Baseball Canada will broadcast National Championship games via webcasts through its website. The National Championships will take place from August 8-12 and August 16-19 in Québec City. The games that will be broadcast are those that will be played at the Stade Municipal in Québec City. The divisions scheduled to compete at the Stade Municipal will be the Midget, Junior and Senior men’s, as well as the Baseball Canada Cup. To see the schedule and to listen to the broadcast, go to the Championships link on our website.
The Fredericton Royals earned the right to represent New Brunswick in the Bantam Boys National Championship in Québec City and their victory came in dramatic fashion. “It was a huge comeback,” says Brad Dunphy, Head Coach of the Royals. “We were down four runs going into the sixth inning and we ended up scoring three in the sixth and two in the seventh. It was wild.” This is the first time that Dunphy has led a team to the National Championships. He was invited as an assistant coach for New Brunswick’s Junior team in 2006. The excitement he exudes for the chance to lead his own team to the National Championships is evident. “It’s going to be phenomenal,” says Dunphy. “Last year, I was only an assistant coach and I didn’t have a huge responsibility, but it’s still one of the best times I ever had at the ballpark.” “I love the atmosphere,” adds Dunphy. “You show up at the field and you’re up against a Team Québec or Team Ontario or Team British Columbia, it’s awesome.” Those teams, along with the others who will be at the tournament will present a good challenge for Team New Brunswick, but Dunphy is not quick to judge on how his team will compete. “We feel that we have a very good team and we hope that we’ll be competitive,” says Dunphy, “but until we get there and we see what we’re up against, we’re not sure (how we will compete). But we’re definitely optimistic.” “I think that we’re pretty balanced (as a team),” adds the head coach. “We have good defense and our pitching is strong, and hopefully the bats will be strong as well.” 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.
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.
For Rob Boik, Head Coach of the Spruce Grove Sox who will represent Alberta at the Midget National Championship in Québec City, his pitchers will be the key to a successful run at the national title. “We’re pretty deep on the mound,” says Boik. “We have six or seven guys we can go to on the mound and that I trust out there.” With all those pitchers to choose from, Boik hopes his group can keep games tight and limit the damage. “We have good pitching and I think we’ll keep runs down,” says Boik. “We’ll also have pretty good speed on the bases and how well we hit remains to be seen.” 2007 marks the third time that Boik is heading to the National Championships. In 2005 he was coaching at the Midget National Championship and in 2006 he was a coach for Team Alberta at the Baseball Canada Cup. He believes his experience will help with preparations this time around. “I know what to expect going in this time around,” says Boik. “I feel I can get our team more prepared, maybe even more so than last time.” Rob Boik and Team Alberta have the same goal as every other team in this tournament and that is leave with a National Championship and he says he is eager to get things going. “I’m looking forward to getting down to Québec City and playing good ball.” 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.
Gord Gerlach of St. Albert, Alberta has been named the new field manager for the Edmonton Cracker-Cats of the Northern League. Gerlach takes over for Frank Reberger who was recently let go by the organization. “I am happy to be managing the Cracker-Cats,” says Gerlach in a news conference with the media. The Cracker-Cats started the second half of the season with a 3-9 record, which is part of the reason Reberger was dismissed. But Gerlach, who was the team’s hitting coach before the promotion, sees his team making a charge for a playoff spot. “We certainly haven’t had a lack of effort. In fact, we’ve maybe had too much effort,” says Gerlach on his team’s recent struggles. “All we need to do is gain one game a week on the teams above us,” adds Gerlach. “We’re going to go step by step.” Gerlach is a former coach for the Senior National Team that participated in the World Senior Championship in 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003. In 1999 he was a coach for the Senior National Team at the Pan-American Games and in 2005 he was coaching the seniors at the World Cup qualifier. In 2001, he was also a member of the coaching staff of the Junior National Team at the World Junior Baseball Championships.
Saskatchewan’s team for the Baseball Canada Cup may not have as big a selection of players to choose from as Ontario, Québec or British Columbia, but they will always put together a team that will compete to the end. Saskatchewan coach, Greg Brons thinks his team has a legitimate chance at taking a medal in this tournament. “If our pitching staff keeps the ball down and throw some strikes, I think we have a great shot at surprising some teams,” says Brons. There are three players returning to the squad from last year’s team and Brons hopes they can provide some leadership for this young group. “We’re pretty strong up the middle with Jon Cotter (Moose Jaw) as our shortstop,” says Brons. “We’re looking at Dustin Caplette (Moose Jaw), one of our pitchers from last year to lead, and there is Derek Wallace (Oxbow) at first base who is returning.” Saskatchewan will be holding a training camp in early August and play an exhibition game against Alberta before making their way to Québec. 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.
With the Baseball National Championships approaching, Ontario’s Senior Women’s Team is hoping to finish the season with the ultimate prize. The championships’ Senior Women’s category, which will take place from August 9-12, 2007, will have eight teams participating in the tourney. Included with Ontario in the invitational tournament will be Alberta, Manitoba, New-Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Québec and Québec City. “We’re always very competitive,” says Geoff Whent, coach for Ontario’s Senoir Women’s Team. “The last few years, we’ve had some pretty good teams and we’ve finished high in the standings,” adds Mr. Whent. Team Ontario is also made up with former and current Women’s National Team members such as Kate Psota of Burlington, Ontario and Ashley Stephenson of Mississauga, Ontario. The 2007 Baseball National Championships are a single site event that will be held in Québec City from August 8-12 and August 16-19.
Jamie Romak of London, Ontario was named the Carolina League’s Player of the Week for the week of July 9-15. The 21-year-old outfielder of the Class A Lynchburg Hillcats hit .533 (8-for-15) with two home runs, six RBI, seven runs scored, one stolen base and a slugging percentage of .933 for the week. “To be rewarded for having a pretty good week, it’s cool,” says Romak, “especially with the amount of Canadians that are playing and how well everyone is doing (this season).” Against division rival Frederick, the former Junior National Team member went 3-for-4 in two consecutive games, hitting two homers, driving in five runs and scoring four times in that span. “Going into the series, they were trying to pitch me in,” says Romak. “I backed off the plate about an inch or two and it seemed to make all the difference in the world.” Romak is hitting .279 with 15 home runs, 39 RBI and a slugging percentage of .533 this season.
The reigning American League MVP, Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C., was named the AL Player of the Week for the week of July 2-8. The Minnesota Twins first baseman hit .438 with four home runs, two doubles and 13 RBI for the week. He went 9-for-18 in a four-game series against the Chicago White Sox. In the July 6th game, he hit three long balls and drove in six runs. The former Junior and Senior National Team member is hitting .295 with 24 homers and 74 RBI after the first half of the 2007 season.
The 2007 season so far is an example of how Canadian players are continually ascending to the level of elite players in the Major Leagues and elsewhere. With the first half of the season in the books, let us take a look at how the Canadians are faring. Justin Morneau of New Westminster, B.C. was on fire to start the season. The 2006 American League MVP has 24 home runs, which ranks him second in the AL behind Alex Rodriguez. His 74 RBI are good for third in the AL. He is also hitting .295 and is on pace to hit 40 homers and score 100 runs for the first time in his career. Russell Martin of Chelsea, Québec is quickly distinguishing himself as one of the elite catchers in the game. The Los Angeles Dodgers’ backstop leads all catchers in runs scored with 51 and stolen bases with 16. He is second at his position with 60 RBI. He also has 11 homers and is hitting .306. The Dodgers are 47-33 when he starts and 2-7 when he does not. Erik Bedard of Navan, Ontario leads the Majors with 149 strikeouts. He is 7-4 with a 3.40 ERA with the Baltimore Orioles and continues to establish himself as the team ace. Other Canadians who are off to good starts in 2007: Jason Bay of Trail, B.C. - .256 AVG, 13 HR, 56 RBI Jeff Francis of Vancouver, B.C. - 8-5, 3.87 ERA, 80 SO, 34 BB Matt Stairs of Fredericton, N.B. - .287 AVG, 13 HR, 35 RBI, 195 AB Eric Gagne of Mascouche, Québec - 2-0, 1.32 ERA, 12 SV Ryan Dempster of Gibsons, B.C. - 1-3, 3.38 ERA, 16 SV, 33 SO, 34.2 IP Joey Votto of Toronto, Ontario is putting together a solid season of his own. The first-baseman with the Triple-A Louisville Bats with the Cincinnati Reds organization is hitting .315 with 11 home runs, 50 RBI and 10 stolen bases this season. At this rate, the 23-year-old could possibly make his Major League debut before the end of the season.
