To say Wellington native Mitch Sills was a key contributor to the U16 Quinte Royals and their successful run to the Ontario Baseball Association provincial championship in 2023 would be an understatement.

All Mr. Sills did this season for the Royals was bat .500 for the Eastern OBA season and tournaments and post a sparkling 1.68 Earned Run Average through 50 innings pitched. For those of you who love advanced stats, the PECI student had a 1.214 OPS at the plate and managed a 0.98 WHIP from the mound.  On the hill or at the dish, Mr. Sills was stellar in 2023.

While serving as the Royals staff ace in 2023, Sills also ate many innings as the club’s primary catcher and even showed a knack for playing the hot corner.

“He was the best catcher at this age in Eastern Ontario and he was arguably the best pitcher in the league this year,” Royals skipper Chris Lisle told the Gazette. “Mitch is a fierce competitor that manages to do it all with a smile.”

The coach explained while the Royals had no trouble getting their game faces on for the OBA championships this weekend at Bayshore Park in Quinte West, the local contribution to the squad did it all for Quinte- providing quiet leadership and performing at an elite level.

“When he gets out there, he’s enjoying himself and when it comes to the big moments, you can hear him leading the charge in his determined and almost professional way,” said Mr. Lisle.

The host Royals capped off an undefeated run at the ‘A’ provincial championships this weekend with a 13-3 win over the Lucan-Ildertton Athletics in the final game played before a full house at the Bayshore ball yard.

“The stands were packed it was a great weekend for the Royals organization in general and this team in particular,” Mr. Lisle noted. “The U16’s went undefeated, it was a dream ending to the baseball season and Mitch was a star in the show.”