Cubs secure berth in the playoffs

August 6, 2015 · 0 Comments

It came down to a single game but the Mansfield Cubs Senior men’s team has made it into the North Dufferin Baseball League playoffs.
The Cubs were fighting for an extra couple of points late in the season that would give them the number eight spot in the standings – just what they needed for a playoff spot.
They finished one point ahead of the Midland Indians who were knocked out by the Cubs’ Sunday (July 26) night win over the Angus Black Sox.
The Cubs knew it was an important game and they came to win against the Sox.
Leading 1–0 in the third inning, the Cubs got on base with a single from Logan Wallace.
Rob Kinsley hit for a double to drive in a run and that was followed by a two-run home run by Brad Caldwell who dropped the ball deep over the centre field fence.
James Moir managed to get on base with a hit that found the hole between shortstop and second base then he advanced to second base on a steal but the side retired before he could go any farther.
With bases loaded in the fourth inning, the Cubs notched another run with bases loaded when the batter was hit by an errant pitch.
Wallace brought in another run when he singled in the fourth inning.
The Black Sox cost themselves a few runs with errors in the outfield including a throw to first base that went wild and allowed Tyler Linger to advance to third base.
A hit to the fence in centre field from T.J. Linger took him to second base and a follow up double by Wallace brought in another Mansfield run.
The game ended quickly in the sixth inning when Brad Caldwell hit to deep left for a double to set up the next play.
Bryan Hannon’s sixth inning double brought in a run and ended the game on the NDBL mercy rule that stops the game if a team is ahead by ten runs in the sixth inning.
The final was 10–0 for the Cubs.
“We had nine runs going into the bottom of the sixth so that last out was it,” said Cubs coach George Linger. “We had a double header yesterday against Nobleton. We won one and tied one which we needed to do. We played well.”
The double header gave them the three points they needed going up against the Black Sox in Sunday’s game.
“We’ve been hitting well since we played out double header against Aurora (July 19). Our bats came on and we’ve been playing some really good ball with some really good defence. The bottom of our order’s been hitting which has really been helping us out. We’ve been keeping our errors down to a minimum which has been helping us out.”
As the eight seed in the NDBL line-up the Cubs will be up against the first place New Lowell Knights in the first round of the playoffs.
The Knights have only lost three games this season so it’s going to be a tough season.
If the Cubs play like they did on Sunday, they can give the New Lowell team a run for their money in this series.

By Brian Lockhart

Photos by Brian Lockhart
The Mansfield Cubs play their final regular season game against the Angus Black Sox on Sunday, July 26, on the diamond in Mansfield. The Cubs finished the regular season in eighth place to earn a place in the North Dufferin Baseball League playoffs. The Cubs will be up against the New Lowell Knights in the first round.