Major White Pioneers UCLL champs
The Williamsburg Major White Pioneers became the Upper Canada Little League Champions after defeating the home team Winchester Red Sox in a climactic finale. From left, at front, are: Terrence Mudde and Mason Hummel; centre: Ben Joldersma, Cam Shaver, Devon Honders and Hudson Fetterly; at back: Olivia Mudde, Dryden Buter and Brayden Barrie. Coaches: Shawn Hummel, Brian Shaver and Mike Honders. (Absent from photo was Austin Roy and Coach Cal Bilmer.)      Courtesy photo 

Jeff Moore
Record Staff
WINCHESTER — The Williamsburg Major White Pioneers finished the regular season in third place and were the underdogs heading into the Upper Canada Little League Championship Tournament at the 100 Club Park in Winchester this past weekend. After dropping their first two games against Kemptville and Winchester, the White Pioneers took it out on their Green brothers to move into the semifinal. The Pioneers prevailed over the second place Kemptville team and went on to upset the first-place Winchester Red Sox in dramatic fashion.

Wildcats 14 White Pioneers 7
The Williamsburg Major White Pioneers travelled to the 100 Club Park Winchester on Fri., July 21, for the Upper Canada Little League Championship Tournament. The Pioneers finished in third place behind the Kemptville #2 Wildcats and the first-place Winchester Red Sox, and finished just ahead of the Green Pioneers.

In their first matchup, the Pioneers took on the Wildcats who had home field advantage. The Wildcats shut the door on the Pioneers in the top of the first and scored five runs in the bottom of the inning to take a 5-0 lead. The Pioneers got one back in the top of the second and held the Wildcats silent in the bottom the second but trailed 5-1 heading into the third.

The Pioneers struggled against the Wildcat defence only getting four batters to the dish in the top of the third and the Wildcats’ offence took advantage scoring another five runs in the bottom of the third taking a 10-1 lead.

The Pioneers’ bats finally came alive in the top of the fourth inning scoring five runs but their defence allowed two Wildcat runners to circle the bases and trailed 12-6 heading into the fifth inning.

The Pioneers managed to get one around in the top of the fifth but the Wildcats answered with two in their last at bat taking the game 14-7.

Scoring the runs for the Pioneers were Brayden Barrie with two, and Mason Hummel, Dryden Buter, Hudson Fetterly, Devon Honders and Austin Roy each with singles.

Red Sox 7 White Pioneers 3
In their second game of the Upper Canada Little League Championship Tournament, the Pioneers were the visitors again as they faced the top-ranked team the Winchester Red Sox on Sat., July 22, in a morning start. The Pioneers dropped their first game to the Kemptville #2 Wildcats 14-7 and looked to get back in the tournament with a win.

The Pioneers just got four batters to the plate and only one to make it on base in the top of the first inning and the Sox took the lead with a single in the bottom of the inning taking a 1-0 lead.

The Pioneers did not fare any better in the top of the second just getting three to the plate and again the Sox scored another couple of runs in their half of the inning taking a 3-0 lead. The Pioneers’ bats were just not working as they went three up and three down in the top of the third and again the Sox scored another single taking a 4-0 lead.

The Pioneers finally broke the donut scoring two runs in the top of the fourth inning cutting the deficit to just two. The momentum carried into the bottom half of the inning as the Pioneers didn’t allow any Sox on the bags.

The momentum hit the wall in the top of the fifth inning but they did get five batters to the dish. The Sox broke the game wide open in the bottom of the fifth scoring three runs and going through their whole batting order and taking a 7-2 lead.

The Pioneers got one back in the top of the sixth inning but that was as close as they got, dropping their second game of the tournament. Scoring the runs for the Pioneers were Hudson Fetterly with two and Dryden Buter with one.

White Pioneers 19 Green Pioneers 15
In their third game of the Upper Canada Little League Tournament, the White Pioneers played host to the Green Pioneers with the winner moving on to the semifinal and the other heading home. The Green Pioneers opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first inning but the Whites fired back with four in the bottom of the inning taking a 4-2 lead into the second.

The Greens scored two more runs in the top of the second inning but the Whites battled back with five making it 9-4. The Green Pioneers’ bats came alive in the top of the third scoring five runs, tying the game at nine, but that didn’t faze the the White team as they just kept hitting the ball scoring five more runs in the bottom of the third making it 14-9.

The Greens got six batters to the plate but only managed a single run in the top of the fourth but the Whites failed to take advantage but led 14-10 heading into the final inning. The Green Pioneers got some fire lit scoring five runs in the top of the fifth taking their first lead of the game 15-14.

In their last at bat, the White Pioneers calmly scored five more runs taking the game 19-15 and moved on to the semifinal.

Scoring the runs for the White Pioneers were Cam Shaver with four, Brayden Barrie, Dryden Buter and Terrence Mudde each with three, and Hudson Fetterly, Olivia Mudde and Mason Hummel each with deuces. Pitching for the White Pioneers were Buter for the first inning, Shaver for the second and third, and Fetterly for the fourth and fifth.

Scoring the runs for the Green Pioneers were Wyatt Rivet and Devon Elliott with three each, Monty Dejong with two, and Alek Larocque, Marty McLeod, James Martens, Travis Faulkner, Caleb Machan, Tyson Wilhelm and Quade Mullin each with singles. Pitching for the Green Pioneers were Quade Mullin in the first and second, Elliott and Dejong split the third, Dejong pitched the fourth, and Martens and Machan pitched in the fifth.

Pioneers 16 Wildcats 3 (semifinal)
After taking down the Green Pioneers, the White Pioneers moved on to the Upper Canada Little League semifinal on Sun., July 22, as they again were the guests as they played against the Kemptville #2 Wildcats in a rematch of their game on Friday night that saw the Wildcats double up the Pioneers 14-7. The Wildcats’ only loss came at the hands of the first-place Winchester Red Sox so the Pioneers were underdogs.

The Pioneers opened the game up with a five-run top of the first inning explosion but the Wildcats answered with three runs in the bottom of the first. The Pioneers’ bats remained hot scoring another three runs in the top of the second inning to which the Wildcats had no reply.

The Pioneers took an 8-3 lead into the third inning. The Pioneers were relentless scoring another five-run inning in the top of the third and again the Wildcats had no answer. The Pioneers got six batters to the dish in the top of the fourth inning but were unable to cash in leaving two in scoring position.

The Wildcats only allowed one base runner by the Pioneers in the bottom of the fourth but he got stranded on third as the Pioneers took a 13-3 leading the fifth inning. The Pioneers scored three more runs in the top the fifth inning and their defence slammed the door on the Wildcats’ offence going three up and three down.

The Pioneers took the game and got their revenge when it counted on the Wildcats and moved on to face the league’s best team, the Winchester Red Sox, in the championship game.

Scoring the runs for the Pioneers were Hudson Fetterly, Cam Shaver and Dryden Buter with three each, Brayden Barrie and Olivia Mudde scored twice, and Terrence Mudde, Mason Hummel and Devon Honders each with singles. Pitching for the Pioneers were Buter in the first and second, Shaver in the second and third, and Fetterly in the fifth.

Pioneers 12 Red Sox 11
The Williamsburg Major White Pioneers were underdogs heading into the semifinal game against the second-place Kemptville #2 Wildcats in the previous game and were even more underdogs against the first-place Winchester Red Sox who only lost one game all season. The Pioneers were once again the visitors as they tried to avenge their 9-3 loss to the Red Sox on Saturday morning.

The Pioneers didn’t get the start they wanted only getting four batters to the dish in the top of the first inning. The Red Sox didn’t do much better only getting four to the plate as well but the runner that made it on base made the round trip taking a 1-0 lead. The Pioneers rallied in the top of the second scoring three runs and taking a 3-1 lead.

The Red Sox tied the game in the bottom of the second scoring two runs. The Pioneers exploded for five runs in the top of the third inning surprising the Red Sox and stealing the momentum. The Red Sox got three runs back to keep pace but trailed 8-6 heading into the fourth inning.

The Pioneers scored a two spot in the top of the fourth and their defence held the Red Sox to just a single in the bottom of the fourth taking a 10-7 lead. The Pioneers got lotto hits in the top of the fifth inning sending seven batters to the dish but only managed to score one of them.

The Red Sox had no luck in the bottom of the inning, not scoring a run for the first time in the game. The Pioneers added to their 11-7 lead with a single in the top of the sixth and were holding their breath as they headed into the Red Sox final at bat taking a 12-7 lead.

The Red Sox turned on the heat showing why they were the league’s best in the bottom of the sixth scoring four of their first five batters making it 12-11. With a runner in scoring position, the Red Sox looked to tie or take the lead but the Pioneers’ pitcher Hudson Fetterly struck the last Red Sox batter out as the Pioneers took the game 12-11 take the Upper Canada Little League Championship.

The jubilant Pioneers charged the mound in celebration after completing the near impossible feat of knocking off the second- and first-place teams in the same day to become the champs. Scoring the runs for the Pioneers were Olivia Mudde with three, Terrence Mudde and Mason Hummel with two each, and Hudson Fetterly, Cam Shaver, Brayden Barrie, Dryden Buter and Ben Joldersma scored singles.

Pitching for the Pioneers were Buter in the first and second, Shaver in the second and third, and Ftterly in the fifth and sixth.