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You have waited long enough, NDBA fans… it is finally time for another episode of Round Up.
It is the (formerly) once a week program where we cover everything NDBA and clean house on all the topics of the from around the league. To date, we are the only source of league news, highlights, and current events. So, stay locked in because we have some baggage to unload.
We will begin with the always entertaining mid-season awards. I’ve hand selected the players whom I believe will be the most deserving of these awards come the end of the season. If my segment from last year is any indication, the players chosen today will most likely take home some ‘hardware’ in September.
This is a long haul of an episode and there is quite a bit of material. After awards, I will keep the Round Up portion brief, before diving into the three stars of the week.
No time to waste, so let us dig in!
Mid-season Awards
Lou Gazzola Award (Best Pitcher) – Josh Kuderian (Fort Erie Cannons)
We’ll begin our list with perhaps one of the hardest decisions in the pool for the league’s best pitcher. There are so many good arms this year in the NDBA that have nearly guaranteed their teams a win whenever they appear on the mound. Choosing Kuderian out of that pool was based solely on grit, something the southpaw from Fort Erie has displayed plenty of this season.
Let’s look at some numbers, shall we. Among pitchers with a minimum of 15 IP, Kuderian is:
Kuderian is generating A LOT of swings and misses and is firmly in the driver’s seat whenever he takes the hill. His only arguably rough outing this season was back on July 6, when he coughed up 11 hits and five runs in a 15-5 mercy-rule win over the Welland Senior Baseball Team.
The aptly named, Lou Gazzola Award winner will have to had put together a season with the numbers that Kuderian already has just 15 games into the season. It’ll take a monumental collapse from the lefty or a dominant run down the stretch from one of our honourable mentions to change my opinion on this one.
In the Hunt: Cam McKnight (Merritton Alliance), Alex Davy (Rose City Thorns), Matt Brady (Merritton Alliance), Kyle D’Angela (Thorold Anchors).
Bobby Gear Award (Homerun leader) – Zach Fernandez (Fort Erie Cannons)
If you are reading this blog, chances are that you are well-aware of the hit parade that regularly occurs at Oakes Park (FE).
Therefore, it is not a longshot to assume the league leader in hits should be crowned king of kaboom in 2022. If Wednesday night’s matchup between the Cannons and Alliance proved anything, it is that Fernandez has yet to unleash his full potential. This is the guy that hit three bombs in one game as a member of the Welland Senior Baseball Team (then the Welland Chiefs).
In his pursuit of this award, Fernande will continue to distance himself from players in other offensive categories that he currently paces the league in. Such as hits (22), RBIs (20) and runs (17) and stolen bases (12).
With numbers like that, it would be wise to put Fernandez into the conversation for MVP, but we will discuss that later down the line. The Cannons have five home games left for Fernandez to sound the foghorn at Oakes.
In the Hunt: Jeff Bruneau (Fort Erie Cannons), Nick Cook (Niagara Falls Expos), Brian Lepp (Welland Senior Baseball Team), Ty Goss (Merritton Alliance).
Bob Ethier Award (Most Sportsmanlike) – Darrell Tucler (St. Catharines Cobras)
This is a new award for this segment, so I am going to approach it the best way I know how. Obviously, I am not on the field, so I can only go based on what I see, let me know how I did @NDBAsenior on Twitter.
First, let me define what my version of the traits a sportsmanlike player exemplifies.
They are enthusiastic about the game, they want everyone on the field to have fun, they are always engaged, and they very rarely (if ever) argue the trivial things. It is all about the next play.
If you have never been able to share the field with the Cobras’ utility guy (who normally occupies the shortstop position), you have some idea of why he is my choice for this award. He is frequently the loudest on the field, rallying the bench or keeping his pitcher fired up and he is always the first to high five a player after they make a great play.
There is never a dull moment when Tucler is on the field, which I think best exemplifies what it means to be a gamer. For this pick, game recognizes game.
In the Hunt: Mark Fusco (Merritton Alliance), Pat Giampaolo (Fort Erie Cannons), Evan Baglieri (Niagara Falls Expos), Scott Cole (Welland Senior Baseball Team)
Clayton Hall Award (Manager of the Year) – Steve Maurice (Merritton Alliance)
Guys, before you say anything… hear me out.
No, Steve Maurice is not the manager of the Merritton Alliance. In fact, nobody is. But whatever is going on in that dugout is contagious and it dates to the 2021 season with the arrival of a few Welland defects such as Maurice.
Now in his second season with the Alliance, Maurice does a lot of the backend work for the team such as score reporting and stats. He does everything your runs of the mill manager would do, even calls the games from behind the plate.
The culmination has led to Merritton’s first-ever 10-game winning streak and has propelled them a league-best 13-3 so far this season with no signs of slowing down.
For all the work he puts in, it is deserving of recognition. Enjoy it in the form of this award.
In the Hunt: Justin Hall (Fort Erie Cannons), Jerry Searight (Welland Senior Baseball Team)
Most-Valuable Player – Mark Fusco
Undeniably the best all-around player in the league this year.
Fusco has been triumphant in all phases of the game for the 14-3 Merritton Alliance, especially during their historic 10-game winning streak.
Should they unseat the Rose City Thorns as league champions this year, they will have done it on the back of a guy who, like a fine wine, just seems to get better with age.
On a high-powered offense, Fusco is leading the way in hits (17), batting average (.486; fourth in NDBA) and stolen bases (4), is second in runs (13), third in RBIs (11) all in 35 at bats and twelve game played. He has reached base in all twelve of those game thus far and has just two games where he did not register at least one
hit.
On the hill, he has been used sparingly and is 2-0 in his two starts, putting up some respectable numbers five earned runs and 10 strikeouts over eight innings. What impresses me the about Fusco’s game, however, is his ability to command from behind the plate. Whether he is pitching, catching, or ripping game-winners, Fusco has done it all for the current No. 1 seed in the NDBA.
In the Hunt: Zach Fernandez (Fort Erie Cannons), Alex Davy (Rose City Thorns), Kyle D’Angela (Thorold Anchors), Matt Brady (Merritton Alliance)
Round Up
07/25/22 – Rose City Thorns @ St. Catharines Cobras
Thorns and Cobras kicked off week 12 in the NDBA with a showdown at George Taylor Field on Monday night.
Cobras jumped out to an early 2-0 lead thanks RBI singles by Hilario Calderon (1-for-2; RBI) and Joe Meisner (2-for-2; RBI) in the second and third innings respectively. St. Catharines then do themselves no favours, racking up four errors on the night.
Rose City pitched by committee all night with Tyler Wood getting the start – credit Corey Burghall (2IP; 0ER; 1H; 2BB; 1K) with his first win of the season in his first appearance on the mound.
J. White (1-for-2; RBI), E. Williston (1-for-3; RBI), Matt Holman (1-for-3; RBI) and Dave Knaus (1-for-4; RBI) all do the damage with big hits in a 5-2 Thorns win.
07/26/22 – Niagara Falls Expos @ Thorold Anchors
In rematch of last week’s #FeatureGame, the Expos were out for blood after Kyle D’Angela’s two-hit performance left them on the losing end of a 4-1 decision.
On Tuesday at the shipyard, the stayed head above water for the better part of the game before, almost like clockwork, they dropped another close one and came up short on a rally.
Jason Antoniak (2-for-4; RBI) and Freddy Zoloty (2-for-3; RBI) each get the better of Anchor pitching with multi-hit games. While Lucas Lafortune (2-0) picks up his second win in three days in relief.
Unable to catch a big inning, the Anchors spread out their seven hits on the night with Ryan Dalley (2-for-3), Anthony Brown (2-for-3) and Dylan Dempsey (2-for-4) doing the brunt of the work in the loss and that’s important for later. (I promise)
Expos get their first win against the Thorold Anchors this season in three tries. The final score here is 6-4.
07-27-22 Thorold Anchors @ Welland Senior Baseball Team
*record scratches* Hold on…
You won’t have misread the box score at the bottom of this recap. This really happened.
Luke Edwards (5.0 IP; 0 ER; 1H; 1BB; 2K) goes ballistic on a fully loaded Welland Team in this one. The offense finally clicks as the Anchors score a season-high 12 runs in the ballgame in just five innings.
Anthony Brown (3-for-4; 2R), Ryan Dalley (2-for-4; 2RBI), Dan Smith (2-for-3; 2RBI), Connor Gambell (2-for-2; 2RBI), and Dylan Guillon (2-for-3; 2RBI) all contribute to the 16-hit onslaught on Senior pitching.
This would easily have been the best game of the week if not for our #FeatureGame that was taking place in Oakes Park (FE) that same night. Anchors take this one, with a 12-0 blowout at Welland Stadium.
#FeatureGame 07-27-22 Merritton Alliance @ Fort Erie Cannons
This. This was the game.
The Merritton Alliance walked into Oakes Park (FE) winners of a franchise-best 10 games in a row. Eyes set on the short porch; Dave Davidson (3-for-4; 2HR; 3R; 5RBI) got a hold of his first of the night in the third inning to crack a scoreless draw.
Then, just a half inning later, Zach Fernandez (3-for-4; 2HR; 3R; 7RBI) popped his first of the night, a grand slam, to take the lead.
“That’s just a crazy team right there, but that’s why we love this park,” Fernandez said in the postgame.
“A lot of guys come to this park really juiced up and they try to hit bombs. But it’s more about staying within yourself and just try to work the middle of the field, sometimes you get lucky… we had a strong lineup tonight, we just kept putting balls in play and didn’t give up even when we were down.”
The game would go back and forth as such. Merritton would lead by as many as eight runs by the top of the sixth behind Davidson and consistent nights at the dish from Matt Brady (2-for-5; 2RBI), Matt Kerr (1-for-3; HR; 3RBI),
Ty Goss (2-for-4; HR; RBI) and Matteo Ramundo (2-for-4; 2R).
A total of eight homeruns were hit in this game, including three from the Cannons in the bottom of the sixth to erase their eight-run deficit and end the Alliance winning streak. Give big games to Fernandez, Gary Moraes (3-for-3), Jon Williams (2-for-2; 2R), Kris Hodges (2-for-4; 2B), Weglarz (1-for-3; HR; 3RBI) and Jeff Bruneau (1-for-
4; HR; 3RBI), who were all instrumental in the comeback.
Cannons wrap up the week by snapping the longest-running streak in the NDBA. Final score: 14-13.
Three Stars of the Week
Alright, BATTER UP!
It’s time once again to hand out the three stars in the NDBA. Normally, I’ve been sticking to larger sample sizes
for these awards so far this season. But there were so many top-notch performers to choose from, I had to jump in on this one.
For Week 12, we give the highest of praise to a pair of big bombers who sounded off against one another. Plus, we pay homage to a vintage pitching performance that ranks among the top outings of the season to date. I think you may know where I’m going with this one…
As always, if you think you’ve been snubbed. You can always get at us @NDBAsenior on Twitter.
Drumroll please…
Honourable Mentions
Third Star – Dave Davidson (Merritton Alliance) – 1GP; 3-for-4; 2HR; 3R; 5RBI
Sliding back into the three stars column is Merritton’s ‘rookie’ with his impressive two-HR performance against the Cannons on Wednesday night. Shucks that the team couldn’t pull it together at the end, which is why Davidson ends up in our third spot. Still, the likes of Fort Erie probably have not seen bombs go off like that since the war of 1812. Dave Davidson as this week’s third star had a hand in that.
Here’s one for you.
Second Star – Luke Edwards (Thorold Anchors) - 1GP; 5.0IP; 0ER; 1H; 1BB; 5K
This should not surprise me as much as it does, but the Anchors cleaned up at Welland Stadium on Wednesday night. Edwards was monumental in that, he never wavered, even when his team struck for big innings. A vintage performance like that from one of the league’s great vets deserves more than a spot in our ‘honourable mentions’.
Luke Edwards is this week’s second star.
First Star – Zach Fernandez (Fort Erie Cannons) - 1GP; 3-for-4; 2HR; 3R; 7RBI
KABOOM!
Yeah, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of mounting a great comeback in front of the home crowd. Fernandez lived and embodied something other-worldly on Wednesday. It reminded me of his three-run game at Oakes Park back when he was a member of the (former) Chiefs. Make that back-to-back weeks the slugger in green and gold cracks our list.
Games like the one Fernandez just put together only happen once in a lifetime. But when you’re the league’s hottest player, you’re bound to get more than a lifetime’s worth of success. The win is still a win, onto the next one.
Zach Fernandez is your number one star for week 12.