ORLANDO, FL – The game started off well for the Junior National Team, but then the Atlanta Braves offence would blow the game wide open with a big sixth inning and would hand the Juniors a 14-3 setback. The Braves offence would explode for eight runs in the sixth to take control of the game. They would add three runs in each of the seventh and eighth innings to add to complete the scoring. But it was the Canadians who took the lead early with a home run from Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) to leadoff the second inning and taking a 1-0 lead. The Canadians would add to that lead in the fourth inning when Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) led off the inning with a double and would come in to score on a Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC) groundout. With two outs in the inning, Jonathan Gilbert (St-Georges, QC) drew a walk and Crouse was hit by a pitch which brought up Jeff Hunt (Cambridge, ON). Hunt hit a ground rule double to score Gilbert and put Canada ahead 3-0. Nathan Linseman (Ariss, ON) started on the mound for Canada and put up a solid performance, giving up only two hits and a walk in two innings of work. Evan Grills (Whitby, ON) followed Linseman and was perfect in his outing, going two innings and striking out a pair in the process. But the Braves found their offence in the sixth and would score 14 runs on 10 hits for the remainder of the game, including the eight run sixth inning. The next Spring Training Camp game for the Junior National Team will be against the Detroit Tigers on Monday, April 14th at 1 pm.
ORLANDO, FL – It was a good first outing for the Junior National Team at their Spring Training Camp, but in the end they would fall at the hands of the Houston Astros in their opener by a score of 4-0. Starting things off on the mound for the Juniors was Brad Furdal (Ancaster, ON) who would go two innings, allowing one run on one hit with a walk and a hit batsman to go along with a pair of strikeouts. Stosh Wawrzasek (Langley, BC) and Danny Britton-Foster (Ladysmith, BC) had strong outings in this game. Wawrzasek threw a prefect third and fourth innings with one strikeout, while Britton-Foster allowed only one hit and a walk with while fanning a pair in his two innings of work. In between those outings, already with a 1-0 lead the Astros would add to it on a walk, a single and a pair of infield hits to score one run off of David Walkling (Nanaimo, BC), who allowed only the one run on five hits and a walk with a strikeout in his two inning outing. Finishing things off on the mound for the Canadians was Philippe Charpentier (L’Épiphanie, QC) who would allow the final two runs of the game, both unearned thanks to an error followed by a double which allowed both runs to score in the ninth inning. In his one inning of work, Charpentier gave up two unearned runs and two hits while striking out one. Offensively, the Canadians put up three hits of Astros’ pitching, two of which came from Marcus Knecht (Toronto, ON), who was 2-for-3, with the other coming from Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC), who was 1-for-3. The Junior National Team will play their second game of Spring Training on Sunday, April 13th at 10 am against the Atlanta Braves.
OTTAWA, ON – The search is on for cities to play host to the 2009 Baseball Canada Pee-Wee Boys, Bantam Boys and Bantam Girls National Championships. Baseball Canada is inviting all cities from across Canada to nominate themselves to host one of these national championship tournaments in 2009. Do not miss out on the chance to host some of the best young baseball talent in the country. For more information on how to become a host city for one of these excellent baseball events, simply send an e-mail to André Lachance, Manager of Baseball Operations for Baseball Canada at alachance@baseball.ca for more details.
OTTAWA, ON – For the 2008 season, Baseball Canada is introducing the “Reaching Baseball Ideals” program to all local baseball associations. The RBI program is meant to ensure that local baseball associations apply core common criteria to ensure that consistent good practices are in place; to empower parents when choosing a local baseball association for their children; to ensure that RBI Accredited Associations are recognized through a common approach to branding; to provide a focus around which all baseball associations in Canada can come together to support good practices in working with children and young people and to promote and reward registration/membership within Baseball Canada, baseball’s national federation of sport, as well as within the Provincial Baseball Associations. “I think if everybody buys in to this program, at the end of the day, it will make the game better for all the participants,” says David Laing, Program Director for Baseball BC. “The better the experience we can create for the kids, the parents and the coaches, the better the outcome for everyone involved and that will reflect in the success that we’ll have at both the grassroots level and the high performance level.” For 2008, RBI accreditation is awarded to local baseball associations that comply with minimum operating standards in four areas: • Development Programs• Membership with Baseball Canada• Coaches Training• Accessibility An Association can become Baseball Canada RBI Approved in 2008 by being a member in good standing with the Provincial Baseball Association (as recognized by Baseball Canada) and with Baseball Canada through the registration of all players, coaches and umpires participating in the local Association; fully utilizing the Rally Cap program as the main Initiation program for kids between 5 and 8; providing support to its coaches by driving them to the Baseball Canada NCCP Programs ensuring that all Rep level coaches are properly certified as per Baseball Canada requirements and that all house league/community programs have at least one coach per team who have completed the Initiation Coach level at minimum; providing access to all programs to boys and girls at any age and supports and uses the Baseball Canada pitch counts for the Mosquito and Pee-Wee divisions. There is no cost associated in applying to become a RBI Baseball Canada Association and there are no other fees attached to this program. There are plenty of benefits in becoming a RBI Approved Association for 2008. Here are some of the benefits: • Get 1 free NCCP On-line Module access code when you purchase 10 access codes • Your Association will be provided permission to utilize the RBI designation and logo at registration, on all printed material as well as on your Association website for that season and a mention on Baseball Canada website • Your association will be listed on the Baseball Canada and provincial Baseball websites as an RBI Approved Association • You will receive 10% of any purchase at the Baseball Canada Club House Shop on all Association orders • Your Association will receive one free dozen of Rally Caps per 100 ordered • The Association with the greatest percentage of membership increase as of June 15th will get a full Baseball Canada day clinic for free in July (value of $2000) including drinks, snacks, coaching, hats, t-shirts and more • Baseball Canada will promote the list of RBI Approved Associations to Provincial Sport Offices as well as the local/municipal park and recreation department In order to become a RBI Approved Association for 2008, simply send an email to rbi@baseball.ca addressing all the criteria mentioned above. Baseball Canada will contact you to approve your Association or to ask additional questions.
OTTAWA, ON – Is your child, or someone you know a participant in the Baseball Canada Rally Cap Program? If so, this is your chance to share with the rest of the country their exploits. During the 2008 baseball season, Baseball Canada will recognize the achievements and improvements of our young baseball players enrolled in the Rally Cap Program. Starting on the week of May 11, Baseball Canada will select one player per province per week and will do so for 12 weeks concluding on August 2nd, 2008. “The Rally cap Player of the Week is a way to show how the kids are improving,” says André Lachance, Manager of Baseball Operations. “The goal is not performance, but getting the fundamental skills of baseball. We hope this will raise interest among the young players as well as get catch the curiosity of the communities who do not have the Rally Cap program in their area.” Any parent, coach, administrator, fan or friend can nominate a young player each week. In order to do so, simply fill the nomination form making sure you include the player's picture in their Rally Cap. The nomination form can be found on the home page of the website simply by clicking on the Rally Cap logo. At the conclusion of the season, Baseball Canada will draw at random from all the Player of the Week nominees it receives for a trip for two to Toronto which includes transportation, one night hotel accommodations, two tickets for two Blue Jays games and two official Baseball Canada hats. The purpose of Rally Cap is to create an environment in which children and adults can have fun with baseball; teach baseball skills, rules and strategy to our players; model and teach competitiveness with an emphasis on good sportsmanship and promote increased self esteem among Rally Cap children and adults. Nominate a Rally Cap player starting on May 11th!
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