By DANIEL BONNER Sports ReporterFri. Jul 18 - 6:03 AM A celebration of girls baseball is set for Saturday in Windsor Junction. Baseball Nova Scotia, together with the Hammonds Plains and LWF baseball associations will host Girls Day in Baseball, a day of games, clinics and fun. Girls baseball is experiencing phenomenal growth over a short period in the province. Nowhere is this more evident than in Hammonds Plains. The association boasted 36 registered girls last year, only to have that number leap to 82 this season. Association president Holly LaPierre expects that number to expand to well over 100 next year. "It’s been very rewarding every time I have a parent sign a girl up," LaPierre said. "So what I wanted to do was just celebrate them." Arguably the highlight of the event is the attendance of women’s national team members Melanie Harwood and Autumn Mills. The pair will lead a skills camp as well as sign autographs. LaPierre believes the lack of visibility of the national team has been a problem in the past. A conversation with national team coach Andre Lachance led to the participation of Harwood and Mills. "I said, ‘Andre, I don’t know who any of your players are,’ LaPierre said. "You ask any girl hockey player and they’ll tell you Hayley Wickenheiser or Cassie Campbell. Why are you not showcasing them, why are you not sending them out?’ So he budgeted this year just for that. "These women are phenomenal, talented ball players, (and) these girls will treat them like they’re superstars."Action runs from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Windsor Junction Community Centre fields. The skills camp session with Harwood and Mills is set for 12:45 – 2:15 p.m.
BRANDON – It was a tightly contested pitcher’s duel, but Chinese Taipei was able to break a 1-1 tie in the top of the ninth to earn a 4-1 win over the Junior National Team. Chinese Taipei had runners on second and third with two outs when they came thru with a two-run single to make it 3-1. An error allowed an additional run to score, giving the team from Taiwan a three-run lead. The Juniors however made some noise in the bottom of the ninth. Ivan Hartle (North Vancouver, BC) led off the inning by drawing a walk, followed by a single from James Kottaras (Markham, ON). After Marcus Knect (Toronto, ON) drew a walk to load the bases, Lionel Morrill (Edmonton, AB) hit a laser into the center field gap, but the Taiwanese center fielder came up with a great running catch to end any hopes of a Canadian comeback. “We played ok, but they played very well,” says JNT Manager Greg Hamilton. “They deserved to win tonight. They pitched well. They made some adjustments on the mound. They opened us up with some of speed pitches and tried to slow us down a little at the plate and they were very effective.” All told, the Juniors were held to one run on three hits, but Hamilton sees some definite positives in the loss. “This game helped them realize that winning a world championship is not easy. The first two games in Thunder Bay we thought we’d just have our way with these guys and maybe have our way with everybody, but sixty feet six inches is a great equalizer and they pitched well tonight.” The loss put a damper on the solid performance of the Canadian pitchers as François Lafreniere (St-Bruno, QC) and Danny Britton-Foster (Ladysmith, BC) both had solid outings on the mound in this game. Lafreniere got the start for Canada and threw four innings, giving up only one run on three hits and a walk. “I just threw strikes and tried to keep my pitch count low,” says Lafreniere. “I just tried to keep the ball low and use my defense to get some quick outs and I think I did that tonight.” Britton-Foster threw three shutout innings in relief of Lafreniere, allowing only one hit with three strikeouts in his outing. Benson Merritt (Smithville, ON) pitched a one-two-three eighth inning before getting into trouble in the ninth, allowing three runs on three hits, a walk and an error. He got the three outs of the inning via strikeout. The Junior National Team makes its way to Winnipeg on Saturday to once again take on Chinese Taipei on their Canadian tour. Game time is 7:00 pm at CanWest Global Field.
BRANDON – In a game that saw the Junior National Team struggle to find the strike zone on the mound, the offense stepped up and erased a five run deficit to earn a 9-9 tie against Chinese Taipei. In what was a celebration for the return of the Junior National Team to the city it won its only World Junior Baseball Championship in 1991, the game itself did not evoke memories of that championship game. The Canadian hurlers combined to allow 15 walks in the game, nine in the first two innings alone allowing Chinese Taipei to jump out to a 7-4 lead on only two hits. The Taiwanese scored two more runs in the fourth inning to go ahead by five, but the Canadians were not about to lay down without a fight. The Juniors reduced the lead to four in the sixth inning when Carter Morrison (Langley, BC) drove in Lionel Morrill (Edmonton, AB) for his fourth RBI of the game. Morrison was 2-for-4 with a three-run triple in the second inning. “I was just looking for strikes over the plate and try to drop it somewhere,” says Morrison of his second inning triple. “Luckily it ended up dropping in and scored three runs.” Down 9-5 in the top of the ninth with two outs and the bases loaded, an error by the Taiwanese center-fielder allowed Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) and Jonathan Gilbert (St-Georges, QC) to score. With two men on, Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC) came to the plate and hit a bases clearing double to tie the game 9-9. “This is a good team builder, knowing we can come back and compete,” says Bell. “Never say never, because we were in the top of the ninth inning down by four and came back and tied it. It was a good team builder and we can just go from there.” Mike Monster (Kelwona, BC) who pitched the eighth inning, came back out for the ninth and allowed the winning to get to third base, but got the Taiwanese leadoff hitter to pop up to first for the final out. “I think we have a good offence and we’re never out of games,” says JNT Manager Greg Hamilton. “If we can settle things down on the mound a little bit and be more consistent there we can be in most of the games we play.” The Junior National Team and Chinese Taipei will square off once again on Friday for the finale of the Brandon portion of the Canadian tour. Game time is 7:00 pm.
THUNDER BAY – The Junior National Team scored early and often and allowed only two Chinese Taipei runners to reach third base as Canada would go on and sweep the Thunder Bay portion of the pre-world Canadian tour with a 8-0 win over Taipei. Luke Willson (Lasalle, ON) led the way offensively for the Canadians, going 3-for-5 with four RBI and a run scored. “I felt good all day today,” says Willson. “I’ve been listening to the coaches. They’ve been helping me out a lot and I’m just trying to be smart about it.” A performance like that from Willson is a welcome sight for the Canadian coaching staff as they have slotted him in the cleanup spot in the batting order behind Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) so far this trip. Willson is up to the challenge. “I really like being behind a guy like Brett because he almost always on (base). When Lawrie comes up and hits a double you know you have a chance to score the guy. There’s a little bit of pressure, but you can’t think about it. You just have to be smart. I’m really enjoying it and really thankful to be in that spot.” As for Lawrie, the 16th overall pick in this past June’s MLB draft opened the scoring in the first inning when he hit his third homer in three games to put Canada ahead 1-0. Canada scored again in the second inning when Lionel Morrill (Edmonton, AB) went deep for the second time in two days. His solo-home run put the Juniors on top 2-0. That was more than enough for the Canadian hurlers on this day as Evan Grills (Whitby, ON), Nick Bucci (Sarnia, ON) and Andrew Ledger (Toronto, ON) would combine to shut down the Taiwanese offence, allowing a combined five hits and two walks in the game. Grills started on the mound for the Juniors and was dominant, allowing only two hits and one walk with three strikeouts over three innings of work. Then it was Bucci’s turn to take over as he allowed only one hit and one free pass while striking out four in his three innings on the mound. Ledger closed things out for Canada, pitching three innings of solid baseball, allowing two hits with one strikeout. Seven of his nine outs were ground outs, including the final out of the game to seal it for Canada. “It’s nice to sweep here to get momentum going, but it’s about finding the right pieces and as part of this we’re playing well, which is good,” says JNT Manager Greg Hamilton. The Junior National Team makes its way to Brandon, Manitoba tomorrow where they will once again take on Chinese Taipei as part of their Canadian tour prior to the World Junior Baseball Championship in Edmonton starting on July 25. Game time in Brandon on Thursday is 7:00 pm.
THUNDER BAY – The Junior National Team open its pre-world Canadian tour with a sweep of the Thunder Bay Selects and Chinese Taipei with a 6-2 win in game one and a 8-4 win in game two. Game one saw Lionel Morrill (Edmonton, AB) hit a walk off grand slam to give the Canadians the win over the Thunder Bay Selects. The scheduled seven inning game went into extras tied 2-2. In the bottom of the eighth inning, the Juniors loaded the bases on two singles, a fielder’s choice and an intentional walk bringing Morrill to the plate. He would promptly deposit the ball over the left-center field fence to the jubilation of the Canadian dugout. “It was the first time I had ever done that and I’m at a loss for words,” says Morrill. “It was pretty cool.” The Canadians opened the scoring in the first inning when Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC) went deep in straight away center field to give Canada the 1-0 lead. The Thunder Bay Selects would respond in the third and fourth innings, scoring one run in each frame to jump ahead 2-1. The Juniors would tie it up in the bottom half of the fourth when Luke Willson (Lasalle, ON) doubled in Lawrie, who reached on an error, to make it 2-2. Some solid pitching on both sides would keep the game knotted at two until Morrill’s heroics in the bottom of the eighth. Danny Britton-Foster (Ladysmith, BC) started on the mound for the Canadians and went three strong innings, allowing one run on three hits and one walk with two strikeouts. Benson Merritt (Smithville, ON) followed with two innings of no-hit ball, allowing one run thru a walk and a sacrifice fly. He would walk a pair and strikeout three. Brandon Petite (Glace Bay, NS) closed things out for Canada throwing three no-hit innings, allowing only two walks in his outing. In game two, Chinese Taipei got on the board first in the opening frame with a sacrifice fly to put them ahead 1-0. Canada responded in the third inning when Michael Crouse (Port Moody, BC) came in to score on a ground out. Then the Juniors broke it open in the fourth inning starting with a lead-off solo home run from Carter Bell (Courtenay, BC) to put Canada ahead 2-1. They would add three more runs in the inning after four consecutive singles, finished off by Ivan Hartle’s (North Vancouver, BC) two-run hit. In the fifth inning, Lawrie would hit his second homer of the day to lead off the frame and put Canada ahead 6-1. “Today was a plus day,” says Lawrie. “We swung the bats real well. We picked it up against Chinese Taipei. We weren’t trying to do too much and it was a real good day.” Chinese Taipei made it interesting in the eighth inning when they would score a pair on Yu-Hsiang Chen’s double, however he would be gunned down at third trying to stretch his hit to a triple for the final out of the inning. The Canadians would get those runs back in the bottom half of the frame, highlighted by the RBI triple by Morrill who slammed the brakes at third after thinking of a possible inside the park home run. In the top of the ninth inning and the score at 8-4 with one out, the game was called due to lightning in the area. “In a lot of ways it was a good day,” says JNT Manager Greg Hamilton. “We swung the bats well. We got some offensive dimension to our game. We can do some different things offensively. For the first day I was happy.” The Junior National Team will take the field again on Wednesday, July 16 at 7:30 pm when Canada takes on Chinese Taipei in Thunder Bay.
Sydney, Cape-Breton – The 2008 Senior Women National Championship will be remembered as a classic as Québec faced Ontario in the gold medal game. The two teams set the record for the longest game in the history of this championship by playing a 12-inning ball game that saw Ontario winning the gold medal with a 3-2 win over Québec. The two starting pitcher, Marie-Josée Tremblay (St-Honoré, Québec) and Kate Psota (Burlington, Ontario, were the outstanding in this game as the Québec pitcher threw 11.6 innings while Psota threw 10 solid innings allowing her to receive the top pitcher award. Ashley Stephenson picked up the win for Team Ontario. After 10 scoreless innings, Québec took the lead in the top of the 11th inning when Cynthia Forget and Amélie Julien produced 2 runs giving the Québec team a 2-0 lead. Ontario came back in the bottom of the 11th with consecutive hits from Samantha Magalas and Jennifer Gilroy to tie the game. Ashley Stephenson 12th inning single plated the winning run after 3 hours of great baseball. In the bronze medal game, Alberta defeated Team Québec 2 by the score of 11-6. Following the gold medal game, the following awards were presented. Kate Psota (Ontario) wasa named top pitcher, Nicole Luchanski (Alberta) top defensive player, Ashley Stephenson (Ontario) top hitter and Jessica Bérubé (Québec 2) was named the most promising player. As Baseball Canada was also using the event to select its national team for the III World Cup in Japan, the following players have been selected and will regroup on August 16th in Los Angeles before going to Japan. Karine Gagné (Granby, Québec) Melanie Harwood (Thornhill, Ontario) Autumn Mills (London, Ontario) Nicole Luchanski (Edmonton, Alberta) Stéphanie Savoie (La Pocatière, Québec) Louise Harris (Toronto, Ontario) Melissa Armstrong (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) Meagan Cornellsen (Grande-Prairie, Alberta) Geneviève Beauchamp (Sherbrooke, Québec) Ashley Stephenson (Mississauga, Ontario) Samantha Magalas (Burlington, Ontario) Martine Nadeau (Québec City, Québec) Kate Psota (Burlington, Ontario) Marie-Josée Tremblay (St-Honoré, Québec) Shelby Gordon (Calgary, Alberta) Amanda Asay (Prince George, British Columbia) Meagan Bremner (St.Peters, Nova Scotia) Mélanie Anctil (St-Hubert, Québec) André Lachance Ottawa (ON) Head Coach Jean-François Lacroix Montréal (QC) Pitching Coach Wayne Parro Brooklin (ON) Coach Eric Laforest Terrebonne (QC) Coach Isabelle Higgins Montréal (QC) Coach Penny Fitzsimmons Saskatoon (SK) Business Manager Raymonde Fortin Montréal (QC) Athletic Trainer Mathieu Rochon-Fleury Ottawa (ON) Equipment Manager
THUNDER BAY – The Junior National Team made its way to Thunder Bay, Ontario today to begin its cross-Canada journey on route to Edmonton for the World Junior Baseball Championship beginning July 25. The Juniors had a loaded first day. After settling in at Lakehead University, the Canadians made their way to the diamond to play a special charity softball game against some NHL stars, to promote the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship that will be in Thunder Bay. Thunder Bay native and Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp was one of the NHL stars to play in the charity softball game and before he became a star in the NHL, he was a ball player in the Thunder Bay region. “I played until I was 15 years old and then it was either get serious about hockey or get serious about baseball and I chose the hockey route, but I love baseball. I watch it all the time and I like to play it whenever I can,” says Sharp. The game itself was a fun filled affair; both the Juniors and the NHL stars signed some autographs and took some pictures and created some long lasting memories for fans, as well as themselves. For someone like Sharp who has a baseball background, it brought back some fond memories from his diamond days. “We used to go down to Duluth, Minnesota for baseball tournaments in the summer and that was a great time. Just being outside in the summer time when you’re a kid and you’re out of school, that’s probably the best part and having fun with the team.” But after the festivities, it was down to business. The team held its first practice in what will be a full schedule across Canada prior to the Worlds. “I like our options. I like our club. I think it’s just a matter of figuring out the right pieces of the puzzle and I think we’ve got the pieces and we’re going to be a complete team,” says JNT Manager Greg Hamilton. The Juniors will have another practice on Monday and begin their exhibition schedule with a double-header on Tuesday beginning at 4:30 pm with a game against the Thunder Bay All-Stars, followed by a matchup with Chinese Taipei at 7:30 pm.
OTTAWA - Baseball Canada today released its roster of nominated players and staff that will represent Canada at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing August 13-24. The roster, consisting of 24 players, four coaches and four support staff members, will feature six returning players from the 2004 Olympic team that finished fourth in Athens. "This is a tremendous time for Baseball Canada and we are very excited about our Olympic team," says Ray Carter, the association's president. "The Olympic Games are the pinnacle of competition and to represent our country this summer is a great honor we hold very dear." "Selecting this team has been a challenging process, but we're anxious to get going and have high hopes for our team in Beijing," says Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada's Director of National Teams. A total of 15 players on the team and the entire coaching staff and three of the four support staff are returning together after participating in last March's Final Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Taichung, Taiwan, where Canada finished first in the eight-team tournament to claim one of three remaining berths to the Olympics. This summer's Olympic team will be managed by Terry Puhl, who played 15 seasons in the majors and who led the Canadian team at the 2007 IBAF World Cup in Taipei, Taiwan and the Final Olympic Qualifier team in Taichung, Taiwan. “We have a very good mix of experience and youth on this ball club,” says Puhl. “The World Cup and Qualifier was a chance to give our younger guys some invaluable international experience and I believe that this team is more than capable of winning a medal.” Baseball Canada's Olympic team will convene in Toronto on July 28 to begin its Olympic training camp. The team will participate in a golf tournament which will be open to the media at Lionhead Golf & Country Club on July 29 at 8:30 am and will hold a practice open to the media on July 30 at Connorvale Park in Etobicoke from 3:00-6:30 pm. The Canadian team will then participate in a pre-Olympic exhibition series from August 1-4 in Cary, North Carolina and Durham, North Carolina against the U.S. Olympic Team, followed by a pair of exhibition games against the Netherlands on August 9 and 10 in Beijing in preparation for the Summer Games, which will include the U.S., the Dutch, Cuba, China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea in the baseball event. Olympic Roster Pre-Olympic Schedule 2008 Olympic Games Schedule Media Guide
OTTAWA – The Chicago Cubs acquired right-handed pitcher Rich Harden of Victoria, BC from the Oakland Athletics in a six player deal. The Cubs acquired Harden and Chad Gaudin from the Athletics in exchange for Sean Gallagher, Eric Patterson, Matt Murton and minor leaguer Josh Donaldson. “I heard it was going to happen. Still it’s always a surprise,” says Harden in an interview with the Associated Press. “It’s a bit of a shock but it will be good. They’ve got a good team and a chance of doing something special.” So far this season, Harden has posted a 5-1 mark with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts with Oakland. He’s struck out 92 batters in 77.0 innings pitched. Harden will be joining fellow Canadian Ryan Dempster, a BC native, in the rotation for the Cubs. By adding Harden to the rotation, the Cubs hope to end their 100 year drought without a World Series championship.
OTTAWA – Some of the best female baseball players from across the country are about to descend on to Sydney, Nova Scotia for the 2008 Women’s Senior Baseball Championship set to begin on Thursday, July 10 until Sunday, July 13. This five team tournament (two from Québec, Ontario, Alberta and Nova Scotia) will also serve as a selection camp for the Baseball Canada Women’s National Team, which will make its way to Matsuyama, Japan for the 2008 Women’s Baseball World Cup. “People are always surprised at the calibre of baseball that these girls can play,” says Women’s National Team Manager André Lachance. “The girls play a lot of strategically good baseball,” add Baseball Nova Scotia Executive Director Brad Lawlor, “a lot of small-ball and a lot of smart-ball.” Sydney, Nova Scotia is considered the birthplace of women’s baseball in the province which, according to Lawlor, should bring out some interest in the community for the tournament. “Sydney has traditionally been a great host for baseball tournaments in the past and we expect that once people start spreading the word around town that it will bring some pretty big crowds.” As for Lachance, he says he is looking for players that will help his team improve on their two third place showings in the previous two World Cups. “We need to sure things up defensively and add some depth on the mound,” says Lachance. “Those are some things that cost us last time and we’re looking to improve on here.” The girls game keeps getting stronger in Canada and for the doubters of the high calibre of women’s baseball, Lachance always has this to say. “I always tell those who knock the women’s game to come out and see a game before they dismiss it. After the game, they usually change their mind.” The girls selected for the Women’s National Team will be announced following the tournament.
