Heading into the Brewers Tournament the main goal is to conserve arms, come out healthy, and go in on a winning note. The Battalion went 0-for-3 in those on Tuesday night against the NitaBeer Panthers

Casey Floyd got his first start of the year and went a planned 2 innings allowing 2 runs. Andrew Goddard followed suit by going his 2 allotted innings, also allowing 2 runs.

The Battalion were sluggish from the start allowing 4 runs through 4, while only 3 baserunners. The Panthers sent Steve Smith to the mound and he continued to have the Battalion number. He now has a lifetime ERA of 0.00 in 20+ innings against the Battalion (I think).

Josh Soffer would come in from the pen and go 2 innings, allowing 3 runs (2 earned). The last inning went to Charlie Crabb who, other than hitting a player in the head, got out of the inning unscathed.

The final would be 7-0 for the Panthers as both teams head to the Brewers Tournament this upcoming weekend.

WP: Smith (2-0)
LP: Floyd (0-2)

The Battalion were looking to revenge their previous loss to the Outlaws on Tuesday night. The Battalion sent ace Josh Soffer to the mound to square off against Ryan Scully.

The Battalion offense came to play on this night as they erupted right from the start. In the end all 9 starters had at least one hit.

Kyle Craig lead off the game with a double, followed by a single by Sam McIntosh, and then a double by Steve Renaud. 3 batters in and it was 2-0 Battalion.

Craig once again lead off the 2nd with a double, followed by, you guessed it, a double by McIntosh. Matt MacIntyre would cash one of his 3 RBIs on a sac fly followed by and RBI single by Evan Hammond.

Sam Brown would then knock his first career NCBL home run. The Battalion would add one more to make it 8-0 after 2.

McIntosh would add to the party with his first career (Tier 1) NCBL home run on a no doubter in the 4th. The next batter would be Renaud who himself thought he had a no doubter, only to see it trickle up against the fence for a (barely) double.

Soffer was cruising all night, going a complete game (5 innings) on allowing 1 base runner on 7 strikeouts.

The Battalion improve to 4-1-1 in their last 6 and 8-5-1 on the season, tying their win mark from all of last season.

The boys are back at it next Tuesday against the Panthers.

WP: Soffer (5-0)
LP: Scully (0-1)

HR: McIntosh (1), Brown (1)

Canadian Tall Can Player of the Game

Sam McIntosh fought off Josh Soffer for the nod tonight. McIntosh went 4-for-4 with a home run, 4 runs, and 2 RBIs extending his No Beard Batting Average to .467.

The Battalion and Cubs faced off for the second half of the home-and-home on Friday night in front of a packed house at Heritage Park.

The Cubs sent Alex Gagne to the mound while the Battalion sent Andrew Goddard out for hist first career start.

The Battalion got to Gagne early as the scored a run in the first off a 2 out, broken bat, single by Musashi Takara.

The Cubs would respond in a big way, tallying 3 of their own in the bottom of the first. The would add 2 more in the 2nd to make it 5-1 after 2 complete.

The Battalion offense woke up a bit in the 3rd inning, plating 2 runs with the help of 3 walks and 7 wild pitches. Matt MacIntyre extended his hit streak to 5 games with an RBI infield single.

The Cubs responded right away, scoring 2 more in the bottom half to make it 7-3 after 3.

After taking a foul ball to the jaw in the top of the 4th, the home plate umpire had to leave the game, leaving in one umpire for the rest of the game.

Goddard was able to settle down and throw a scoreless 4th inning to finish his night with 4IP, 5ER, 5H, 3K, 5BB

The Battalion would cut the lead to 7-4 going into the 6th. Josh Jones and Ben Milinkovich started off the 6th with back to back singles before Steve Renaud drew a 2 out walk to load the bases for Takara. He would add to his torrid start with a 2 RBI single, that also scored Renaud on a throwing error, tying the game at 7.

This chased Gagne from the game, who ended with a line of 6IP, 6ER, 5H, 9BB, 11K.

Casey Floyd, who took over for Goddard in the 5th, was outstanding. The only trouble he saw was in the bottom of 6 where he had a runner on 3rd and no out. He was able to get the next three batters to keep the game tied. With the tie, Floyd improved his all time record to 2-2-1

Neither team was able to score a run in the 7th, and the game ended in a 7-7 tie.

The Battalion are back at it on Tuesday, looking to redeem themselves against the Ottawa Outlaws.

Mad Jack Player of the Game

Casey Floyd became the first ever Mad Jack Player of the Game to show up an hour and a half late for the game. Floyd was dominant in his 3 innings of work, only seeing 2 over the minimum. His final line was 3IP, 0R, 1K, 1BB, 1H.

The Bytown Battalion and Capital City Cubs renewed their friendly rivalry in the first half of a home-and-home Tuesday night. The first half was played at the much superior McCarthy Stadium, while the latter half will be played at some dump called Heritage Park out in Orleans.

Josh Soffer squared off against DJ Dirty Spurs. The Cubs were able to get to Soffer early, loading the bases with none out in the 1st. Luckily, Soffer was able to minimize the damage to one run.

The Battalion turned the tables in the 2nd, having 7 straight batters reach, on 4 hits and 3 walks. Sam McIntosh continued his hot streak, scoring 2 on his first double of the year. Matt MacIntyre and Kyle Craig also added RBIs in the 6 run inning.

Soffer was in cruise control from there on. His final line was 7IP, 1R, 4H, 13K, 3BB in notching his 4th win on the season.

Ryan Dillon added an insurance run in the 4th on his team leading 12th RBI of the season.

The second half of the home-and-home goes Friday night.

WP: Soffer (4-0)
LP: Spurrell (1-2)

The Battalion sqaured off with the Ottawa Outlaws in a rare Saturday matinee. Charlie Crabb took the mound, opposed by Jamie Pounder for the Outlaws.

The Battalion would jump out on top in the bottom of the first. After the two leadoff batters were retired, Steve Renaud turned on an inside fast ball, sending in onto Terry Fox Drive to give the Battalion an early 1-0 lead.

The offense would stay hot in the 2nd, tacking on 5 more highlighted by a 2 RBI single by Eugenio Matos.

But alas, all good things must come to an end. Crabb was solid through the first 4 innings but the fifth was, well, a clusterfuck.

The Outlaws had a stretch of 11 of 12 batters reaching base, scoring 8 runs on 8 hits in the 5th inning to go up 10-6 after 4 and a half.

The Battalion would scratch one across in the 5th to make it 10-7 after 5 complete.

The teams traded 3 runs apiece in the 7th for a 13-10 final.

The Battalion are back at it on Tuesday vs the Capital City Cubs

WP: Pounder (1-1)
LP: Crabb (3-2)

The Bytown Battalion and Nepean Brewers squared off in the 2016 rubber match for the two teams. Coming into last nights action, the all time series (including playoffs and tournament play) was 8-7 in favour of the Battalion.

Josh Soffer took the mound for his fourth start of the year and was solid from start to finish.

The Battalion offense got off to a rocky start, stranding the bases loaded with no outs in the 2nd inning.

Things turned around in the 3rd as Ryan Dillon was able to open the scoring on a RBI single, followed by an RBI by Wil McIntyre. After 3 complete it was 2-0 Battalion.

The Battalion got another big offensive boost in the 4th. Following an RBI double by Evan Hammond, Alex “Mr. June” Baldock came up and hit a ball at only 30% of his ability. Needless to say the home run put the Battalion up 5-0 and in cruise control.

The Battalion plated 3 more in the 6th, 2 off an RBI triple by Steve Renaud, before Dillon put the finishing touches on the effort with a grand-slam in the 7th.

Dillon finished his ‘Mad Jack Root Beer Player of the Game Performance’ going 2-for-4, with 6, yes 6, RBIs.

Soffer was better than he needed to be, going the distance, only allowing one run.

Final score: Battalion 12, Brewers 1

The Battalion have another quick turnaround, facing off the the Ottawa Outlaws on Saturday.

WP: Soffer (3-0)
LP: Levac (1-1)

RBI: Hammond (1), Baldock (2), Renaud (2), Dillon (6), McIntyre (1)

HR: Dillon (1), Baldock (2)

The Battalion took to the field for the first time in what felt like forever. After a rain aided 12 day hiatus, the Battalion squared off with the Sweat Sox, who had played 5 games since the Battalion’s last.

Charlie Crabb got his 4th start of the year and was his typical ‘Show Up 5 Minutes Before Game Time and Dominate’ self. Crabb was solid over his 4 innings of work, allowing only 1 run on 3 hits while striking out 7.

The Battalion offence would get off to a hot start in the first. After the first two batters were retired, Alex Baldock hit a ball that went 782ft according the NCBL StatCast©.

The next 4 batters all reached base before Sam McIntosh broke through with a 2RBI single, making the score 4-1 after the first.

The Battalion would add 2 more in the 2nd, and 5 more in the 3rd to make 11-1 after 3.

6 different Battalion hitters had at least 1 RBI, and 9 batters scored at least 1 run.

The Sweat Sox would not go away and were determined to add the #notamercy to their post game tweet. They added 3 in the 5th and 2 in the 6th off a beer’leaugered Battalion bullpen.

Baldock would come in for mop up duty and throw a scoreless 7th to ensure a 11-6 victory for the Battalion.

Quick turnaround for the Battalion as they take on the first place Brewers on Thursday.

WP: Crabb (3-1)
LP: Klein (0-2)

The Battalion, still sour after last year’s final, faced off with the Nepean Brewers for the second time this season. Battalion sent their ERA leader in Charlie Crabb to the mound the faceoff against Adam Oattes, who was making his season debut.

The Battalion have been nothing but inconsistent over their brief 3 year existence, and Thursday night was no different. After scoring 10 runs on 14 hits the previous night, the offence was enemic on Thursday.

The Battalion could only muster 5 hits all game, with only one runner reaching second base all game. That came in the 10th (yes 10th!! inning).

Crabb was dominant from the start, also only allowing 1 base runner past 2nd until the bottom of the 10th

In what seemed like the longest quickest game in NCBL history, both pitchers breezed through the first 7 innings without much trouble.

Geoff Magnus replaced Oattes on the mound to start the 7th and promptly went 3 up, 3 down.

Crabb on the other hand, had to work through some trouble in the 7th. In classic Battalion fashion, the leadoff hitter reached 2nd on a double error. Crabb was able to bare down and get the next 3 hitters to force extra innings.

Each pitcher shared a 3 up, 3 down 8th inning.

Steve Renaud led off the 9th with a single before being advanced to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt by Matt MacIntyre. Renaud was the first base runner to advance past first all night.

After not being able to score Renaud, the Brewers made quick work of scoring a run in the bottom half. Tim Feren ultimately put the Battalion out of their misery, hitting a walk off single for a final score of 1-0 in 10 innings.

The game marked the longest in Battalion history.

Next up for the Battalion is the NitaBeer Panthers on Sunday

WP: Magnus (2-0)
LP: Crabb (2-1)

The Battalion were looking for their first ever win against the cross river rivals RiverHawks. The Battalion were run out of the park by the RiverHawks last year, going 0-3 against them.

The Battalion sent Josh Soffer to the mound hoping to change that. Soffer was effective and pitched with the lead most of the night. He ended up throwing a complete game, striking out 6, but allowing 5 runs.

The Battalion offense resurfaced after being absent in Kingston for 2 games.

Steve Renaud led off the game with a double, followed by an RBI single by Musashi Takara.

The Battalion did most of their damage in the 2nd, scoring 4 runs off 4 hits, including a lead off double by Ryan Dillon, an RBI single by Eugenio Matos, and another RBI single by Takara.

The Battalion were able to tack on 3 more in the 5th off an RBI by Dillon, and a 2 RBI single from Takara.

Takara had the hot stick all night, swinging at literally every single pitch he saw, ending the night 4-for-4 with 4 singles and 5 RBIs.

The RiverHawks were able to scratch across 2 in the top of the 7th to cut the lead to 10-5, but that was as close as they would get.

Battalion are back at it tomorrow night against the Brewers

WP: Soffer (2-0)
LP: Laroche (0-1)

The Battalion headed to the friendly confines of Megaffin Park for a double header vs the Kingston Ponies. After all the dust was settled from the opening pitch from the mayor of Kingston, the rowdy Pony faithful took their seats to see John Ivimey face off against Wil McIntyre

The Ponies got off to an early lead in game one, scoring 1 in the first and 2 in the second.

The Battalion offense was dormant all game, mustering only 3 hits all game against Ivimey.

McIntyre settled down after the first 2 innings, and ending up going 4.1, allowing 3 earned runs. Braden McGinnis came in to throw a scoreless final 1.2 innings.

Ivimey was dominant, going the full 7 innings, allowing only 3 hits, 3 walks, while striking out 5

WP: Ivimey (2-0)
LP: McIntyre (0-1)

Game 2 had Dillon James, yes THE Dillon James, former NCBL Tier 1 Playoff MVP making his first start (or any pitching appearance) in over 2 years.

James was the lone bright spot for the Battalion all day as he went 5.2 innings, allowing 3 runs.

The Ponies were able to scratch 2 runs across in the 2nd after back-to-back hits to start the inning.

Once again the Battalion offense was sleepy, only mustering 5 hits all game, while striking out 9 times.

The only run the Battalion scored all day was in the 3rd inning after Kyle Craig was able to score on a wild pitch.

Through all the offensive troubles, the Battalion were still only down 2-1 headed into the 6th inning.

Steve Renaud led off the inning with his second hit of the game. He was able to advance to third with 2 outs and Evan Hammond up to the plate. Hammond laced a line drive down the line toward Jeff Skelhorne-Gross.

The play will live in infamy as “The Trap”. Battalion faithful that made the 2 hour trek to Kingston instantly were up in arms over the out call. Neither ump made a call, both umps said it was the other umps call to make, both umps didnt see the play, and Hammond was ultimately ruled out.

The played resulted in the Ponies keeping the 2-1 lead, heading into the bottom of 6 where they added an insurance run to cement the 3-1 win.

Burns was unhittable all game, and like Ivimey, went the distance finishing with 9 strikeouts

The Battalion are back in action Wednesday against the RiverHawks

WP: Burns (1-0)
LP: James (0-1)