Jeff Gard/Today’s Northumberland
Cobourg’s Dirt Road Co. Fastball Club won three straight games on the final day of competition to capture the International Softball Congress (ISC) World II championship last week in Wisconsin.
They defeated the Ontario-based Wiarton Nationals 4-0 in the final game on Thursday, Aug. 15. Earlier in the day, the Cobourg club edged the Waterdown Hammers from Burlington, Ontario 5-4 before earning an 8-1 victory over the Rice Lake Orangemen from Wisconsin to advance to the final against Wiarton.
“We knew, if we could beat (Waterdown) we had a good chance of getting to the finals,” said Cobourg player/manager Shane Taylor, noting a 4-2 defeat against the Orangemen the previous day did not shake their confidence prior to the penultimate match-up. “We felt pretty good against that team if we got a second chance against them.”
Taylor noted his club was also familiar with the Wiarton team as Cobourg beat them at the ISC Canada East Qualifier in Ingersoll.
“We knew Wiarton was in the finals waiting for whoever made it, but we had played them earlier in the season and beat them at the Ingersoll tournament so we did have a little bit of confidence knowing that we had played them before and knew their roster and stuff like that,” Taylor said.
Cobourg went 2-2 early in the ISC World Tournament, which was ultimately won by the New York Gremlins for the second straight year, before moving over to the ISC II bracket following their second loss.
“When you do get put on the ISC II side, it’s a fresh new tournament,” Taylor said. “It’s a full double-knockout tournament from there on out, but if you stay on the ISC I side you only have one life.”
That’s what happened to Cobourg Dirt Road Co. last year at the 2018 ISC World Tournament in Kitchener. After an opening loss, they won the next two games to stay on the ISC I side but were knocked out with a single loss to a top-ranked team, Bear Bottom Lodge, from Pennsylvania.
Cobourg opened the 2019 tournament with a 7-5 win over Fishers on Saturday, Aug. 10, lost 16-4 to the Hill United Chiefs from Ohsweken, Ontario on Sunday, Aug. 11, edged the AHI Reapers from Kimberly, Wisconsin on Monday, Aug. 12 and were defeated 13-7 by 3 Cheers Pub from St. John’s, Newfoundland later that day.
In the ISC II tournament, Cobourg earned a 10-3 victory over Waterdown on Tuesday, Aug. 13 before splitting results on Wednesday, Aug. 14 – the 4-2 loss against the Orangemen before rebounding to blank Fishers Softball from Lancaster, Pennsylvania 8-0 heading into the final day and what turned out to be a four-game win streak including the three on the last day to end the tournament.
The ISC World II win was special for the Cobourg team players.
“Guys that have been around the ISC level, whether it’s the I or II, for a long time, this is their first time ever winning,” Taylor said, noting there were also a lot of players competing for either the first or second time competing at the World Tournament. “I told the guys after we won, don’t ever take this for granted because there are guys who have played in this tournament a lot of years and have never even gotten to the finals.”
Pitching duties were shared by Clayton Robinson, Jordan MacDonald and Riley Manion, who pitched the shutout to clinch the championship. The depth proved to be valuable, especially on the final day with not much time between games and also having to travel to a different venue at one point.
“They were able to share the ball and I tried to keep each guy as fresh as I could because I knew especially on the last day when we had to win three games, it was kind of all hands on deck,” Taylor said.
At the plate, Taylor said the team received big contributions throughout the lineup.
Two Cobourg players were recognized with ISC II individual awards: Craig Buttar was named Most Valuable Player and led in RBI with nine while Robinson was recognized as the Top Pitcher.
Overall, it was team effort in capturing the championship, Taylor stressed.
“It took everybody for us to win, that’s for sure,” he said.
Taylor said the competition was strong, as expected, and a highlight was facing the Hill United Chiefs, despite the lopsided box score. The Chiefs have won the ISC World Tournament four times, he noted.
“You get a taste of what it takes against one of those (high-ranked) teams,” Taylor said. “They have some of the best players in the world.”
The roster includes star pitcher Adam Folkard, who pitched all four innings of the mercy-shortened game against Cobourg.
“That was a bucket list item for a lot of guys who haven’t played a lot of ISC ball,” Taylor said. “I know that was a really big deal…stepping into the box and facing Folkard who some people say is the best pitcher in the world and some of the guys did really well. Jason Cane went 2-for-2 off Folkard.
“If you look at the box score it looks like a pounding, but we were only down 6-4 and scored four runs in one inning and we did have their bullpen warming up. They scored 10 runs against us in the next inning and mercied us so I guess that’s why they say you don’t poke the bear.”
Taylor said the team made sure to enjoy the whole experience and that extended beyond fastball as players made a trip to nearby Green Bay and toured Lambeau Field, home of the NFL’s Packers.
Sponsorship support from Dirt Road Co. and Ontario Line Clearing was important for Cobourg club in its quest for the championship.
Members of the Dirt Road Co. team this season included Craig Buttar, Scott Leblanc, Dan Burnham, Jake Taylor, Shane Taylor, Jason Cane, Aaron Trude, Nick Ellis, Mark Langley, Garry Manley, Jordan MacDonald, Steve MacLeod as well as the junior contingent of Josh Maguire, Jake Bricknell, Jeff St. Pierre, Clayton Robinson and Riley Manion. In addition to Shane Taylor as manager, Gary West and Rob Doncaster were coaches for the club.
Young players really stepped up and played well beyond their years, Taylor noted, and he hopes that bodes well for the future.
“My goal now is to do what I can to keep the team together,” he said, noting many people at the tournament commented it was a rare feat for a team to win an ISC championship in just its second year at the tournament.
“We have good young players mixed with the veteran guys that you need on a championship-calibre team,” Taylor said. “Hopefully everyone can stay together and we can keep this going.”
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
