North Newmarket Lions Peewee AAA Hawks win 59th Annual CNE Tournament

The North Newmarket Lions Peewee AAA Hawks continue to roll as they captured the third championship title of the year, this time the prestigious 59th Annual Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) Peewee tournament, the oldest event in Ontario for 12-13 year olds.  It marks only the second time that Newmarket has won this championship; the other title came in 2004.

 

After an opening round bye (as the reigning Team Ontario) in the 32-team, single elimination tournament, the Hawks defeated Scarborough 15-1 in their opening game, and then in the quarter-finals hung on for a 7-5 win against a scrappy Barrie team.  Facing league rivals North York in the semi-finals, the Hawks again hung on for the win, this time with a score of 3-2.  In the championship final – with CTV Toronto, City TV, and even Jays CF Kevin Pillar on hand to watch the action – Newmarket defeated a strong Etobicoke team 5-1.

 

At the closing ceremonies, pitcher-catcher-shortstop Brady W was named tournament MVP as well as the top pitcher in the tournament, while centerfielder-closer Matthew Kobryn was name finals MVP.

 

The CNE tournament marks the third championship title for the Peewee AAA Hawks this season; the other two were the Baseball Ontario Peewee Eliminations and the Cambridge Nokona World Series.  The Peewee AAA Hawks also placed 5^th at the Baseball Canada Nationals and were semi-finalists at both the Brampton and Darien Lake tournaments.