Regensburg, Germany-Since arriving in Germany early Monday morning, Team Canada has held two workouts at Armin Wolfe Baseball Arena, the site of the World Baseball Classic Qualifier.
Canada will open the four-team tournament tomorrow night (7pm local, 1pm ET) against Great Britain in a game that can be seen live on Rogers Sportsnet One and www.worldbaseballclassic.com.
The tournament is a modified double-elimination format where each game takes on significant meaning.
“Anything can happen in a certain game,” said Canadian Manager Ernie Whitt. “With the way the tournament is set-up even if you win your first two games and lose the final you are out.
“So it can basically come down to a one game elimination.”
Canada’s roster features thirteen players that won bronze last year at the IBAF World Cup and later took home the gold medal at the Pan Am Games.
According to Whitt, with the format of the tournament, the fact that Canada has a veteran group will only benefit the team as the tournament moves forward.
“They’ve been through it before, they know what they have to do to get themselves ready to play,” he said. “I like our team, it’s just a matter of being able to execute.”
Veteran starter Shawn Hill (Georgetown, ON) gets the nod against Great Britain tomorrow and has plenty of big-game experience to draw from including a semi-final game in the Olympics against Cuba in 2004 and last year’s semi-final at the Pan Am Games against Mexico. Hill also has over 200 innings of big-league experience and is looked upon as a leader by his teammates.
“Shawn’s been there before and has been through it all,” said Andrew Albers. “His experience and his ability to just continually stay calm are incredible.”
The winner of the Canada/Great Britain match-up will face the winner of the Germany/Czech Republic match-up on Saturday.
Tournament rosters, stats and schedule can be found at www.worldbaseballclassic.com
