Tag: inaugural season

Canadians find final piece of puzzle in inaugural CPBL season

The last piece of the puzzle for the Great Lake Canadians program was to find a place to get some games in on home soil, and through the inaugural season of the Canadian Premier Baseball League, it did just that.

“It was huge for us,” Great Lake director of baseball operations Chris Robinson said. “Obviously we were on a little bit of an island there, and we were always really fortunate that the Fieldhouse Pirates were in the same boat…so we were always able to play them.

“But to have the competition week in, week out, against the five other programs [with the Pirates, as well as the Ontario Blue Jays, Ontario Nationals, Team Ontario and Toronto Mets], it separated quickly. That’s the one piece of the program that we felt we were missing, was the consistent high-level competition, and for us that was the excitement of last year.”

In their fourth year of the Canadians program, Great Lake has established a staff and routine that they’ve found comfort in, not making many changes throughout this off-season but continuing to build on the success they’ve found. The biggest difference between last season in the CPBL and the upcoming year will be the addition of a new squad at the youngest level of the circuit.

“We stick with what we’ve done in the past in terms of the off-season,” Robinson said. “Our guys start up now and we’ll run twice a week for most teams throughout the off-season. We’ll take our spring trip with the older groups to Florida. We did add a team this year, we added a 14U team, so we’re going to have two 14U teams this year and that will make six for us, so that’s exciting. We feel like we have a pretty solid group of guys and we can start to build from the bottom now and work up.”

To prepare for the upcoming season, Great Lake will take its top teams down south to St. Petersburg, Florida, on the same trip they’ve done in the past with an additional showcase opportunity for their players this spring.

“We’ll be back at St. Pete’s again, the same place we were the last two years,” the program’s director of baseball operations said. “We head down there March 11th to 17th and we’ll play six to seven games, and this year we’re going to do a scout day for the first time. So we’re going to have a showcase-type day, and play a game in the afternoon that day, on Tuesday, March 14th.

“It will be a mixture of our 16U, 17U and 18U teams. [Adam Hall, Canada’s top prospect heading into the draft] is going, so that’s obviously going to be a draw in terms of scouting and getting some exposure not only for him but for some of the other kids.”

Proud to be a part of the CPBL in the inaugural season, and contribute to the high calibre of play the loop provided on a consistent basis – also benefitting from the level of competition when they ventured out of the country and into a number of American tournaments throughout the summer – the Canadians are excited to find even more success both in and out of the league this year.

“That was the good part about last year, having an understanding that you’re playing programs now where some teams are going to have good years and some teams are going to have bad years,” Robinson said. “That’s just inevitable but if you don’t show up and play on a Saturday, you get beat. That teaches our guys, and speaking with the other programs and other coaches and guys who run programs within the league, we all had very successful tournament seasons last year.

“On our end, it was probably one of the most successful – from top to bottom – tournament seasons that we’ve ever had. It’s a direct correlation to being challenged for four games a weekend every weekend, and having to play at that level for four games rather than maybe showing up for a weekend against I-don’t-know-who and playing a good team, knowing you’ve got to gear up.”

In the busiest fall season the program has had in its four years, it felt to Robinson as though players were solidifying their commitments to college day after day, which provided enjoyment for all those involved.

“There are 10 guys for us who are ’17 commits, and there is one player who’s an ’18 commit,” he said. “We’ve had 11 guys, and it was in a span of about a month-and-a-half which is something we’ve never done. It’s been an exciting fall for us, no doubt…It was an exciting time for all our guys.”

From the start of the program to the success it has found over time, a lot has already happened and changed for Great Lake, and the Canadians look forward to what more may come as they continue their progression.

“This is year four,” Robinson said. “It’s neat. When we started, it was a lot about [the coaching staff]. It was about Adam Arnold, Adam Stern, Jamie Romak, and now it’s more about the kids. They’ve taken this program and it’s about [alum] Matt Warkentin [currently at Johnson County Community College in Kansas] and Michael Brettell [at Central Michigan] and these guys who are going off and continuing to build our brand by doing what they’re doing. It’s exciting. We’ve got a lot of guys going out this year, it’s a big class for us, so we hope it continues.”

Among the players who will see their CPBL tenures come to an end this summer, the Great Lake Canadians are sending Adam Hall to Texas A&M, Jordan Marks to the University of South Carolina Upstate in Spartanburg, Jameson Hart to Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa, Jonathan Burkhart to Heartland Community College in Normal, Illinois, Justin Snow to Southeastern Community College in West Burlington, Iowa, Noah Myers to Wabash Valley Community College in Mount Carmel, Illinois, Eric Lindsay and Jake English to Dodge City Community College in Kansas, Dallas Hunter to Parkland Community College in Champaign, Illinois, and Corben Peters to Cloud County Community College in Concordia, Kansas. Matt Jenkins is also committed to Santa Clara University for the 2018 season.

Nationals look forward to the second year of the CPBL

With a year under their belts in the Canadian Premier Baseball League, the Ontario Nationals are excited for what the future holds, growing their program this off-season and eager to head into a new year in the circuit.

“The CPBL, in the first season, went great from an organizational standpoint and as well as a league,” said Jeremy Jayaweera, recruiting coordinator for the Nationals program and newly appointed associate scout for the Angels. “We were very happy with the competition. From Day 1 to the last weekend of the CPBL playoffs it was a battle.

“Our 15U team had some ups and downs last year, but at the end of the season were battling some of the great older 16U teams down to the wire. Our 16U squad struggled with injuries but managed to stick with it, and lost a nail-biter in the CPBL semi-finals. Our 18U team went above and beyond with minimal pitching. They were finalists at a tournament at the University of Michigan and were quarter-final bound in the CPBL, eventually losing in extras.

“We were very proud of the teams in our league, especially with the players moving on to college and even professional baseball. I’m sure this goes for every program in the league, but the level of competition in the CPBL amps up the work ethic that our players bring in each day and just shows that the CPBL is the real deal.”

The Nationals have made a number of additions throughout the winter months, increasing their number of teams and staff at multiple age groups, and expanding their footprint in the CPBL.

“We have added 11U, 12U, 13U and 14U teams this winter,” Jayaweera said. “Our 11U to 13U groups will be playing in their respective leagues trained by the Ontario Nationals staff and the 14U will play in the CPBL this upcoming season. We had a lot of players turn out to tryouts and requests to play. We sat down as a staff and decided that in order to build this program the right way for the future we have to start teaching at a young level. We are developing our young players through practice. We have come out with our Long-Term Development Plan that is facilitated by Baseball Canada. We are very happy with the results so far and each family’s dedication to our program.

“We have also added some coaches and instructors to our program. Jackson Martin, Nationals alumni who played four years at Eastern Michigan University has decided to coach with our 14U squad this season. Mitch Clarke, a 19th-round Reds draft pick in 2009 has also decided to help out with our pitchers, and coach with the 14U team. Aaron Hornostaj, a Giants draft pick, will be instructing with us during our winter workouts and hopefully able to help manage a team during the spring or summer.

“With these additions, we have brought experience, talent, and bright minds to help our players, to add to what we already have in the minds of Shawn Gillespie, Dan Mendham, and our other coaches who put in a tremendous amount of time to help these players. We know we will be ready come spring.”

Heading into the second CPBL season, just getting into their indoor baseball workouts on Saturday for the first time this year, Jayaweera and the Nationals are looking forward to continuing getting ready with some time in the sunshine down south after enjoying their pre-season tournament time so much last spring.

“We are going to Florida in March, once again to Vero Beach, Dodgertown,” the program’s recruiting coordinator said. “The organization had a blast last year, so we wanted to try it again. We are working out during the winter at Playball Academy Canada in Kitchener, Ontario and the players also go to Sport Specific Training Waterloo for strength and conditioning.”

Knowing what the CPBL has to offer, the Nationals program is excited and more prepared for the upcoming year, looking forward to bringing their best to the table among the best in the province and making consistent improvements along the way.

“Our expectations for the season for each team and each player is to improve each week,” Jayaweera said. “We are not worried about winning a championship or how many wins we can get in a single season. It is about the players, the development, and building success by doing the right things on and of the field.

“We know the competition can speak for itself in this league, which assures us that our players will be ready each weekend. We know we cannot focus on what other organizations are doing, we have to come together as a group and make sure our players are ready on May 1st. The Nationals have made heavy strides the past couple of years to change things up within the organization, and the hard work is paying off.”

With the majority of their players returning to the program after this CPBL season, the Nats are ecstatic for those who have made and are in the midst of making their commitments to colleges south of the border, knowing more will come as they get out on the field.

“We have had a couple of commitments this winter, with Carson Burns heading to Western Texas Community College and Rhys Cornell heading to Colby College in Kansas,” Jayaweera said. “Both guys have worked hard over the past couple years. Both really came into the picture last season with breakout stats. The organization could not be happier for both players and their families. We have a few more players who have not decided on schools yet and more than a handful of players who will be returning to the Nationals program in the fall of this year.”

CPBL dominates the scene in inaugural season

With only one Canadian Premier Baseball League season in the books, the circuit has already proven to be a dominant force in the game both within the province of Ontario and in the country, leading the amateur scene in draft picks, prospects, college scholarship opportunities, interest from scouts and recruiters, and members of the Canadian Junior National Team.

Bringing together the top players from the Toronto Mets, Team Ontario, Ontario Nationals, Ontario Blue Jays, Great Lake Canadians and Fieldhouse Pirates programs, the CPBL provides the highest level of competition around, in combination with furthering the development of the players within it as well as the calibre of the game north of the border.

“The level of competition in the CPBL was overall pretty good throughout the league,” said Adam Hall, shortstop for the Great Lake Canadians and Canada’s top prospect heading into the upcoming draft. “Although there were definitely stronger and weaker teams, there was never a matchup where a team had no chance of winning.”

Having played around the world with Team Canada, and across North America for a variety of tournaments and showcases over the last four years, Hall offers unique insight into just how much having the CPBL at home can mean for the players involved.

“It was very successful in its first season,” the Bermuda-born native of London, Ont., said. “It proved that it is possible to have a league that is more concerned about developing players rather than a league that is purely about winning and following the rules exactly, causing players to maybe not develop or grow as much as they could’ve due to the restrictions that hold them back. In the end, at this age, although winning is nice and all, what the main concern should be is preparing the players for their next step whether that be college, university, or pro ball, so that they can be successful there.

“The CPBL has found a way to bring all the best players into one league as there are no zone restrictions keeping them apart. They are all playing against each other every weekend, which is exactly what you want when it comes to making sure the players are developing as much as possible.”

Fielding nine teams at the 18U level in its inaugural season, with 35 total teams participating among all age groups, the CPBL allowed each program to have more games on home soil, consistently attracting a number of area scouts and recruiters, and providing highly-anticipated matchups each weekend among some of the country’s top talent.

“The CPBL was great in its first year,” said Mike Steed, director of pitching and college placement for the OBJ program. “There were no hiccups, nothing like that. From a competitive standpoint, it forced my guys to come out and compete every day. You really couldn’t take any innings off, which we look for, especially for their development and moving on with our 18s going into college. It pushed them to compete every day.”

In June, 12 Canadian high schoolers were selected in the draft, with all six of those hailing from Ontario coming from the CPBL. Toronto Mets catcher Andrew Yerzy was the first one off the board, selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the second round, 52nd overall, and eventually signing for $1,214,100 before heading off to spend his season between the Arizona League and the Pioneer League.

Ontario Blue Jays righty Jordan Balazovic was taken in the fifth round, 153rd overall, by the Minnesota Twins, eventually signing for $515,000 and spending his first professional season with the Gulf Coast League Twins, posting a 1.97 ERA over eight games and 32 innings before turning 18 years old.

OBJ catcher Luke Van Rycheghem was chosen by the Diamondbacks in the 23rd round and spent his first pro season in the AZL after signing for $100,000. Mets southpaw Matt Jones was taken by Minnesota, and the 28th-round selection shared his rookie season with Balazovic in the GCL after he signed for $70,000.

Great Lake right-hander Austin Shields was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates organization in the 33rd round and got in just over six innings of work in the GCL after signing for $205,000 just before the deadline. His Canadians teammate and outfielder Jake Wilson was taken in the 39th round by the Boston Red Sox, and opted to fulfill his commitment to Bowling Green State University.

In September, the Toronto Blue Jays-hosted Tournament 12 offered an example of just how bright the future is for the league, with CPBL players dominating its Ontario and Futures rosters, supplying the majority of talent from the area. Of the event’s total of just over 160 players from across the entire country, 52 spent the season in the CPBL with the Blue Jays, Canadians, Mets and Nationals, along with four of the tournament’s coaches.

“It’s a great sign of what our league has accomplished in such a short time,” said Kyle Fillier, 16U field manager for the Toronto Mets. “We are confident that we have the best players, coaches, and teams in the province. This is a testament to the league, and we will continue to showcase the best players to the most scouts and colleges.”

The highly touted and scouted tournament saw an Ontario team finish on top, with a roster that included 17 CPBL players and two coaches earning the championship victory. Hall was named the Tournament 12 MVP after helping his squad to that win and dominating throughout the entirety of the event.

Heading toward June this year, many of the top high school players hailing from the Great White North will be playing in the CPBL before looking to the draft. Hall, committed to the Texas A&M Aggies, ranks first on both the PBR Ontario and Canadian Baseball Network’s draft lists, and is No. 16 among Baseball America’s Top 100 high schoolers.

Coming in at No. 2 for PBR, Texas commit and right-handed hurler Landon Leach is a product of the Mets, ranking at No. 42 for BA, and second on the CBN list. PBR’s No. 3 Dondrae Bremner is Leach’s Mets teammate, and the infielder is committed to Cincinnati. No. 4 for PBR Ontario is Cooper Davis, an outfielder in the OBJ program. The Vanderbilt commit also ranks fourth on CBN’s draft list – after University of Kentucky right-hander Zach Pop, formerly an OBJ pitcher – and comes in at No. 77 on BA’s top 100.

Among PBR’s top 10, every player hails from one of the CPBL programs, with 66 of the top 100 Ontarians participating in the circuit in its first year. Just under 40 players from the league are also committed to a variety of different American colleges with various scholarship opportunities.

Ontario Blue Jays crowned inaugural champions of the CPBL

The Ontario Blue Jays are the inaugural champions of the Canadian Premier Baseball League, crowned the winners in the top division of the circuit after a 9-3 win over the Toronto Mets 18U squad to finish the season.

It took six wins to get through the playoff weekend, and a hard-fought battle to take down the toughest teams in the division, and the Ontario Blue Jays squad led by Mike Steed, the director of pitching and college placement for the program, used a younger roster than it had for the majority of the regular season to get the job done.

“We had two 18U teams this year, so it wasn’t necessarily my roster that won,” Steed said. “We took all the kids who were primarily on the other roster, the guys who are 2017 grads, guys who can come back, plus three just-graduated pitchers. So it was all of our young guys who played, which was great because it gave me a chance to see them or for them to be around me.”

Heading into post-season play, Steed’s message to his players was simple, just to play to the best of their abilities and use that to be the best team on the field. He was impressed by what his squad managed to do, and how quickly they came together as a cohesive unit.

“For that group, it was just the way they came out,” Steed said. “We always ask them to just play hard. It’s pretty simple, not a whole lot of rocket science – let their talent take over, but be faster, quicker, more intent than the other team, and they showed that. It’s something they heard me use some different words about, how we approach it and all that, and quickly they bought in. I saw them this summer, we travelled together, so I got a chance to see them play, but they just clicked. We pitched well and the team can really swing it.”

Winning the league’s championship was the icing on the cake for Steed to seeing what the future holds for his Ontario Blue Jays, and having the success of the players from both his squad and the younger team as they mingled.

“It’s great, and in the first year in the league, I thought the whole year went well for our entire organization,” Steed said. “And then to just cap the year off going undefeated [in playoffs] was a huge them. For them being able to manage six games in four days, and three nines in three days, I was pretty proud of them. They represented us very well.”

The program’s 16U team led by Sean Travers also won their division of the CPBL, giving the Ontario Blue Jays a clean sweep of championships at the highest two levels of the loop, and making a couple of coaches very proud of both their players and their staff.

“I’m ecstatic for the program and the Ontario Blue Jays,” Steed said. “It says a lot about not just Sean and myself but our entire coaching staff. My guys who are with me, [assistant coaches] Kevin Mitchell and Milt Nikkel and Lawrence Collymore, without those guys and without Sean’s staff and the 15U coaches and the 16U staff, we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing. It’s a compliment to those guys as well.”

Added Travers: “It’s a testament to all the players and all the families, and how much work the coaches put in. This is not by accident. The coaches, the families, the players all put in an incredible effort and make incredible sacrifices, and to win them is kind of the reward for that.”

Happy with the way the inaugural season in the CPBL went, and certainly with how it ended, Steed and the Ontario Blue Jays are looking forward to more as the circuit progresses.

“The CPBL was great in its first year,” he said. “There were no hiccups, nothing like that. From a competitive standpoint, it forced my guys to come out and compete every day. You really couldn’t take any innings off, which we look for, especially for their development and moving on with our 18s going into college.

“It pushed them to compete every day. Obviously with a new league there are certain things, the all-star game was a great idea and unfortunately mother nature didn’t let that happen, and then having the league tournament is an added bonus we haven’t had over the last couple years.”

OBJ Travers squad wins inaugural CPBL 16U championship

In its inaugural season, the Canadian Premier Baseball League crowned its first champions at the two highest divisions on Sunday afternoon, with the Ontario Blue Jays coming out on top of the Toronto Mets at both the 16U and 18U levels.

The Ontario Blue Jays Travers squad, one that finished atop the 16U regular-season standings with a 28-3 record, took down the Toronto Mets Orange squad 6-3 at Bond Park in North York to capture the division after continuing its strong run through the circuit’s playoffs.

“This was probably the best group of competitors that I’ve ever had, one through 19, they just competed every day,” said Sean Travers, the director of player development for the OBJ program and head coach of the championship 16U squad. “Everybody just contributed. It was a team based around starters. All 19 guys contributed and all 19 guys fought the entire game.”

During a season in which Travers saw his team go from being “guys who played baseball to baseball players,” he found that the way they clawed back in a tough final matchup against the Mets – who finished the regular season with a 17-11 record – was a fitting end to how they played their entire summer.

“It was their absolute fight that made me most proud,” Travers said. “They never gave up. For the first two weeks of our road trip, we only had 16 players, so guys were playing all the time and nobody ever quit the entire year, and then the final game was kind of like a summary of our whole season.

“We got down three to [Mets hurler, Canadian Junior National Team member and Pickering native] Landon Leach and against 16-year-olds, three runs for Landon Leach should be enough, but our guys kept fighting and fighting and fighting. They got back in the game, the little guys got on…the big guys drove them in, and that’s the way all good teams at any levels are.”

With an incredibly well-rounded lineup and staff, including Leach’s Team Canada teammate and Torontonian Harley Gollert, who threw a complete game for the OBJ squad in the win, Travers had tough decisions to make all season long, trying to get everyone out on the field as much as possible.

“As a coach, it makes it harder,” he said. “There are 13 guys who should be in that starting lineup every day. As a coach, when you can go with the hot hand it’s easy, when you just have those eight guys to choose from. But there are 12 or 13 guys every day who deserved to be in that lineup, so it makes my job hard and that’s the way I like it.”

Finishing atop the ladder in both the regular season and in post-season play in the CPBL, Travers is excited about what the new league brought to the table in its inaugural year, and is looking forward to much more as it continues its progression.

“Our record was pretty outstanding,” Travers said. “I thought the league was really good, especially in its first year. We only got to play the Great Lake Canadians four times, so playing the teams that we regularly play, I really like the fact that we actually got to compete for something in the end.

“I thought the league had an awesome first year, and there are definitely improvements we can make going forward to make this league even better. The league is already better than what we came from, but next year and the year after we’ll just keep getting better. There are baseball guys leading it and I would think they’ll make good baseball decisions.”

Seeing the OBJ Steed squad come out on top of the league at the 18U level on Sunday and completing a clean sweep for the program at both of the highest divisions made the win even better for Travers, who couldn’t be happier for the success of the CPBL and the program.

“It’s a testament to all the players and all the families, and how much work the coaches put in,” Travers said. “This is not by accident. The coaches, the families, the players all put in an incredible effort and make incredible sacrifices, and to win them is kind of the reward for that.”

CPBL playoffs set to get underway Thursday

Canadian Premier Baseball League playoffs are set to get underway, with the 18U teams playing their post-season games between Dorchester and St. Marys, and the 16U squads hosted in North York and Aurora.

Pool play games on Thursday and Friday will be seven-inning contests, with bracket play on Saturday and Sunday to be scheduled for nine innings. There will be no time restraints on any of the matchups and no scoring limitations. Should any games be rained out, Monday will be used as a makeup date.

With nine teams in the 16U division, two pools have been arranged with four games in each pool before the semi-finals and the championship matchup. The pool with fewer squads will play two contests against one team based on seeding and an advantage for finishing in first place. The semi-final round will feature crossover between pools.

Teams will be seeded once pool play is completed, first taking into account the records of each of the squads, then the runs allowed and finally the runs they’ve scored.

At the 18U level, Pool 1 will be home to the Ontario Blue Jays, the Great Lake Canadians 17U team, the Ontario Nationals and Team Ontario, and will see their first round of games take place in St. Marys at the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. The second pool hosts both the 17U and 18U Toronto Mets squads, the 18U Great Lake Canadians, and the Fieldhouse Pirates, with Thursday and Friday games in Dorchester at the Field of Dreams.

The nine-inning games to follow on the weekend will be played in a single-elimination format, with three matchups at each diamond on Saturday and the 18U championship game at one o’clock on Sunday afternoon at the Field of Dreams.

In the 16U division, the first pool will be home to the Ontario Blue Jays Travers squad, the Ontario Nationals White team, the Toronto Mets Blue team, and the Fieldhouse Pirates, with the first round of games to take place in North York at Bond Park. In Pool 2, matchups will take place at Stewart Burnett Park in Aurora and host the Great Lake Canadians, the Toronto Mets Orange squad, Team Ontario, the Ontario Blue Jays Roumel team, and the Ontario Nationals Red squad.

Fieldhouse Pirates take first CPBL 14U championship

In its inaugural season, the Canadian Premier Baseball League welcomed teams from seven programs and at five different age groups, with winners crowned at the three youngest divisions to end the month of June.

The Tri-City Giants finished as champions at both the 12U and 13U levels, with the Fieldhouse Pirates winning the 14U division in the circuit’s first year. Playoffs at the two highest age groups will finish their seasons at the end of July.

After finishing second in the regular season with an 11-6-2 record to a tough Great Lake Canadians squad that went undefeated and racked up 21 wins, the Fieldhouse Pirates completed their post-season run in Kitchener to come out victorious in their age bracket, reaping the benefits of the CPBL competition throughout the entire year.

“The competition our 14U team played at home, week in and week out, was incredible,” said Jimmy Richardson, director of player development for the Pirates program. “Having the opportunity to have our players compete against the best in the province at their age level has been a huge bonus to their overall development.

“The playoff tournament was intense. Every inning and every at-bat is magnified in a double-elimination tournament, and our guys were able to pull off a couple wins in one-run ball games against some good teams. The whole organization is proud of the way our 14s played and competed over the weekend, and it bodes well for our future.”

The 13U Giants held their reign atop the CPBL after going 16-1 in the regular season to finish in first place, and the 12U squad from the Tri-City area came out on top after finishing second in the regular season to the Ontario Blue Jays Naylor team.

“Our 12U team had a number of great matchups that enabled them to improve every weekend throughout the season,” said Jeff Young, the president of the executive board for the Giants. “This served them well as they headed into the championship weekend.

“Our 13U team, for the most part, cruised through the regular season. However, once the playoffs hit the intensity level increased and the games became much closer. Our 13s have a solid core, and came together as a unit after losing their opening game to run the table, capturing the championship.

“Both teams enjoyed being able to play a high level of baseball in front of their local family and friends to wrap up their CPBL seasons.”

Both organizations have been extremely proud of their squads and excited about the first year of the new league, and are looking forward to what more will come as both the circuit and their own programs progress, for all involved.

“The Giants are extremely proud of our championship 12U and 13U teams,” Young said. “Throughout the off-season we knew we had something special with these kids and they came together both on and off the field, which was a joy to watch throughout the season.”

Programs that participated in the inaugural CPBL season included not only the Giants, Pirates, Canadians and Ontario Blue Jays, but also the Toronto Mets, Ontario Nationals and Team Ontario.

Tri-City Giants are inaugural CPBL champs at 12U and 13U levels

In its inaugural season, the Canadian Premier Baseball League welcomed teams from seven programs and at five different age groups, with winners crowned at the three youngest divisions to end the month of June.

The Tri-City Giants finished as champions at both the 12U and 13U levels, with the Fieldhouse Pirates winning the 14U division in the circuit’s first year. Playoffs at the two highest age groups will finish their seasons at the end of July.

After finishing second in the regular season with an 11-6-2 record to a tough Great Lake Canadians squad that went undefeated and racked up 21 wins, the Fieldhouse Pirates completed their post-season run in Kitchener to come out victorious in their age bracket, reaping the benefits of the CPBL competition throughout the entire year.

“The competition our 14U team played at home, week in and week out, was incredible,” said Jimmy Richardson, director of player development for the Pirates program. “Having the opportunity to have our players compete against the best in the province at their age level has been a huge bonus to their overall development.

“The playoff tournament was intense. Every inning and every at-bat is magnified in a double-elimination tournament, and our guys were able to pull off a couple wins in one-run ball games against some good teams. The whole organization is proud of the way our 14s played and competed over the weekend, and it bodes well for our future.”

The 13U Giants held their reign atop the CPBL after going 16-1 in the regular season to finish in first place, and the 12U squad from the Tri-City area came out on top after finishing second in the regular season to the Ontario Blue Jays Naylor team.

“Our 12U team had a number of great matchups that enabled them to improve every weekend throughout the season,” said Jeff Young, the president of the executive board for the Giants. “This served them well as they headed into the championship weekend.

“Our 13U team, for the most part, cruised through the regular season. However, once the playoffs hit the intensity level increased and the games became much closer. Our 13s have a solid core, and came together as a unit after losing their opening game to run the table, capturing the championship.

“Both teams enjoyed being able to play a high level of baseball in front of their local family and friends to wrap up their CPBL seasons.”

Both organizations have been extremely proud of their squads and excited about the first year of the new league, and are looking forward to what more will come as both the circuit and their own programs progress, for all involved.

“The Giants are extremely proud of our championship 12U and 13U teams,” Young said. “Throughout the off-season we knew we had something special with these kids and they came together both on and off the field, which was a joy to watch throughout the season.”

Programs that participated in the inaugural CPBL season included not only the Giants, Pirates, Canadians and Ontario Blue Jays, but also the Toronto Mets, Ontario Nationals and Team Ontario.