Despite having a population that continues to decline, Baseball Newfoundland continues to find ways to keep its registration numbers at a fairly elevated level. With so many Newfoundlanders migrating west, it can be difficult to find players every year. But the people at Baseball Newfoundland keep finding them. “The local associations really worked hard on keeping our registration numbers fairly stable,” says Baseball Newfoundland President Tom Devine. “The game sells itself here. We’d love to get the numbers up, but we just don’t have the bodies here.” Keeping registration numbers steady is not the only challenge for Baseball Newfoundland; the weather plays a big factor. While other provinces would be starting their seasons this time of year, Players have yet to be on the field in Newfoundland. “We have late summers over here; therefore it’s hard to get anybody on the field. In central Canada, spring sprinkles a little earlier so they can go out and do stuff, but here by the time we get started as far as programming we’re in June.” But the coaches and players do not wait until June to pick up a baseball. Selection camps are already in full swing for provincial teams. Also, coaches for the Newfoundland Selects team have been scouring the province to identify players to assemble for training camps. They use whatever methods at their disposal to keep competitive with the rest of the country. In future plans, Newfoundland and Labrador will play host to the 2009 Baseball Canada Fall Convention. Baseball Canada delegates will come into St. John’s where Devine says that they will provide the hospitality that only Newfoundland can offer. “We’ll have some Newfoundland flavour where entertainment is concerned.” “People usually enjoy coming here and I expect that when people come here for the convention that we’ll put on a good show.”
Baseball Nova Scotia has a big year ahead of them. The province will be the host for two Baseball Canada National Championships. They will play host for the Midget boys in Halifax, as well as the Senior Women in Sydney. On top of that, they have raised their efforts to improve programs at the grass roots level in the province. For example, the Rally Cap program has been pushed heavily as well as the NCCP coaches’ initiation program. “We’re really focusing on communication through to our local associations so they know the programs that Baseball Canada and we are offering,” says Baseball NS Executive Director Brad Lawlor. The baseball diamonds are also on their to-do list. The provincial association is in talks with local communities to improve field conditions in order to meet the Baseball Nova Scotia standard requirements. “A lot of the fields throughout the province were built a few years ago and the communities have sort of let them go. We’re trying to get out there and show them that we have minimum requirements for provincial events.” The new Baseball Canada RBI program is another initiative that Lawlor is trying to push to the local associations. “We’re looking at the RBI program so that we can offer all the Baseball Canada initiatives down to the local associations.” The 2008 season will be a busy one for Baseball Nova Scotia, but Lawlor says that it is not too difficult to see which direction the association is heading. “We’re definitely more grassroots focused, but we also have these national events that are going to come in and create some exposure for our high performance programs.”
OTTAWA, ON – The International Baseball Federation announced the schedule for the 2008 Women’s Baseball World Cup which will take place in Matsuyama, Japan from August 24th to 29th. The Canadian women will join Japan, Hong Kong and Korea to form Group B in the tournament. Group A will consist of the United States, Australia, Chinese Taipei and India. Canada’s preliminary schedule is as follows: August 24, 12:30 pm – Canada vs. Hong Kong August 25, 7:00 pm – Canada vs. Japan August 26, 12:30 pm – Canada vs. Korea The preliminary round will be followed by a second preliminary round on August 27th and 28th. The top two teams from each group will play two games, one against each team of the other group. The second preliminary round will decide the medal matchups. The medal games will take place on August 29th, starting with the Bronze Medal Game at 2:30 pm followed by the Gold Medal Game at 6:30 pm. This will be the third edition of the Women’s World Cup, which occur every two years. The first two installments in 2004 and 2006, Canada won the bronze medal. For the complete schedule of the tournament, click here.
ORLANDO, FL – In what was a back and forth game, The Junior National Team made a strong comeback late in the game, only to have it spoiled by a ninth inning comeback from the Atlanta Braves’ prospects to fall short in their Spring Training finale by a score of 6-5. The Braves would open the scoring in the first when a single, a ground out and a single against Canadian starter Nick Bucci (Sarnia, ON) put the Braves in the lead 1-0. Atlanta would add to its lead in the second inning on a single and back-to-back doubles to score a pair. Bucci would cruise the rest of the way, allowing three runs on six hits and a walk with two strikeouts in three innings of work. The Juniors would start their comeback in the fourth inning as Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) would hit a one out triple and would come in to score on the RBI single from Jean-Christophe Paquin (St-Augustin, QC) to make it 3-1. The Canadians would tie it up in the fifth inning. Brett Sanders (Etobicoke, ON) would leadoff the inning with a single. Ivan Hartle (North Vancouver, BC) followed with a RBI double to score Sanders and reduce the lead to one. Hartle would move to third on a Greg Densem (Toronto, ON) fly out, which allowed him to score on an error by the Braves, tying the game at 3-3. The Braves however would quickly respond in the bottom half of the fifth when three singles against Nick Fogarty (Thornhill, ON) would bring in a run and give Atlanta a 4-3 lead. Fogarty would shut things down from there. The left-hander allowed only the one run on five hits and a walk while striking out four in his three inning outing. From there, Philippe Charpentier (L’Épiphanie, QC) took over. Charpentier was solid in his two innings of work, allowing only two hits and a walk with one strikeout, giving the Juniors a chance to once again do some damage. That opportunity came in the eighth inning when Hartle led off the inning with a single then promptly stole second. With one out, Luke Willson (Lasalle, ON) drove a double to left-centre, scoring Hartle and tying the game at 4-4. The Canadians would grab the lead in the ninth inning as James Kottaras (Markham, ON) drew a walk to lead things off, followed by a one out single from Jeff Hunt (Cambridge, ON). With both runners on and two out, Skye Irwin (Toronto, ON) delivered with a RBI single to right to score Kottaras with the go ahead run and a 5-4 Canadian lead. However, the excitement would be short lived as the Braves would get two runs on four hits in the bottom of the ninth to spoil the Canadian comeback. The Junior National Team finished its Spring Training camp with a 0-7-1 record. However the record is not what’s important in Spring Training, it is the gained experience for these young men which counts the most. The next time the Juniors will reunite will be for the Dominican Summer League Camp, which takes place from May 21st to 30th.
ORLANDO, FL – The Junior National Team had no answer for the Detroit Tigers offence in Spring Training action. The Tigers’ prospects took advantage of their chances while the Canadians only scored a couple of runs as they would fall to the Tigers by a score of 9-2. The Tigers’ youngsters opened the scoring with a bang on a two-run home run to take a 2-0 lead in the second inning. They would follow that up with a walk, a stolen base and a RBI single to make it 3-0 after two innings. In the third inning, the Tigers added to their lead without registering a base hit. Two Canadian errors would lead to another run and a 4-0 lead for Detroit. Two singles and a sacrifice fly would add to another run in the fourth inning for the Tigers, while a double and a single would make it 6-0 Detroit after six innings. The Tigers’ prospects would finish of their scoring in the eighth inning the same way they started it, scoring three runs two of which came of a home run. The Canadians made a little noise offensively in the eighth, scoring both their runs in the inning. Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) continues to tear the cover off the ball, going 2-for-3 in the game. Jean-Christophe Paquin (St-Augustin, QC) was also 2-for-3 in the contest. Next up will be the Spring Training finale for the Junior National Team as they take on the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, April 19th at 10 am.
ORLANDO, FL – The Junior National Team let a two-run lead slip away when the Cleveland Indians’ prospects drew seven walks, mixed in with one base hit to score three runs on route to a 5-2 victory over the Juniors. The Canadian pitching staff gave up a total of nine walks in a game they seemed to have well in hand before losing the strike zone. The Juniors had control in the early going as they would score the first run of the game in the first inning. Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) continued his torrid spring with an RBI single to drive in Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC) and give the Canadians a 1-0 lead. They increased their lead in the second inning when Mackenzie Harrison (St. Thomas, ON) doubled and scored on an Indians’ error to put Canada ahead by two. On the mound, Jake Eliopoulos (Newmarket, ON) frustrated the Indians’ hitters for the first three innings. The left-hander put together a scoreless effort, allowing only three hits and one walk with two strikeouts in his outing. From there, things started to fall apart starting in the fourth inning. The Indians’ prospects drew three walks followed by a single to score a pair and tie the game at 2-2. The Indians would take the lead in the sixth inning when they drew four walks to force in what turned out to be the winning run. Cleveland would add a pair in the eighth on three singles and a passed ball to complete the scoring. The Junior National Team will take on the Detroit Tigers in their next Spring Training matchup on Friday, April 18th. Action starts at 1 pm.
ORLANDO, FL – The Houston Astros were able to capitalize on nine walks and four errors from the Junior National Team as the Astros’ prospects would go on to score runs in every inning except two and come out on top with a 13-3 win over the Juniors. What seemed like relentless offence from the Astros began right away in the first inning when a leadoff walk, a pair of singles and an error made it 2-0 for Houston. A double and two ground outs to short allowed the Astros to increase their lead by one. The Astros would then score a pair of runs in each of the third, fourth and fifth innings and put a stranglehold on the Juniors with a 9-0 lead. The Canadians broke out some offence in the sixth inning when Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) hit his second home run of the spring to lead off the inning and break the goose egg. The momentum would carry into the seventh inning when Ivan Hartle (North Vancouver, BC) mimicked Crouse with a leadoff home run, his first of the camp. James Kottaras (Markham, ON) and Brett Lawrie, (Langley, BC) followed up with back-to-back doubles to reduce the lead to 9-3. Lawrie was 3-for-3 with the RBI double in the game. However, the Astros’ prospects killed the momentum the Canadians generated by scoring two more runs in the eighth inning on a walk, a triple and a wild pitch to make it 11-3. Houston would add two more runs in the ninth inning to complete the scoring. Next up for the Junior National Team on their Spring Training schedule is a matchup with the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, April 17th at 1 pm.
OTTAWA, ON – The International Baseball Federation released today the official schedule for the 2008 World Junior Baseball Championship which will take place in Edmonton from July 25th to August 3rd. Canada is placed in Group B along with Cuba, Chinese Taipei, Italy, Puerto Rico and Czech Republic. Group A will feature the United States, Mexico, Korea, Australia, Netherlands and Russia. The games will be played on three different diamonds. Telus Field will be the feature park with John Fry Park and neighboring town St. Albert hosting games as well. Canada’s preliminary schedule is as follows: · July 25th, 7:30 pm – Canada vs. Italy – Telus Field· July 26th, 7:05 pm – Canada vs. Taipei – Telus Field· July 27th, 3:00 pm – Canada vs. Cuba – Telus Field· July 29th, 7:05 pm – Canada vs. Puerto Rico – Telus Field· July 30th, 3:00 pm – Canada vs. Czech Republic – St. Albert Crossovers and quarter-finals are scheduled for August 1st with semi-finals taking place on August 2nd and concluding with the Bronze Medal Game at 1:15 pm and the Gold Medal Game at 4:30 pm on August 3rd at Telus Field. The championship tournament is held every two years for players aged 18 years and under and is regarded as a launching pad for players aspiring to play professionally. Players such as Jason Bay, Adam Loewen, Matt Stairs and Larry Walker are among the more than 40 Canadians who have participated in the event before moving on to sign professional contracts. Canada won its lone World Junior Baseball Championship in 1991, hosting the tournament in Brandon, Manitoba. For the complete schedule of the tournament, click here.
ORLANDO, FL – In what was a nail bitter through out between the Junior National Team and the Cleveland Indians here in Spring Training action, the pitchers dominated as both teams could not get anything across and would play to a 1-1, 10-inning draw. All the scoring came early and it would be the Canadians who would break the ice in the bottom of the first. Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) hit a double off the left field wall and would come around to score on Jeff Hunt’s (Cambridge, ON) RBI single to put Canada ahead. The Indians would reply in the third inning when a throwing error from the Canadian defence allowed the Indians’ runner on second to score and tie the game. From there, neither team could take advantage of scoring chances with both teams unable to convert with two runners on-base and only one out in the tenth inning. Canada would strand a total of 10 runners on-base, while the Indians stranded seven. The real story of the game however was the performance of the pitchers. Stosh Wawrzasek (Langley, BC) got the nod for the Canadians would go on to allow only one run, which was unearned, with one hit and a walk and would fanned six over his three innings of work. David Walkling (Nanaimo, BC) took over for Wawrzasek and picked up where he left off. Walkling only allowed two hit and a walk with a pair of stirkeouts in his three inning outing. The ball was then handed over to Danny Britton-Foster (Ladysmith, BC) to close the door the rest of the way. He would work the final four innings, giving up only two hits and a pair of walks to Indians’ hitters. The Houston Astros will be the next opponent on the Junior National Team’s Spring Training schedule on Wednesday, April 16th at 1 pm.
ORLANDO, FL – The Detroit Tigers took no time to put points on the board against the Junior National Team in Spring Training action, including a four-run fifth inning to put the game out of reach and give the Canadians a 9-2 loss. The Tigers got the offence rolling immediately in the top of the first inning when a walk and back-to-back singles, all with two outs, put them up 1-0. The Juniors would respond in kind in the bottom half of the inning on a Marcus Knecht (Toronto, ON) single to score Ivan Hartle (North Vancouver, BC), who was 2-for-3 in the game, and tie the game at one run apiece. The Tigers would take the lead back in the second inning on a two-run double to make it 3-1. The score would be 4-1 in the fourth inning when Canada would reduce the lead to two after Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) doubled, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly from Luke Willson (Windsor, ON). From there, the Tigers put the Juniors behind the eight ball when they would score four runs in the fifth inning on four straight hits (single, double, single, home run) to increase the lead to 8-2. They would add another run in the sixth to complete the scoring. On the mound, Andrew Ledger (Toronto, ON) started for the Canadians and went two innings, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks while punching out three. François Lafrenière (St-Bruno, QC) came in relief of Ledger and threw two innings, giving up one run on two hits with a pair of strikeouts in his outing. Nick Fogarty (Thornhill, ON) threw the next two innings and allowed five runs on six hits while striking out two Nick Bucci (Sarnia, ON) and Jean-Christophe Paquin (St-Augustin, QC) combined to shutout the Tigers for the final three innings. Bucci allowed two hits and a walk with one strikeout in two innings of work. Paquin threw one inning and allowed one hit and a walk with two strikeouts. The next Spring Training game for the Junior National Team will be on Tuesday, April 15th at 1 pm versus the Cleveland Indians.
