Saturday, August 3 vs Windsor AA - Brampton 10  Windsor AA 3
Three straight hits to start the games is a winning formula. The table setters did their job. When Yannick starts having fun, he’s unstoppable.

Although Windsor took advantage of Brampton’s defense (their 3 runs were all unearned) they stranded 8 batters on their batters.

It’s nice to see a couple of sac bunts back in the game plan. Bardoel kept digging himself a hole, but he always got out of it. He pitched a great game earning his first Senior Elims win. Cowper did a great job of cleaning up with no signs of rust.

The offence was evenly distributed amongst the starters. 8 starters scored a run, 7 starters had a hit with Rickli leading the way with his 3, and 6 starters had an RBI.

You can only win at the Elims when you play up to your potential, and the Royals are showing signs of a champ. Still a long way to go.

I believe the Ilderton win over Windsor last night lifted everyone’s spirits.


Saturday, August vs Thornhill - Brampton 10  Thornhill 9
This should have been a runaway win, but this is the Elims, where nothing goes as expected. The Royals fought hard to gain a little bit of an edge after giving up a run in the first. Aiden’s double brought two home, then Speciale followed up with a 2 run homer to deep right. Now 4-1. C J scored from 2nd on a Marco’s sac bunt, with no intention of stopping, scoring easily. Now 5-1. Thornhill wouldn’t allow Brampton to take flight, keeping them within distance. The Reds scored 4 in the 5th inning tying the game at 6. Lakhani pitched a good game only walking 2 batters, and 63% of his pitches were finding the strike zone. The problem was, they kept finding the gaps.

Being a veteran team they would not be deterred after giving up 4 runs late in the game, instead they snatched the momentum back to their side scoring four of their own. Now 10-6. Thornhill would score 3 times in the sixth but that was it. That was a typical Elims game. Neither team gave an inch, fighting and clawing with everything they had. Sam Lebel came in to earn the save.

Tomorrow will be an even tougher test as they take on the Hawks of Newmarket.


Sunday, August 4 vs Newmarket - Brampton 10  Newmarket 1
No one could have predicted a 10-1 victory over Newmarket who were runners up to Windsor at the Elims last year and won the inaugural Sarnia tournament in June. To be honest I believe they beat themselves because of the 8 unearned runs gifted to the Royals, but on this day I don’t think it would have mattered who they played, Brampton was winning this game. Aiden Murphy saved his best game of the season giving up only a pair of hits, striking out 6 and walking only one (unearned) run while constantly frustrating the Hawks’ batters. He throws such a heavy ball, batters hit it as hard as they can, but it ends up being an easy popup.

I’ll repeat what I said yesterday about Yannick, when he’s on, he can carry the team, and his all-or-nothing attitude is infectious. That was his first dinger of the season. Rickli went 3 for 5, 2 runs and 3 RBI. 6 for 11 (.545) for the weekend. 

I often think of what might have been after C J hurt his knee sliding into 2nd base in the first game of the 2022 Elims. His speed and smarts on the basepaths certainly would have helped the team go further in the tournament. It's so much fun watching C.J. and Yannick run the bases. 

Everyone is playing to their potential; anything less won’t win games here. The team has peaked at the right time. This is the fun we’ve been missing out on after all these years. No time to be celebrating, they are only half way there.


Sunday, August 4 vs Etobicoke - Brampton 6  Etobicoke 4
Just another typical game vs Etobicoke. Nobody comes out of this game without battle scars. There's no finesse in this one, just a 7 inning grind. 

The Rangers opened the scoring plating 3 in the first, then added another in the second. A 4-run lead won't be nearly enough with these two  explosive offences. Again, the Royals chipped away scoring 3 in the 3rd and 3 more in the 4th. ending the scoring. Again, when the Royals score 3 runs in an inning they usually win, as was the case today. Only one Rangers run was earned. It turned into a pitchers' duel after that.

I'm sure Joe's confidence is through the roof. I wouldn't be surprised if he went to Frank demanding he go again tomorrow. I wouldn't argue with possibly the franchises best ever pitcher. Very much like Yannick was, Joe is in that zone, he can do anything. It sure was a refreshing sight seeing Joe resurface at the Elims. I wonder if he went fishing last night. 

Yannick and Alex formed a nice combo going 4 for 5, 3 RBI, and 3 runs at the top of the lineup. This will be a most difficult night, thinking about what could happen tomorrow. The whole team should feel pride with what they have accomplished, but It's not over yet. There's still a couple more chapters to write.


Sunday, Aug 4 vs Sarnia - Sarnia 4  Brampton 2
The Royals have had some luck against the Brigade in recent years and our best pitcher is on the bump. Things were looking up. Big Joe doubled Keegan Murphy home to start the scoring. Sarnia answered right back with a couple of their own. Keegan would score again on a error by their third shortstop. Tie game. A Sarnia runner scored from first on a long triple to right. Sarnia's final run came on an infield groundout scoring the runner from third.

This was a hard-fought game for both teams. Sarnia wouldn't allow Brampton to bundle their 8 scattered hits enough to put a rally together. That big hit never came. They never had more than 2 hits in an inning. Although Swartz didn't have his best stuff he kept the Royals in the game. Anytime you hold a team like Sarnia to 4 runs you are giving your team a chance to win. He did exactly that. Well done Myles.

We all wanted a different outcome, but Sarnia is a past champion and knows what it takes to win at this high level. They are still a very formidable team. The Brigade were fighting for the tournament lives while the Royals had one to give, I think they just needed it more and having a very good pitcher on the mound, resulted in a win for them.

We may get to play them again as the Royals face off against the Newmarket Hawks once more. I'm not anticipating another 10-1 victory. The winner gets to play Sarnia for the right to travel down the road a little to represent our province in a week. This survival weekend test will serve our Ontario representative well taking on equally skilled teams from across the country.   

But for now, we have work to do. Let's wrap this up. Go Royals!


Monday, Aug 5 vs Newmarket - Newmarket 9  Brampton 4
This certainly didn’t go as planned. B'Mac being the wily ole veteran he is, gave it his all, but today Newmarket team brought their hitting shoes, riding on the coattails of a huge momentous win over Etobicoke. It didn’t matter where he threw it, they hit it. It must have meant a lot to B'Mac being given the ball on this most important game. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team for a well played game. I don't think it would have mattered who was pitching, weren't winning that game.

To their credit the team never appeared to be anxious about the fact they would be going home if they lose this game. They stayed the course and never stopped fighting which resulted in 3 runs in the 7th. Sam Lebel held the Hawks in check for the rest of the game. I think we’ll be seeing more of Sam on the mound as they enter the playoffs in a week and a half.

Thank you to the team for providing us fans a great weekend of entertainment. We were following the team on every hit, every strikeout, every diving catch, and each and every one of those four consecutive wins against some of the best talent in the province. DO NOT play the "what if' game, leave in the past. You can learn from it, then move on.

From a fans point of view, THANK YOU. Your time will come. 

For every team like the Brampton Royals, there are 3 teams like the Ottawa Ponies. They give meaning to "what if......"