The Huronia Grey Jays took on the league leaders Barrie Green at home in Perkinsfield on August 16.
The Jays knew going in that the chances of beating Barrie Green, who are seven games ahead of the lowest tier 1 team and 16 games ahead of the best tier 2 team, were very slim. However, the Grey Jays put up their best effort of the season and the scores did not reflect how well the team played.
The first game started with the Jays out-scoring Barrie Green 5-3 in the first inning and keeping the lead, until the third inning when they lost the lead to go down 8-7.
Thereafter, Green league superiority inevitably took over and the Grey Jays had to fight for every run.
The Jays defence did not yield runs easily. Great catches by Joe Rankin and Tom Rankin in the outfield plus strong infield play by Tim Sweeting and John Fisher made things difficult for Green. In fact, much of the Green offence was due to over-the-fence home runs. The first game ended 25-9 but the play was much closer.
The second game was similar with Barrie Green holding a slim three-run lead at 13-10 after 4 innings. Everyone on the Jays contributed to the offense for the best hitting game the team has had this season with a 24 hit attack. Tim Sweeting led the way going 4-for-5 and 5-for-8 over the two games.
As a result, the Jays scored their highest run total of 20 in the second game which was also the most scored by any team against Green this season, despite being a 30-20 loss.
The league has recognized the lack of parity between the city-based teams and the smaller centres. The annual year-end tournament will see tier 1 teams playing only tier 1 teams and tier 2 teams playing only tier 2 teams. There is recognition that this disparity will have to be addressed going forward.
Simcoe-Muskoka SLO-Pitch Standings
Barrie Green 22 wins 2 losses 44pts
Orillia 17 wins 7 losses 34pts
Barrie Blue 15 wins 7 losses 30pts
Bracebridge 6 wins 16 losses 12pts
Wasaga 5 wins 17 losses 10pts
Grey Jays 3 wins 19 losses 6pts
