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After winning the Manitoba Senior Baseball League championship in 2006, the Brandon Cloverleafs will represent the province at the Senior National Championship in Québec City from August 9 to 13.

“We’ve got everything in place now,” says Ryan Potter, General Manager of the Cloverleafs.  “Our roster is finalized and we’re ready to go.”

Potter has been with the Cloverleafs for eight years and this will be the first time that the club will be heading to the National Championships during his tenure with the team.  With the additions for nationals in place, Potter thinks his team will be strong.

“We feel we’ll be very competitive,” says Potter.  “Our pitching staff is strong and we are comfortable with that.  Our defence is something we’ll be looking at to perform as well and I think we’ll be right there.”

As for Manitoba’s offence, Potter pointed to stand outs Jamie Waddell-Hodgson who hit .550 (11-for-20) in eight games for the Cloverleafs and Bryan Swaenepoel who hit .302 (19-for-63) in 18 games for the team.

“We’ll be looking for a lot of offence for them,” says Potter.

For Manitoba to take home the Senior National Championship, Potter believes everything has to fall into place for his team to win.

“If we’re to be successful, our team defence is the most important,” says Potter.  “Coupled with our pitching, if our defence performs the way we think it can and doesn’t give anything free then we stand a chance at winning.  Offensively we’re comfortable with the lineup, it’s just a matter of guys performing the way we think they can.”

The 2007 Baseball Canada Championships are a single site event that will be held in Québec City from August 8-12 and August 16-19.