Cubs and Schooners mix it up for fundraiser

October 7, 2016 · 0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

There was two kinds of ball being playing on the diamond in Mansfield as the annual baseball/fastball mixer between the Mansfield Senior Cubs and the Shelburne Schooners, which got underway on Sunday, September 25.

The two clubs have been playing an annual season ending game for the past several years.

First up, the teams played five innings of fastball.

It takes a little adjustment for both teams as the fastball diamond has a shorter distance between bases and a pitching mound that is closer to the plate.

When they move to the baseball version of the game the bases are moved back and the pitcher takes the mound at 60 feet six inches.

While the two teams have been meeting annually for this fun game, this year they decided to turn it into a fundraiser to come up with some needed repairs at the Mansfield diamond.

The game finished with the Mansfield Cubs winning 9-8 over the Shelburne Schooners.

Game started with five innings of fastball and Shelburne leading 8-1. Schooner Kyle Coles pitched very well, striking out many and gave up only one hit, a homerun by Brad Pendleton in the fifth inning. Adam Coe and Logan Wallace pitched well for Mansfield to hold the Schooners to eight runs.

The second half of the game was five innings of baseball.
Brad Caldwell pitched five shutout innings for the Cubs, with the Schooners getting decent hits but struggling with the curveball.
The Schooners pitched CDDHS prospect Brayden Thompson who did very well, throwing good strikes for four innings.

But in the end Mansfield scored enough to comeback and win the game 9-8.

“We do this every year as a fun rivalry,” said organizer Emerson Pendleton. “We all know each other – a lot from high school. We always banter back and forth about which sport is better. We play five innings of fastball and five innings of baseball. This is the first year we’ve done it as a fundraiser. We have the support of the Township of Mulmur.”

Both teams had to adjust for the style of pitching. A fastball delivered underhand arrives at the plate a lot differently than an overhand pitch from the mound.

It didn’t matter though, it was a good day to be on the diamond and the teams had one final chance to have some fun before the cooler weather arrives.