P-459 Tykes undefeated for Ontario crown in 1983 'A' tourney

By C. Scott Holland

LEAMINGTON — The 1983 Ontario Baseball Association championship was decided on Leamington soil, as the Leamington P-459 Tykes rolled to their third straight OBA title. Playing in a double knockout format, Leamington won three straight in the tournament to advance to the final, where they demolished Clarkson 23-7.

The local team dominated by pounding out 54 hits in four games and outscoring their opposition 55- 14. The Leamington pitching staff yielded only 15 singles.

The locals started with an impressive 12-0 shutout over St. Thomas, then topped Welland 14-6.

The third game was a battle of two unbeaten teams — Leamington and North Bay. Leamington’s pitching, defense and offense dominated North Bay by a final score of 6-1.

In the opening match, Jason Leili was aided by some spectacular fielding to earn the shutout over St. Thomas. Right fielder Columbo Ciotoli flagged down four fly balls, including making two diving catches to preserve Leili’s shutout.

The second game wasn’t close as Leamington vaulted to an 8-0 lead. Welland scored four runs on Leamington errors late in the game. Matt Derksen and Chris Sleiman shared the mound duties.

The 1983 OBA Tyke ‘A’ champions from Leamington were, back row: Piero Ingratta, Matt Derksen, Steve Cziraky, Marc Brown, Scott McGregor, manager Jake Unger, coach Craig McCarty and Bob (Gramps) Kirk. In front are: Jay Kettle, Chris Tuquero, Ryan Derksen, Jason Leili, Columbo Ciotoli, Darren McCarty, Chris Sleiman, Steve Leili, coach Steve Leili.

Steve Cziraky hit a triple off the top of the fence that missed being a homerun by just inches.

In the battle with North Bay, Piero Ingratta and Matt Derksen combined on the mound to stymie North Bay, allowing only two hits. With the victory, undefeated Leamington received a bye into the championship contest on Sunday.

The match-up for the OBA Tyke ‘A’ crown was against Clarkson and despite spotting Clarkson a four-run lead in the first frame, P-459 displayed their offensive prowess and ran rampant to gain a 23-6 victory. It started with a six-run second and the locals never looked back.

Leamington catcher Darren McCarty batted .706, going 12 for 17 and scoring 10 runs in the four games. In the final, he had a triple and a three-run homer. During the final, he also picked off two runners - one heading to second and another going into third. McCarty was named the tournament’s MVP.