Written By Brian Lockhart

The Junior division of the North Dufferin Baseball League has now moved to the 2023 championship final series.

In the final, the Orillia Royals will be up against the Creemore Padres.

The teams finished one-two in the regular season.

Orillia led the pack at the end of the schedule in first place with a 16-2 record. They averaged almost ten runs per game in the regular season.

The Padres finished in second place with a 10-7 record. They averaged eight runs per game in the regular season.

Both the Royals and Padres had a bye in the first round of playoffs this year. The first round matched four teams.

The Orangeville Bengals won their first-round series over the Mansfield Clubs to advance. In the other series, the Innisfil Cardinals won over the Barrie Baycats.

In round two, the Royals dispatched the Cardinals to advance to the championship.

Creemore knocked out the Bengals in two games to earn the right to advance to the Junior championship.

The Junior championship will be a best-of-seven series.

Game one of the series was slated for August 3 in Orillia but was postponed when heavy rain made the field unplayable.

If the series goes seven games, the final game will take place on Sunday, August 20, in Creemore.

The Mansfield Cubs had a good season but finished well down in the standings in sixth place and made the playoffs by finishing two points ahead of the Georgina Bulldogs. They had a 6-10-2 record for the season.

In the Senior division, the playoffs got underway this week, with the first round getting underway on August 8.

The Bolton Brewers will be facing the Lisle Astros in their best-of-five series.

Defending champion New Lowell Knights will be up against the Creemore Padres.

The Barrie Angels will meet the Midland Mariners for their first-round series.

The Ivy Rangers will take on the Clearview Orioles in their first-round match-up.