Three local heroes
Three local ball players played in the Provincial Little League Championship on the week of July 4-9 in Cornwall. The players were selected from their Little League clubs in the Upper Canada Little League. These stars are (from left) Seth Christopherson and Matt Roach from the Winchester Sox and Dean Lapier from the Williamsburg Pioneers. The boys came close to punching their ticket and going to the National Little Championship.      Moore photo

Jeff Moore
Record Staff
CORNWALL — Three local players were selected to play for the Cornwall Royals to represent the Senior Upper Canada Little League at the provincial championship this past week. The Royals won their four round robin matches to earn a spot in the provincial championship final.

With a win, the team would travel to Edmonton this upcoming weekend for a national championship. Winning that tournament, they would go to South Carolina to vie for the World Little League Championship. The players making the cut were Dean Lapier from the Williamsburg Junior-Senior Pioneers, Seth Christopherson and Matt Roach from the Winchester Sox.

All three were deserving selections as they lead their home teams as the Pioneers look to hold on to first place and the Sox sit in seventh. Other members of the team are from Brockville, Kemptville and Cornwall.

The Royals played against the Orleans Red Sox whom they beat 7-5 in the round robin. Other teams the Royals defeated were from Windsor and Mississippi all of whom they beat to make it to the final. It didn’t start well for the Royals after losing the coin toss for home-field advantage.

The Royals fell behind early in the game but clawed their way back in the game taking a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth inning. The Royals held that lead heading into the final inning. After striking out the first batter, the Royals were only two outs from a trip to the national championship in Edmonton but it just wasn’t meant to be as Orleans scored two runs at their last at bat beating the Royals 5-4.

The Royals probably deserved a better result but sometimes that is the way things go.