Brussels Tigers lose undefeated season, still top fastball league

BY DENNY SCOTT

The Huron County Fastball League’s regular 2021 season, which was truncated due to COVID-19, ended over the weekend with the Brussels Tigers, Wingham Hitmen and Belmore Stingers taking the top three spots.

The season saw each of the nine teams face off once against each opponent, resulting in a 36-game season, with each team playing eight games. Both Brussels and Wingham finished the season with seven wins and one loss, 14 points, and a 3-1 record at home. 

Brussels was undefeated until the team’s last game in which Brussels posted a loss against the Mitchell Junior Mets on Aug. 22.
In other action over the past week, Wingham posted an 8-0 win over Goderich, also on Aug. 22. On Aug. 20, Wingham doubled the Belmore Stingers by a score of 8-4 while Goderich posted a win over Wroxeter and Fullarton posted a win over Monkton.
On Aug. 18, Belmore posted a convincing 9-2 win over the Mitchell Junior Mets.

In a high-scoring affair, the Walton Brewers bested the Monkton Muskrats by a score of 14-11 on Aug. 17. 
Wingham posted a 6-4 win over Mitchell on Aug. 15 while elsewhere that day, the Wroxeter Rippers dropped a 12-1 decision against Belmore.

As of Monday, the season the standings were as follows (one result had not been recorded yet: Mitchell versus Monkton, which will have no impact on the playoffs):
1. Brussels with 14 points (7-1)
2. Wingham with 14 points (7-1)
3. Belmore with 12 points (6-2)
4. Walton with eight points (4-4)
5. Goderich with eight points (4-4)
6. Mitchell with six points (3-4)
7. Fullarton with six points (3-5)
8. Monkton with two points (1-6)
9. Wroxeter with zero points (0-8).

According to the Huron County Fastball League website, www.huroncountyfastball.com, the playoffs will begin with the eighth- and ninth-placed teams facing off. The winner of that series will take on first-place Brussels, while fourth-place Walton and fifth-place Goderich will face off. Second-place Wingham will face off against seventh-place Fullarton and third-place Belmore will face-off against sixth-seeded Mitchell. Each bracket will be decided by a three-game series.

For more information on the playoffs, watch future issues of The Citizen.