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“At that point in the tournament, we already knew we would finish either second or third in the tournament and that we would be playing Oakville,” Beelen said. “We decided to save our starting pitchers and they scored three runs.”

In the final, the weather was a challenge as there were three long delays. Lightning caused a 45-minute delay, and then a downpour of rain caused another delay. More lightning caused another long delay.

Beelen did not want his players focused on the weather, as both teams were dealt the same situation,

“I didn’t want the weather to be an excuse,” he said. “They stayed loose and upbeat through the delays. They handled it very well.”

The Eagles took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Starting pitcher Nolan Beelen walked, stole second, and then scored on Owen McBane’s double into the gap in left-centre.

Diamond rallied in the third, loading the bases with the heart of their order coming up. They scored two runs, but Beelen reared back and served up three ground balls.

“We were only down 2-1 at that point, but it could have been 4-1 or 5-1,” coach Beelen said. “Our team is built on pitching and defense. When we got out of that jam, it gave us momentum.”

In the fourth, Reid Maika walked and Evan Tao singled. Cam White drove in one run on a ground ball, and Owen McBane drove in the go-ahead run with a base hit to put the Eagles up 3-2.

Diamond loaded the bases in the fifth and sixth, but pitching and defence helped the Eagles hold onto their one-run lead.

With Nolan Beelen out of pitches, Maika came on in relief. He got out of a sixth inning jam, and then earned the save after a popped up bunt attempt, a sacrifice bunt, and a ground ball back to the mound.

For Matt Beelen, the win brought back personal memories of playing in a World

Series. He grew up playing for the Eagles, and went to the Big League (u19) World Series with the Ottawa West

Crusaders.

“I am a lot calmer going as a coach,” he said. Beelen pitched and played third base as a player. His team was coached by his father, who has remained close to the team and was the groundskeeper at Hamilton Yards for the tournament.

“He was there every step of the way with us,” Beelen said of his father. “We are a baseball family, and this week was special for us.”

In South Carolina, the Eagles were eliminated after an 11-1 loss to Haarlem, Netherlands, and a 5-1 loss to Matamoros, Mexico.