). Butter pitched effectively, but Leyland (3-3 on the day) played Nicholson with a single for game winning RBI. In the 5th, the Cubs defense made 2 errors and Mousseau scored giving the Bulls 2 runs and they went on to win 2-0. Kip Keith and Brad Guy were both 2-3.
In Game 2, McKnight took to the hill and was also extremely effective striking out 7 in 5 innings. While McKnight could have cruised, with tournament play looming, the Bulls elected to give some work to the crafty knuckleballer Kip Keith who gave a solid inning of work.
Offensively, the Bulls never looked back after a 2 run triple by Hogan and RBI single by Lord put the Bulls up 3-0. a 2 run double by Kirby as well as RBI's by Tennant and Guy gave the Bulls a 9-0 lead after 3. With 2 out in the bottom of 6th, Kip Keith doubled to give the Bulls a walk off 10-0 win and give the Bulls the sweep. Kips hit in the final at bat also extended his team leading 14 game hit streak.
McKnight is now 4-0 to start the year with 1 no decision. Leyland goes to 2-1.
The Bulls 8-1-1 start after 10 games is actually the 2nd worst in franchise history.
2005 – 9-1
2006 - 9-1
2007 – 7-3
2008 – 10-0
Next up for the Bulls is the 7-3 Bengals next Sunday and then the OSBA tournament the following weekend.
Bulls vs Whitby Chiefs
A dissapointing weekend for the Bulls as they lose and tie in Whitby against a Chiefs team riding high after a sweep of Brooklin.
Neither team could do much offensively in game 1, but the difference was walks. Bulls starter Leyland walked 8 and hit 1 on the way to a 3-1 loss. The Bulls only run came on a McKnight Sac Fly,
Game 2 was a pitchers duel with McKnight going 9 innings and allowing only 1 unearned run on an overthrow of an attempted runner. Bulls scored only 1 of their thought had a few chances especially in the 7th when they had a rally going, but the go ahead run was thrown out at the plate.
own and the game ended in a 1-1 tie. Bulls had a chance to
This is the only the 3rd regular season weekend in Bulls history where they did not come away with a win (Bloor in 2005, Stars in 2008)
Bulls will look to hit better next weekend against the Clarington Cubs.
Bulls vs Diamondjacks
The Bulls and Ontario Diamondjacks met last Saturday for their 5th ever regular season doubleheader. Each previous doubleheader had been a split, but the Bulls were up 3 games overall lifetime with a 2005 playoff sweep and a 2008 OSBA tournament victory over the D-Jacks.
Game 1
Jon Leyland made his 2nd start of the year after a no-decision in week 1 vs the Twins.
The Bulls got up 1 run early when Jason Hogan singled home Kip Keith in the bottom of the first. The D-Jacks got 1 back in the 3rd on a Bulls defensive miscue and the game remained deadlocked at 1-1 into the Bottom of the 6th inning when the Bulls exploded for 6 runs capped by a Jason Hogan Grand Slam.
Leyland finished his game (his first complete game of the year) and got his first win 7-1. Leyland scattered 5 hits, walked 2 and struck out 9.
Offensive standouts were Jason Hogan with a 3-3 games and 5 RBI’s and Kip Keith with a 3-3 performance including a single, double and triple.
Game 2
Cam McKnight made his 3rd start of the year looking to improve on a perfect 2-0 with victories over Twins and Indians.
He got into some trouble early as the Jacks struck for 2 in the first and 1 in the second. Bulls got 1 back in the bottom of the first on a Jamie Kozak HR. After two innings the Bulls were down 3-1, McKnight cruised from that point not allowing another run and the Bulls offense got into gear in the 3rd and 4th innings. In the 3rd, the Bulls took advantage of some D-Jacks fielding miscues and on a bad read by the CF, Mousseau cleared the bases with a triple. The Bulls scored 2 more and led 6-3 after 3. In the 4th, Kip Keith delivered the knockout blow with a grand slam to cap another 5 run inning. The Bulls were unable to push the last two runs across for the mercy, but went on to an 11-3 win.
McKnight picked up his 3rd win with a Complete game, 7 inning performance allowing 6 hits, no walks and striking out 4.
Offensively, Kip Keith was huge again 1-2 with a Grand slam and a sac fly yielding 5 RBI’s, Mousseau added 3 more RBI’s and Tennant was 2-3 with 2 singles.
With the sweep (first ever regular season sweep of Jacks) the Bulls are now a lifetime 9-4 vs the D-Jacks and 6-0 for the 2009 season.
The 6-0 start is the 3rd time the Bulls have started 6-0. The previous two times in the championship seasons of 2005 and 2008.
Bulls are next in action in a road doubleheader vs the Whitby Chiefs who the Bulls are a lifetime 4-0 against (2 regular season and 2 tournament wins)
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Burlington Bulls
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