St. Marys

The Lakeside Lizards, a veteran group in the Southwestern senior men's league, lost just six games all season on their way to winning the Baseball Ontario senior B championship on the weekend with a 5-2 win over New Lowell in the final. Their only loss in the tournament in Corunna/Courtright was to league rival London Bulls, who finished 2-2 in the 12-team competition. "Our defence was outstanding and we got clutch hitting," said Lizards manager and sometimes first baseman Al Gates. "And then there was the pitching." Gates said Ryan Finnson pitched "a gem" in a 6-1 semifinal victory over Oakville after a 4-3 round-robin loss to the Bulls, "to put us in a good position against New Lowell, which had a bye." Right-hander Scott Corby had 11 strikeouts in the seven-inning finale, while right-fielder Brian Reid knocked in Lakeside's first run and Matt Biderman made it 3-1 with a homer also bringing in Kevin Martin who had doubled. In the fifth inning, Casey Virtue doubled and outfielder Richard Thompson drove him in for a 4-1 margin. In the sixth, Matt Hill's sacrifice fly brought in the fifth run. Lakeside last won an Ontario title in 1997 and four players got to do it again. Rob Gates, Biderman, Virtue and Al Gates were also members of the '97 team. Falling victim to the Lizards in the tournament were Thorold, 12-4, the Bulls in a second game, 9-1, Thornhill, 3-0, and Corunna, 12-3. Pitcher Alex MacLeod won his 10th game of the year in the 9-1 win over the Bulls to go 10-0 on the season. Lakeside lost in last year's final. The Lizards finished first in the seven-team Southwest league for a second straight year, going 14-4, and beat Strathroy 3-1 in the semifinals, the last game a 4-2 victory over former London Werewolves pitcher Brett Gray. Lakeside swept Tillsonburg in three games in the final.