Defending champs on elimination brink in local sports

Over the next week, both the Timmins Men’s Soccer League and Timmins Women’s Soccer League will crown their champions of 2017.

And in the Timmins Men’s Baseball League, their longtime champions are on quite the impressive streak.

MEN’S BASEBALL
The Timmins Whiskey Jacks (12-2) are on an 11-game winning streak.

This past week, they added two more victories to their total and clinched the regular season title for 2017.

On Monday, they took down the second place ServiceMaster Orioles (11-4) by a score of 10-1 and then notched a forfeit win over the Boston Pizza Pirates (1-15) Sunday.

The Orioles did grab a 15-3 win last Wednesday against the Moneta Pub and Grub Brewers (8-6) and also benefited from a Pirates forfeit.

But with one game remaining and being a game and a half back, the Orioles will settle for second in TMBL play.

They will face the third place Brewers in the first round of the playoffs.

The Jacks will take on the fourth place Lessard-Stephens Red Sox (4-9), who finished off the Pirates Tuesday with a six-inning 15-2 win.

The first round kicks off next Monday, both being best-of-5 affairs. The regular season winds down this week.

Monday night will see the Whiskey Jacks take on the Red Sox in a playoff preview at 6:15pm from the Theriault baseball diamond.

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Rehab Plus is one game away from dethroning the multi-time TWLS Champion Dunrite Rubber Wolfpack and claiming the title as their own.

The post-season kicked off this past week, so we’ll take you through exactly how it all went down.

In quarter-final action Tuesday, the fourth seeded Restore Physiotherapy Pandas took care of five seed Porcupine Kinsmen 4-1. The second seed Timmins Terminators weren’t so lucky, as bottom seed Investors Group pulled off the upset with a 2-1 win.

The third QF went Wednesday, with third place Rehab Plus blanking Tisdale Plumbing and Heating/Eclipse Financial 1-0.

Also Wednesday was the first semi-final, as the Pandas went up against the top seeded Wolfpack. The ‘Pack scored one late for a 2-1 win and a spot in the finals.

Rehab Plus took the other Finals spot Thursday with a 5-0 shutout of Investors Group.

On Sunday, it was Game 1 of the best-of-3 Championship series and Rehab Plus kept their playoff shutout streak alive with a 2-0 win over the Wolfpack.

Rehab Plus can clinch the TWLS title on Tuesday at 6:00pm, with action shifting over to the Timmins Regional Athletics and Soccer Complex.

If a third game is needed, it will also go from TRASC on Wednesday at 6:00pm.

MEN’S SOCCER
The final four is set in the TMLS.

Playoff action also began on the men’s side this past week, and…well, it wasn’t exactly close games.

The men play two legs in the first round, where the total combined score determines who advances. And both Blizzard and the Rebels showcased their scoring touch over Let’s Try Soccer Again and Gunners FC.

Blizzard notched a 9-0 win in the first leg over Gunners FC Tuesday night and kept it going with a 5-0 win Sunday.

The result of the first leg in the LTSA/Rebels series wasn’t immediately available, but it was confirmed Rebels will advance to the next round following a 10-2 second leg win.

The semi-final round starts Tuesday at 7:30pm from TRASC, when the second place Kapuskasing Longhorns take on the Rebels. Thursday at 7:30pm, the top seed Timmins United face the Blizzard.

Winners from these one-game showdowns will meet in the TMLS Final on Sunday, August 20th at 5:30pm.

The semi-final losers square off in the third place game right after the championship game.