Exeter Express

LONDON – The Exeter Express were in action over the weekend in the Lakeside Lizards Senior Baseball tournament in London.

Despite a 2-1 record, due to the tournament’s tie-breaker system the Express ended up in eighth place out of 14 teams. Only the top-six qualified for the final day.

Manager Doug Fairbairn said for the most part it was a positive experience for the Express. “It’s nice to play teams that we don’t typically play against,” he said. “It lets us know we can have positive results against AAA teams.”

Exeter opened the tournament with a 6-5 win over Milton.

Express starter Derek Masse gave up six singles and two doubles, allowing five earned runs for the victory. Masse struck out three to go along with three walks.

Offensively, the Express spread around their offence with nine players recording a hit. Adam Leppington led the charge with a single and a double.

In game two the Express suffered a 17-4 loss to Erindale. While Fairbairn said Exeter had been successful again the team in the past, he noted the game did not go well.

Due to the tournament’s rules, Fairbairn noted even though the score was lopsided, the Express only had minus-five in the tiebreaker. The loss put the team at 1-1 heading into its third game versus Sarnia. “We knew for us to have any chance to play for the championship on Sunday we would have to beat Sarnia,” Fairbairn said.

In Game Three, the Express rode starter Chris Gosnell’s complete game to a 3-1 win. Gosnell scattered four singles and allowed a home run for the only scoring Sarnia managed in the game. He also struck out three.

Aaron Patterson, Dan Masse and Vic Oliveira singled for the Express, while Ryan Darling added a double. “As we did in Game One, we played a solid game against good competition,” Fairbairn said of the win. “Unfortunately for us there were two teams at 3-0 and six teams sitting a 2-1. “Given the tiebreaker system we ended up in eighth place overall.”

The Express are next in action July 13 when they head to Tillsonburg for a doubleheader at 1 p.m.