The Peterborough Tigers 15U Elite baseball team finished 2nd at the 2023 Elimination tournament that involved the top AAA baseball teams from across Ontario from Thursday to Monday over the August long weekend.  The Tigers played 9 games in their quest to represent Team Ontario, coming up just short of their goal.  

The Tigers opened the tournament with a 8-4 win over Hamilton.  Caleb Dalton, Ryland Cunningham and Hunter Young combined on a 1-hitter.  Gus Reid had 3 hits and Noah Nowak scored 3 runs. 

In game 2, Peterborough defeated Cambridge 13-7.  Alex Kuypers had 3 hits and 3 RBI.  Cunningham hit a triple and Rylan McCullough hit a double for the Tigers.  Nowak, Jacob Penny, Ian Neck and Kuypers combined for the win.

The Tigers were defeated by Mississauga North 12-9 in game 3.  Kuypers, Kyle Duda and Alex McMann hit home runs in the losing effort.  Casey Richardson had a base hit and scored 2 runs.

The Tigers re-grouped to pound Niagara 24-2 on Saturday morning.  Every starter had a hit in a 17-hit attack.  Kuypers, Duda and McMann all homered for the 2nd consecutive game.  McCullough had 3 runs and 3 hits; Dalton had 3 runs and Emmitt Carmichael scored twice.

The Tigers then matched up with a tough Oakville squad.  Peterborough scored 4 runs in the bottom of the 6th inning to snap a 3-3 tie and won the game 7-4.  The 8-hit attack was led by Carmichael with 2 and scored 3 runs.  Nowak executed a suicide squeeze to knock in the go ahead run.  Dalton pitched into the 7th and Cunningham mopped up the last 2 outs.

On Sunday, the Tigers defeated the Milton Mets 13-2.  Neck pitched a complete game 6-hitter and also knocked a triple.  Reid and Cunningham paced the offence with 3 hits each.  Nowak scored 3 runs.  Duda hit 2 doubles and had 3 RBIs.

Peterborough then matched up with Mississauga North with the winner going to the finals.  Behind a gutsy 6 inning, 4-hit pitching performance from Young, the Tigers advanced with a 3-1 win.  Cunningham tripled while Reid, Duda and Nowak doubled. 

On Monday, the Tigers met the undefeated Mississauga Majors.  Peterborough needed to defeat the Majors twice to advance to the National tournament.  In game 1, the Tigers won 2-1 behind the solid pitching from Reid and Kuypers.  Duda earned 3 walks and scored both runs including the winning run knocked in by Aiden Stabler in the 6th.  Cunningham turned a key unassisted double play in the top of the 7th to preserve the win. 

In the final and 9th game of the weekend, the Tigers outhit the Majors in the game; however, Majors walked off the Tigers with 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to win the game 5-4 and advance to the National Championships in Quebec.  Cunningham pitched 6.1 innings and hit a double.  Duda and McCullough also doubled. 

Kuypers and Reid were also selected to join the Majors and support Team Ontario at the Nationals.  The Tigers are 36-10 on the season and play Friday night in Etobicoke.