This story was published in the Fall 2022 edition of Total Sports Quinte magazine
By Chris Lisle, Quinte Royals Baseball
Quinte Royals Baseball roars toward 2023, starting with fall tryout season for teams from age 9u to 18u. The last few weeks have seen Quinte’s ballparks buzz with anticipation for the 2023 season.
Registration numbers spiked after the Royals crowned 4 out of 5 teams Eastern Ontario Baseball Association Champions to the Ontario Baseball Association Provincial Championships on Labour Day weekend. The 10u Royals were in Woodstock, 12u Royals were in Sudbury, 13u Royals were in London, and the 15u Royals were in Windsor.
After the 10, 13u and 15u teams were eliminated from their respective tournaments, all eyes were on the remaining Royals entry in 12u as they began a run for a Provincial Championship ring.
The road to the OBAs lead the team North to beautiful Sudbury for a final weekend of baseball over the Labor Day long weekend. Twelve championship teams made the trip with the goal of walking away with a Championship ring.
The tournament draw found the Royals facing off against the Waterloo Tigers on Friday afternoon game one of the tournament. The Royals came to play, with stellar pitching and defense to walk away with a 7-2 victory. Friday’s second game saw the team draw the defending champion Oakville A’s. Quinte quickly fell back into their hitting groove and surprised Oakville with 17 runs. Oakville was no match on this night and the Royals went on to a 17-6 victory.
The excitement and joy of the 2-0 start quickly changed when the team battled against the Guelph Royals the following Saturday morning. Cold northern temperatures, rain and wind added to the struggles as the team came out flat losing 16-1 and suffering the teams first loss in both tournaments.
Saturday’s second elimination game found the Royals facing off against the Vaughan Vikings of the YSBA for a chance to move on to Sunday. Once again the Royals displayed dominant pitching and defense allowing the bats to break out and close the game early with a 15-5 win.
On Championship Sunday, with only four teams remaining the Royals faced off against the LaSalle Titans. LaSalle had already beaten the tournament host and had held opposing teams to under 2 runs against in their OBA tournament games. The Royals surprised the Titans and scored 6 runs over 6 innings and took a 3 run lead into the final inning. LaSalle battled and was able to come back to walk off the Royals 7-6 ending the tournament hopes for Quinte. Coaches Adam Martin, Mike Larkin, Mike Lane, CJ Bell and Dan Howard are very proud of our players Tucker Allen, Eric Bell, Tyson Cooper, Grayden Howard, Logan Hanna, Dominic LaBarge, Gabriel Larkin, Hank Martin, Sam Murphy, Dawson Roth, Ben Stitt, Henry Stitt and Braydon Tweedy.
Quinte Royals executive team, coaching staff and local UIC Bill VanBoxtell began recruiting in the spring to bolster the umpire pool as the season kicked into gear for both the rep and house league is Quinte. By the end of the summer, the Quinte group gained confidence that the popular Summer Sensation tournaments could return to Quinte’s ballparks such as Wellington, Quinte West, Belleville and Melrose.
Royals Executive team: Chris Lisle President, Chad Crawford Vice President, Emma Demille Secretary/Treasurer
Quinte Royals 2023 Coaching Staff:
9u- Nathan Vader 10u- Matthew Bassett-Spiers 11u- Dave Bell 12u- Anthony Buttaro 13u- Adam Martin 14u- Chad Crawford 15u- Jamie Murphy 16u- Chris Lisle 17u/18u- Jim Barrett
As rosters are set, the Royals teams will turn their attention to indoor training to prepare for the upcoming EOBA season. The Royals wish to thank all their dedicated volunteers, whose efforts bring exciting baseball to the Quinte Region. Also, the many sponsors that make it possible for our baseball families to travel the province and represent Quinte so well. For more information on Quinte Royals Baseball, check out the website and social media for events and schedules.
Four Royals teams win EOBA championships
In addition to the 12U Royals, three other Quinte teams – 10U, 13U and 15U – also won their respective Eastern Ontario Baseball Association championships and advanced to the Ontario Baseball Association provincial championships.
Royals 10U players were Logan Thompson, Griffin Van Gemeren, Hunter Mayer, Jillian Bell, Kohen Couperus, Mason Haggar, Preston Martin, Jack Seeney, Carter Madill, Michael Ampuero, Ryerson Miller and Nolan Bell.
Members of the 13U Royals were Logan Fonger, Nathan Miron, Trip Harvey, Jayden Pembleton, Jenson Shaver, Kalen Banks, Hudson Grimmon, Ryan Dunn, Taite Crawford, Tavis McCrambridge, Seth Martin and Lorne Miles.
Quinte 15U Royals this season were Bryce Mitchell, Jakob Briscoe, Colin Stephens, Mitchell Sills, Oliver Brackenbury, Nathan Soules, Christian Fonger, Curtis Kerslake, Colby Coe, Ben Demille, Nick Martin, Cole Baird and Marcus Forbes.
The 14U Royals also had an exceptional season and EOBA tournament. They entered as the No. 7 seed and almost won the championship, but finished as the EOBA runner-up.
Team members were Alex Bissett, Carter Rowles, Connor Boates, Colin Launderville, Ethan Thompson, Gavin Gardiner, Jack Stitt, Josh Thompson, Max LaCroix, Nolan Reitzel, Benjamin Dryfhout and Jack Murphy.