HANTSPORT, N.S. - For the past several years, the Nova Scotia Intermediate Baseball League’s championship tournament, featuring the league’s Top 4 teams, has been played in Hants County.
The Noel Road Jays have hosted it for the past three years, and Hantsport Shamrocks hosted it for several years prior.
While Hants County could still potentially be a host site, it looks as though the championship weekend will be held elsewhere.
The team at the top of the standings after all games have been played on Aug. 1 wins the right to host the championship tournament. The Sherose Island Schooners are currently in first place and, depending on how the next two weekends of play shape up, could stay on top.
On July 15 in Hantsport, the Shamrocks were looking to pick up a pair of wins over the Schooners but had to settle for a split of their twin bill. They lost the opening game 6-2 before rallying to win the second game 6-5.
The split gave both clubs four points for the two games and, as a result, the Schooners widened its lead over the third place Shamrocks to 12 points.
The Schooners occupy first place with a 13-7 record for 46 points while Hantsport, with four games in hand, occupy third place at 9-7 for 34 points.
The Windsor Knights hold down second place at 10-6 for 36 points prior to a critical doubleheader July 22 in Hantsport. Both the Shamrocks and Knights would love to secure six points with a pair of wins.
In the first two games this season, the Shamrocks swept the Knights in two games by scores of 3-2 and 2-1. A sweep by the Knights would move them to within four points of the Schooners with two games in hand, while a sweep by the Shamrocks would move the team to within six points of the Schooners with two games in hand.
Other games
In other weekend play, Noel Road split its doubleheader with Truro. The Jays won 9-6 in the first game. The Jays trailed 4-1 after six innings but the bats caught fire in the team’s final trip to the plate, scoring eight times.
Kenny Miller doubled twice and Pat Benedict once, with both hitters collecting two RBIs.
The second game saw Truro take it 7-4. Nate McCulloch drove in a pair of runs with a double and a single.
Miller suffered the loss for the Jays lasting only two innings giving five runs and eight hits.
The Windsor Knights also split its doubleheader on the weekend. The Pictou County Royals defeated the team 11-1 in the first game.
The Royals scored five times in both the third and sixth innings as Knights starter Dave Swindall had a rough outing, giving up five hits and six runs through three innings.
The Knights managed only four hits in the opening game, two of them being doubles by Devan Dunfield and Austin Sabean.
The Knights found its grove by the second game, winning 13-5.
The Knights were up 7-0 after three innings and added five more in the seventh. The team totalled 15 hits during this second game, with Duffield slugging a home run, while other top hitters included Cory Whitney, Austin Sabean, Joe Beaton and Tristan Horner, who all collected a pair of hits.
Paul Humphreys earned the pitching win, going nearly five innings, while Alex Sabean pitching the final innings.
In the other two local games, the Sherose Island Schooners opened its Hants County weekend at the Hants North Recreation Complex, taking a doubleheader from Kennetcook by scores of 10-2 and 9-6. The losses dropped the Braves to 1-16 on the season.
