OTTAWA-Baseball Canada announced today the twenty players that will represent Canada at the IBAF Women’s Baseball World Cup in Miyazaki, Japan from September 1-7.
The team was originally revealed last night in Surrey, BC following the conclusion of the Senior Women Invitational gold medal game where Alberta defeated Ontario by a score of 6-2.
“The coaching staff is very pleased with the make-up of our roster,” said National Team Manager André Lachance. “The fact that we have many players with World Cup experience combined with some talented newcomers will bode well for our team in Japan.”
The roster features Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, ON) and Kate Psota (Burlington, ON) who will each be playing in their sixth World Cup, as they are both original members of the first Women’s National Team back in 2004.
Women’s National Team Roster Highlights:
-The veteran club returns 14 players (Armstrong, Asay, Boyd, Cornelssen, Gilroy, Luchanski, Martensen, Mills, Northcott, Psota, Riopel, Savoie, Stephenson and Wall) who won a bronze medal with Canada at the 2012 IBAF Women’s World Cup in Edmonton.
-Five players (Carr, Eccles, Healey, Lalor, Matteucci) named to the squad will be participating in their first IBAF Women’s World Cup, while Cindy Saavedra played in the 2010 IBAF Women’s World Cup in Venezuela.
-Breakdown by Province (BC-4; Alberta-4; Saskatchewan-2; Ontario-7; Québec-2; Newfoundland & Labrador-1)
-The coaching staff features Manager André Lachance (Ottawa, ON) who returns for his sixth consecutive World Cup. Coach Sean O’Brien (Barrie, ON) along with former National Team players turned coaches Patricia Landry (St-Étiene-des-Grés, QC) and Samantha Magalas (Burlington, ON) all return to the staff for their second World Cup, while Pitching Coach Christian Chenard (Lévis, QC) will make his World Cup debut
-Penny Fitzsimmons will return to her familiar role as Business Manager along with Equipment Manager Vincent Turpin, while Athletic Therapist Marie Claude Fournier and Press Officer Alexis Brudnicki will participate with the Women’s National Team program for the first time.
An impressive list of former big leaguers will make appearances during training camp in Surrey to lend a hand, as Baseball Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar will join the team on August 20th, while former Toronto Blue Jays slugger Shawn Green will attend the workout on August 19th. New Westminster, BC native, Aaron Myette, a former big leaguer and Canadian National Team member, will be with the team as a guest coach for the duration of camp in Surrey.
Team Canada will hold daily practices beginning tomorrow until August 21st before travelling to Japan on August 22nd. The team will partake in a four-game exhibition series in Japan before opening the World Cup on September 1st against the Netherlands.
Canada has won four medals (1 silver, 3 bronze) all-time in five Women’s World Cup events with the most recent, a bronze, in 2012.
All media inquiries can be directed towards WNT Press Officer, Alexis Brudnicki- (games@baseball.ca).
