Brussels Tigers' 50th anniversary tournament hailed as a success

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

The 50th anniversary Brussels Tigers men’s invitational fastball tournament is in the books, and while no local teams made it to the championship round, organizer Shawn Daw says the event was a success.

The Elmira Expos won the A Championship, defeating the Tavistock Merchants by a score of 5-4 in the final.

The Expos defeated the Walton Brewers in the semifinals by a score of 6-4, while the Tavistock Merchants punched their ticket to the finals with a 5-4 win over the host Brussels Tigers.

For the B Championship between the Sebringville Sting and the Harwood Corners, the Sting triumphed by a score of 9-1.
The Sting beat the Kitchener Selects by a score of 6-3 in the semifinals, while Harwood defeated the Fingal Phantoms by a score of 7-0 in their second-last game of the tournament.

The Dundalk Smoke won the C Championship over the Glencoe Astros by a score of 4-3. The Astros earned a berth in the finals after a semifinal victory over the Monkton Muskrats by a score of 10-3. Dundalk beat the Fullarton A’s in their semifinal game by a score of 3-1 to advance to the final.

In the D Championship, the Rockwood Rush beat the Port Perry Devils by a score of 9-2. Port Perry defeated the Delaware Highlanders in their semifinal game by a score of 6-4, while Rockford beat the Brussels Bangers, a second team from the host village, by a score of 4-2 to make their way into the finals.

The Brussels Tigers opened the tournament with a 10-1 win over the Rockwood Rush on Friday night. Also on Friday night, the Kitchener Selects beat the Dundalk Smoke by a score of 4-1 to open their tournament, while the Brussels Bangers lost to the Sebringville Sting by a score of 11-2. The Tavistock Merchants beat the Fullarton A’s on Friday night by a score of 7-6, while the Walton Brewers opened their tournament on Friday night with a 10-3 win over the Delaware Highlanders.

On Saturday morning, the Fingal Phantoms beat the Monkton Muskrats by a score of 5-4, while the Harwood Corners beat the Glencoe Astros by a score of 3-2.

The eventual A Championship winners, the Elmira Expos, opened their tournament on Saturday morning with a 12-3 win over the Port Perry Devils.

In the second round, played over the course of the day on Saturday, the Brussels Tigers went on to play the Kitchener Selects, beating their neighbours to the east by a score of 6-0.

The Dundalk Smoke would beat the Rockwood Rush by a score of 9-2, while the Brussels Bangers would fall to the Fullarton A’s by a score of 9-3.

The Tavistock Merchants would beat the Sebringville Sting by a score of 3-0, while the Monkton Muskrats would beat the Delaware Highlanders by a score of 6-1 and the Walton Brewers would defeat the Fingal Phantoms by a score of 4-2.
The Glencoe Astros entered the next round with an 8-1 victory over the Port Perry Devils and the Harwood Corners lost to the Elmira Expos by a score of 4-2.

In an e-mail to The Citizen, Daw said the tournament was a big hit that organizers were lucky to finish with nasty weather threatening the final day on Sunday.

As for the Tigers, Daw, also a member of the team, said he felt the team played well, but the Tavistock Merchants proved to be a formidable young foe in the semifinals with great pitching and strong bats.

The Tigers entered the final inning of the game ahead by 4-3, but Tavistock was able to turn the tables and scratch out a 5-4 win to advance to the A Championship final.

Daw said the A Championship game between Tavistock and Elmira was a fitting conclusion to the tournament, with a good game that went back and forth until the Expos won their very first Brussels Tigers tournament title.

The tournament was a success, he said, due to the support of the teams and the community, whether it was at the refreshment tent or courtesy of Gary and Brenda Boyer of Ethel who paved the way for the tournament to expand, allowing games to be played in Ethel, as well as Brussels.

He said Huron East’s municipal employees and community members who housed visitors and businesses that sponsored aspects of the tournament all helped make the event a success.

From the Tigers’ perspective, Daw said his teammates really stepped up, both in play and to help organize the event, making the event another one to remember for the team. However, he said the team couldn’t have done anything without its supporters and fans, especially those who volunteered throughout the tournament.

The Brussels Tigers are back in action this weekend, playing the Walton Brewers in a Huron County Fastball League game as part of the Brussels 150th Homecoming celebration. The teams square off on Monday, Aug. 1 at 3 p.m.