The Mid-Isle Mustangs played their best ball when it mattered the most.
After finishing second in three tournaments this season, the Mustangs won the provincial mosquito AAA baseball title Saturday in Charlottetown.
“The boys just weren’t going to be beat. They were ready to roll,” head coach Scott Ellsworth said. “It came together when it mattered the most. It was awesome to see all the hard work the kids put in paid off for them.”
They didn’t take the easy route to the championship.
The Mustangs started the provincials with a 9-0 loss to the arch-rival Eastern Express.
They then rolled off three straight victories to make it to the championship game. There they would face Eastern again, needing to beat them twice to secure the championship.
The Express opened the scoring with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Mustangs immediately responded.
Calen Ellsworth hit a triple on the first pitch of the second inning as Mid-Isle scored two to tie the game. They scored two more in each of the next two innings en route to an 8-3 victory closed out by Hunter Crozier’s diving catch and throw to second base for a double play to end the contest.
Pitcher Chase Desroches started the game and Cam McKenna got the final outs. McKenna then went the first five innings of the second game before turning the ball over to Calen Ellsworth for the final three outs. Ellsworth recorded a strikeout to clinch a 7-4 victory, sending gloves flying in the air after the final out was recorded on a rainy day at Kiwanis Field.
Champs!
Posted by Craig Smallman on Saturday, September 7, 2019
The head coach said the team had a great season with contributions up and down the roster. But they felt the sting of defeat in championship games at tournaments in Riverview, N.B., Charlottetown and Summerside. Ellsworth said there was nothing to be ashamed of by finishing second.
“You do the best you can and you have to be proud of it,” he said.
After one of those championship game losses, someone said not to watch the opposing team celebrate.
“I said, ‘No, watch. Watch them celebrate. That’s going to be us in the provincial championship’,” Ellsworth said.
The team refocused after the first game of the provincials and showed its character.
“They don't back down from a challenge,” he said. “We talked about being ready and not backing down and not taking a backseat to anybody.”
Ellsworth has coached many of the players for about three years. He was proud of how they responded to adversity and supported their teammates during the year.
“They’re great buddies,” the head coach said. “They get along so well. If things go wrong, they never turn on each other, point fingers or blame each other.”
The Mustangs picked up Alex Curran of the Express for the Atlantics. They leave Thursday for Fredericton, N.B. They play two games Friday and two more Saturday with the championship game slated for Sunday.
Scores
A look at the scores from the Prince Edward Island mosquito AAA baseball championship.
- Charlottetown 7 Sherwood 2
- Eastern 9 Mid-Isle 0
- Eastern 15 Sherwood 9
- Charlottetown 3 Summerside 2
- Mid-Isle 5, Summerside 1
- Eastern 10 Charlottetown 0
- Mid-Isle 12 Sherwood 2
- Mid-Isle 14 Charlottetown 2
- Sherwood 13 Summerside 3
Championship games
- Mid-Isle 8 Eastern 3
- Mid-Isle 7 Eastern 4
Atlantic championship
A look at the Mid-Isle Mustangs schedule for the Atlantic mosquito AAA baseball championship.
Friday
- 10:30 a.m. – P.E.I. vs. Nova Scotia.
- 1:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Miramichi, N.B.
Saturday
- 10:30 a.m. – P.E.I. vs. Fredericton, N.B.
- 1:30 p.m. – P.E.I. vs. Newfoundland and Labrador.