TAICHUNG, Taiwan- Since last October, the Junior National Team has held two training camps in Orlando, Florida, camps in the Dominican Republic and the New England region, and just last week held its final selection camp on Australia’s Gold Coast.
All of these events have led to Taichung, Taiwan and the IBAF 18U World Cup where 20 young Canadian baseball players will compete against the 18 and under best players in the world for a World Championship starting on Friday, August 30th.
For the second consecutive year, Canada will open the tournament against one of the top baseball nations on the globe in Japan.
Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, ON), a member of last year’s silver medal winning Canadian entry at the same event, is expected to get the start on the mound against Japan.
“I’m pumped,” exclaimed Quantrill at Canada’s first team practice held in Taichung. “Not a lot of players get an opportunity to play in this event two years in a row and I’m excited to pitch against a great baseball nation like Japan.”
Quantrill is one of five returning players from the Canadian team that made it to last year’s gold medal game for the first time since 1991 before eventually falling to the United States.
He says that the experience that he and his teammates experienced last year in Seoul, Korea will be invaluable this time around.
“Playing in last year’s tournament has completely changed my outlook on this year’s event, “he explained. “A lot was going on a year ago being in Korea, it was hard to focus on playing with so much being new.
“This year I feel much more at home and ready to go from the start instead of going through an adjustment period where you’re getting used to everything.”
In addition to Japan, Canada will compete in Pool A against the Czech Republic, Venezuela, Mexico and host Chinese Taipei, while Pool B consists of Australia, Colombia, Cuba, Italy, South Korea, and USA.
The top three teams in each pool advance to the second round so a quick start to the tourney is essential for success.
“If you don’t get a good start early in this tournament you make it really tough on yourselves,” added Quantrill. “I think we have the talent on our team to win this thing.”
Canada will have another challenge on their hands when they take-on Japan as the start time is at 9am CST (9pm ET 08/29) which is not what players are typically used to.
“We need to come out in that first inning with a lot of energy – a ton of energy and just get it going from the start,” he continued. “If we come out with a little fire in our bellies I think we’ll be fine.”
Host Chinese Taipei will be Canada’s second opponent on August 31st at Intercontinental Stadium in front of what should be a hostile crowd.
After facing the Czech Republic on September 1st, Canada will play Venezuela on September 2nd and wrap-up pool play against Mexico on September 3rd.
An off-day is scheduled for September 4th with the second round beginning on the 5th. Gold and bronze medal games are slated for September 8th.
A complete tournament schedule along with roster, stats and live scoring is available by visiting www.ibaf.org.
You can follow the Junior National Team on their quest for gold throughout the IBAF 18U World Cup by visiting Baseball.ca or by following @baseballcanada on Twitter.
