OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, August 26, 2009 · 32 A's through to final weekend Sunday was a busy but productive day for the Oakville Major A's. Thanks to rain Saturday that postponed their first scheduled playoff game, the A's were forced to play three playoff games on Sunday. After dropping the opener, 4-3 to Etobicoke, Oakville bounced back to defeat Brampton and St. Catharines by 5-1 scores and qualify for this weekend's Central Ontario Baseball Assocation's championship tournament. The A's will be joined by Erindale, Milton and Glanbrook at the double-elimination tournament. Oakville's first game this weekend is slated for 11 a.m. Saturday, when the A's will take on Milton in Dundas. Gord Robertson was the tough-luck loser in Oakville's first playoff game last weekend, yielding four runs (one earned) in five innings. Jeff Jarockis hit a solo home run for the A's, while Carter Buchanan and Kevin Lee contributed run-scoring singles. Julian Richards kept the A's championship hopes alive against Brampton, going the distance and striking out seven to earn the victory. Buchanan broke open the game in the sixth inning with a three-run homer, his first round-tripper of the season. In the A's final game last weekend, Matt Chisamore and Marc Walton teamed up to shut down St. Catharines. Lee stroked a tworun single in the first inning and Andrew Kotulak later added a pair of RBI, while Jarockis hit his second homer of the weekend. Be-Deviling MICHAEL IVANIN / OAKVILLE BEAVER GIBSON'S FINEST: The Oakville Blades' Greg Gibson (in white) runs over Valantine Mulikov of the Hamilton Red Wings during Sunday's Ontario Junior Hockey League preseason contest at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Gibson scored twice in the first four minutes of the game, but Hamilton rallied to hand Oakville a 5-3 loss in the teams' first action of the season. Blades drop preseason opener The kids were alright in the early going, then struggled in the final period of the Oakville Blades' opening preseason game Sunday at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Icing a team of rookies, the Blades jumped out to a 2-0 first-period lead over the Hamilton Red Wings and carried a 3-2 advantage into the second intermission. Hamilton scored three unanswered goals in the third period, however, to down the Blades 5-3. Greg Gibson had both of Oakville's first period markers, while Kyle Blaney tallied in the second frame. Braeden Corbeth (two) and Steven Taylor had assists in the loss. The Blades' next preseason action is scheduled for next Wednesday in Hamilton. CHAMPS IN BRANTFORD: The Oakville under-12 boys' B Devils played several exciting games on their way to winning the championship at the 25th annual Brantford Soccer Classic. Oakville went 4-1 at the tournament, clinching gold with a 5-4 shootout victory over Brantford after the teams played to a scoreless draw through regulation. The Devils also won a nailbiter in the semifinal, prevailing 1-0 over Ancaster on a goal by tournament MVP Craig Mackie. Oakville's other games were a 3-1 win over Kitchener (Michael Cookish scored all three Oakville goals), a 1-1 tie against Brantford (Owen Huntington scored the late equalizer) and a 2-0 loss against Brantford City. Other members of the team are Luke Carenza, Austin Seaver, Mark Coulter, Patrick Smith, Tanner Davies, Hunter Gutman, Chris Ribau, Oldri Kecaj, Juan Felipe Castaneda, Jordan Meister, Oliver Tretop, Rocky Iannaci and David MacKenzie. Brett Huntington coaches the team, and John MacKenzie is the manager. 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He posted his best-ever time in the atom boys' 100m semifinals (14.91 seconds), then lowered that clocking in the final (14.80) to finish fifth. He then jumped 3.82 metres in the long jump, narrowly missing out of the final. Fram, 18, had not jumped over a bar in competition since May. He showed little sign of rust, winning silver with a jump of 1.80m. He will head to McMaster University next month. Athletiques International athletes now shift their focus to cross-country and the upcoming high school season.