The Battalion were going into hostile territory on Tuesday night as they travelled to Kingston to face the 1st ranked Ponies. The last time the Battalion made the trek down the 401 it was a heated affair with 2 bench clearing altercations. Ponies ace Derek Howe was on the mound for that game, and once again took the mount in game 1.

The Battalion countered with their own ace, Josh Soffer, it what turned out to be an all-time pitchers duel.

Both pitchers were on from the start. After 4 innings, both pitchers had faced the minimum. Soffer had recorded 7 strikeouts through 4, while Howe had 5.

The Ponies finally got their first base runner in the 5th inning on a leadoff double by James Hornby. Mike Drzazga tried to bunt him over on the next pitch but Soffer made a great play coming off the mound to get Hornby trying to advance to 3rd.

The top of the 6th inning was where the Battalion finally broke through. It looked as if Howe was going to get another 1-2-3 inning, but with 2 strikes and 2 outs he hit Josh Jones in the back. Kyle Craig was then able to drive his second single of the game to right center, advancing Jones to third. Steve Renaud was up next and battled and eventually hit a high chopper in between 3rd and shortstop. Renaud hustled down the line and forced an errant throw, allowing Jones to score the go ahead run.

The game was far from over however as the Ponies once again got their leadoff man on. After a pass ball, there was a runner on 2nd with no out. Soffer was able to get Devon Burns to pop out to Renaud for the 1st out. Ross Graham then forced a walk to have 1st and 2nd, 1 out, for Jeff Skelhorne-Gross. Soffer was able to induce a groundball to 2nd, where Matt MacIntyre alertly tagged the runner. He was then able to get Derek Mack to fly out to left field to end the threat.

After another quick inning by Howe, Soffer took the mound looking to preserve the win. Once again the Ponies were able to get their leadoff runner on, this time with a single from Hornby. After failing to get the bunt down, Drzazga was able to do one better by lining a single to right field. Chris Garrison was then able to redeem his earlier 2 strikeouts with a perfect bunt single down the line. It was now bases loaded with no out. Centerfielder Matt Mills was up and promptly hit a fly ball to rightfield, Josh Jones was able to catch it on the run and fire a missile to homeplate, doubling up the pinch runner James Carter at the plate. Soffer finished off his incredible game by getting a broken bat ground ball to Renaud to end the game.

The win gives the Battalion a 1-0 series lead with a chance to advance to the finals on Wednesday.

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

The Battalion were looking to solidify their playoff positioning going into their matchup with the Panthers. Both teams were in need of points, and both teams left with 1 after they tied 2-2 after 9 innings.

Josh Soffer got the start and went all 9 innings, striking out 10. He scattered 6 hits and only 1 walk over his 112 pitch complete game. Mike Hluschuk went for the Panthers and was equally as good, going the full 9, allowing 1 earned run, scattering 11 hits. He was able to keep the Battalion to 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

The Battalion got out to an early 1-0 lead. Steve Renaud had a 2 out single in the first, then stole second, which allowed Ryan Dillon to punch an RBI single up the middle. The bats were able to get some hits, just not the timely one.

The Battalion have a quick turnaround as they face the RiverHawks at the Stadium on Sunday.

Coming into the game with the Athletics, the Battalion were just looking for anything to go right. They were coming off 4 straight bad losses and were in trouble of missing the playoffs. The luck finally seemed to turn around as they eeked out a 2-1 win over the Kanata Athletics.

Josh Soffer was dominant on the mound, getting all 21 outs without allowing a run. The only run that scored was in the top of the first after the first batter reached on an error after Matt Wing started on the mound. Soffer finished the game with 7 strikeouts. He was able to bare down in the bottom of the 6th after the Athletics had their first two base runners reach, Phil Brunet bunted them over. Soffer was able to get the next batter to hit a chopper back to him before getting a strikeout to end the threat.

The offense still sputtered throughout the game, especially with runners in scoring position. A’s starter Charlie Crabb was able to keep the Battalion at bay all game, allowing only 3 hits. The Battalion were able to tie the game in the top of the 6th on a throwing error by the second baseman. Sam McIntosh then came up with runners on first and second and blooped a single into centerfield, scoring Musashi Takara from 3rd.

The Battalion are now 1.5 games up on the final playoff spot with 4 games remaining. They have a full week off and play Friday against the Panthers.

WP: Soffer (1-1)
LP: Crabb (1-6)

The free fall continues for the Battalion as they lost a second straight to the Ottawa Outlaws, and a 4th in a row overall.

Matt Wing got the start on the mound as was very solid for the Battalion. Yet again the defence was horrendous, causing all 4 runs in the game to be unearned. With 2 outs in the top of the 6th, with the score tied 2-2, the Outlaws had a runner on second for Mark Crispin. Crispin bounced one to short where Steve Renaud came in on it but could not make the throw to 1st. This allowed the eventual winning run to come in from 2nd.

For the 4th straight game the Battalion could only muster 5 hits. Kyle Craig contributed with a 1-for-3 effort with an RBI triple.

The Battalion are back at it on Thursday trying to snap the 4 game slide.

WP: Daviault
LP: Wing (0-1)

The Battalion were looking to get back in the win column after losing two brutal games in a row. However, the Outlaws had other ideas, easily knocking off the Battalion 7-3.

Braden McGinnis was on the bump for the Battalion and was wild from the get go. He hit 3 batters in the first inning and walked a total of 6. He has now walked 25 batters in his last 17.1 innings. He ended up scattering 6 runs over 6 innings.

The offense continued its free fall, getting only 5 hits. Lone bright spot was Alex Baldock‘s 2 run home run in the 2nd.

The Battalion square off with the Outlaws in a rematch on Tuesday night.

WP: Martelle
LP: McGinnis (3-2)

In a quick turnaround makeup game, the Battalion and RiverHawks faced off at McCarthy Park, which is apparently a baseball diamond. Josh Soffer got the start and was making his Battalion debut.

Soffer pitched very well but got horrendous defensive support. He ended up going a complete game, allowing 5 runs (all unearned) while striking out 10. In span of 6 hitters, the Battalion defence made 5 errors.

The offense was anemic once again, only mustering 5 hits. 1 through 5 in the order were only able to get 1 hit and went a combined 1-for-14.

The Battalion continue to struggle in almost every aspect of the game. They are back at it Saturday against the Outlaws.

WP: Lafleur
LP: Soffer (0-1)

The Battalion came into this game on a 2 game regular season winning streak, and fresh off a semi-final appearance in the Brewers tournament. In the tournament opener they knocked off the Nepean Brewers 7-6 and had also beaten them 6-4 the week prior. Well third time was the charm for the Brewers as they destroyed the Battalion 13-0.

Jake Osterer was making his regular season debut after pitching 6 innings of 1 run ball against the Ponies in the tournament. He only lasted 0.1 innings and allowed 11 earned runs. Matt Wing came in and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in relief. Brent Daviault finished off the game, allowing 2 runs in his 1IP.

The lone bright spot on offence was Steve Renaud, who went 3-for-3.

The Battalion are right back at it tomorrow VS the RiverHawks.

WP: Oattes (2-2)
LP: Osterer (0-1)

The Battalion were looking to win 2 in a row for just the second time all season going into their third matchup with the Capital City Cubs. The Cubs had won both of the first two meetings, and swept the Battalion out of the playoffs last season. The Battalion we able to enact a small portion of revenge, knocking off the Cubs 12-2

The Battalion were able to get on Chris Armstrong early, plating 2 runs in the second, before exploding for 6 in the 5th. The offense was led by Matt MacIntyre who went 4-for-5 at the plate with 3 RBI. Steve Renaud and Evan Hammond each added two hits as well.

Braden McGinnis got the start on the mound and was solid, going 6 innings allowing only 2 runs. He went into the 7th looking for the shutout but the wheels fell off and he walked 4 straight to start the inning. Musashi Takara came in and got Rob Lay to hit a comebacker before inducing the game ending double play ball.

The Battalion now head to the Brewers tourney riding a 2 game win streak

WP: McGinnis (3-1)
LP: Armstrong (1-1)