Team PEI is more than ready for the challenge of taking on the other provinces in the 2013 CitiFinancial Baseball Canada Under 21 Championship when the team heads to Dartmouth and Halifax on Aug. 14.
The PEI team, an all-star aggregation made of the top junior players on the island, proved they can play with their bigger competitors when they lost a tough extra inning gold medal game to the Dartmouth Juniors in the Juniors' invitational tournament just last month. The PEI team will rely on pitching, defense, and timely hitting against pool opponents Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Ontario, and Saskatchewan according to head coach Jason Monaghan.
Players to watch for are ace starter Jordan Stevenson who brings control and a fierce competitive nature to the mound, 2B Dillon Doucette, who played for Oklahoma Panhandle University and the Prairie Baseball Academy in Lethbridge, and brings a power bat to the plate, SS Dylan McKenna, one of just a few switch-hitters around these parts, and a terrific leadoff hitter who will need to get on the bases often, C Peter MacLeod who will provide some pop behind the speedsters at the front of the order, and Connor Myers, expected to be a big bat in the middle of the line-up.
A big loss for the Island crew is P J.P. Stevenson, chosen to Canada's national junior team, made up of the top 16-18 year old players in the country. The national team will be in Australia when the 2013 CitiFinancial Baseball Canada Under 21 Championship is being played.
