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Pitching, defence shine as 18U Astros win OBA title

Published Aug 18, 2026  •  3 minute read

The Mitchell 18U Astros captured the Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) 'C' championship in St. Thomas Aug. 16 thanks to a 4-1 win over Listowel in the championship final. Team members are, back row (left to right): Coach Randy Van Bakel, Logan Hachler, Matthew Menheere, Charlie Wolfe, Ryan Klumper, Andrew Davis, Bryson Eickmeyer, Ethan Jarmuth, coach Chad Verberne. Front (left): Connor Wolfe, Emmett Everett, Tyler Verberne, Logan Verberne, Landon Van Bakel, Carson Brown and Ray Wolfe. Absent were coaches Luke Murray and Kale Murray. SUBMITTED

Ask anyone heavily involved in baseball — pitching and defence wins championships.  

That’s something the Mitchell Superior Sealers 18U Astros can hang their hats on after claiming the 2026 Ontario Baseball Association (OBA) ‘C’ championship in St. Thomas on Aug. 16, thanks to a 4-1 triumph over Perth County rival Listowel in the final. 

“We had excellent team defence — the backbone of this team all year — and it proved crucial this weekend,” Mitchell coach Chad Verberne said while summing up the Astros’ triumph. 

Mitchell — one of 13 teams vying for provincial supremacy — went 5-1 over the weekend.  

They started slowly against Stayner on Aug. 13, allowing early runs, but didn’t panic and were rewarded for their patience with a three-run third and a five-run fourth to roll to a 16-6 victory. Carson Brown had a hugely important mid-game pitching effort to settle the ship, appearing in relief of starter Landon Van Bakel, noted Verberne. 

Ethan Jarmuth spearheaded the offence with two “missiles” off the bat, one for a triple and the other for an inside-the-park home run. 

The next day against Lasalle, in what coach Verberne called the game of the tournament for its pitching and quality of defence, big righthander Ryan Klumper pitched a complete-game 2-0 shutout. Van Bakel had the big hit in a two-run fifth for the Astros while Klumper scattered five hits and walked one while striking out seven for the impressive mound performance and the win. Logan Verberne had two of Mitchell’s seven hits in the victory. 

Against WOBA rival Exeter in their next contest, the teams metaphorically slugged one another in a “heavyweight fight” early on, coach Verberne noted, with Mitchell’s offence carrying the day with at least four runs in four of the seven innings en route to a 19-8 rout. 

“A five-run third inning, knocking out their ace, was the start of a lot of great things offensively for us,” Verberne said. 

Jarmuth was a home run short of the cycle while 16U call-ups Ray Wolfe and Bryson Eickmeyer were each on base four times, which turned out to be a “recurring theme all weekend,” Verberne said. 

Against their hosts from St. Thomas on Aug. 15, the Astros trailed 7-0 after the top of the third in an eventual 10-2 loss, but Verberne said “it was a real gut check,” saying the club was battling sickness and injuries but persevered in the end. 

Emmett Everett and Logan Hachler did a “wonderful” job eating some innings, Verberne said, which would end up being key for what unfolded on Sunday, the tournament’s final day where pitch counts and available arms heavily come into play. 

A rematch against undefeated St. Thomas looked daunting, especially after going down 4-0 in the first inning, but the Astros dug deep and showed no quit, led by Eickmeyer who shut things down on the mound allowing Mitchell to explode for a five-run third inning to take a lead they wouldn’t relinquish in a 6-4 triumph. 

Verberne said there were contributions from the whole line-up, including spark plug Charlie Wolfe and run producer Andrew Davis, not to mention RBIs from Ray Wolfe and Eickmeyer. 

The well-timed bye that Mitchell was able to secure was huge, forcing a deflated St. Thomas team to immediately play Listowel, and allow Mitchell to recharge and prepare for the final against their county counterparts. 

In the final, after Logan Verberne closed the previous game, he kept right on dealing, throwing five-and-one-third scoreless innings and helped his own cause with a one-out single in the first inning and scored after Eickmeyer and Ray Wolfe had back-to-back hits. Eickmeyer’s three-run double was the biggest blow of them all, though, capping a big third inning and propelling Mitchell to a 4-0 lead in the eventual 4-1 win.  

Charlie Wolfe closed the game on the mound, with Matthew Menheere making the game-ending catch on a well-tracked foul out to left field to secure the championship. 

Connor Wolfe from the Mitchell 16U squad was also called up for the tournament, along with 15U call-up Tyler Verberne.