CUBANS LAND SAFELY, ASIAN TEAMS ARRIVE TODAY, TEAM CANADA ROSTER ANNOUNCED August 12, 2013 A tip – anyone who wants a sneak peek at the Cuban Baseball Federation representative at the World Baseball Challenge should stop by Rotary Field today (Monday) at 3 pm – that’s when and where the Ciego de Avila Tigres, the champions of the Cuban National Series (their major league baseball) in 2011-12, will be working out in preparation for the international tournament, and their first game, which is scheduled for Wednesday evening (7 pm) against JX-Eneos of Japan. The colourful Ciego de Avila team arrived at Prince George Airport on Sunday evening, the players clad in team track suits and wearing matching royal blue Che Guevara t-shirts. Team personnel immediately started talking about defending Cuba’s title, won in the last World Baseball Challenge in 2011. Today, Japan arrives at 5 pm, and Chinese Taipei’s flight will touch down at 8:30 pm. USA arrives at midnight, and Canadian players are starting to arrive from various parts of the country, ready to be draped in the Maple Leaf. ---------------- Team Canada’s manager is Darren Doucette, a veteran of the professional and senior ranks who has played in the previous two World Baseball Challenge tournaments. Doucette, the manager of the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry, multiple-time national champions, aggressively put together a roster that can put Canada on the top of the heap. Doucette was an ideal choice to run the team because of his experience at the event, and his admiration for how Prince George gets behind the World Baseball Challenge. He is one of the most-respected men in Canadian senior baseball not just for his accomplishments on the field as a slugging DH, but also his intensity as a coach. “I’ve been fortunate to make a lot of friends in Canadian baseball, and I think I called almost every one of them to put this team together – I’m excited to get it going,” said Doucette, a former St. Louis Cardinals organizational player who arrived in Prince George on Sunday. “We have top-end offensive players, we’ll be strong defensively, and I’m very excited about our pitching staff. We’re glad to utilize a lot of local players as well in some of the roles you need to be successful as well. People like Brandon Hunter, Brooklyn Foster, Jeremy Kral and Justin Fillion have been successful at high levels and will certainly represent Prince George well. You have to have to depth to grind out nine innings at this level of baseball – this is one of the best tournaments in the world. “We have guys from across the country who can’t wait to wear the cap and play for their country against some of the best teams they’ll ever see.” Doucette, a big fan favourite as a player for the Prince George Westcana Axemen in 2009 and with Team Canada in 2011, will be assisted by Darrell Gervais of Prince George, Harold Northcott of Edmonton, and Trevor Strandlund of Victoria. Familiar names for Team Canada will be Charlie Strandlund of Victoria, Dustin Northcott of Edmonton, Jared Johnson of Kelowna, Rob Recuenco of Burnaby, and Mitch Hodge of Vancouver. Local players include Hunter, Fillion, Foster, Kral, Cole Laviolette, Curtis Sawchuk, Chris Clark, Cortez Chappell, Tyrus Jocko and Graham Allard. Gervais, Kral, Hunter and Fillion were all key parts of the Prince George Axemen winning the 2012 Baseball Canada Senior Championship at Citizen Field last August, as the host team. “We have a lot of players to watch, such as outfielder Jackson Gooch, who was the top hitter at McNeese State last year, former Gonzaga starting shortstop Jason Chatwood of Red Deer, and we have two former national junior team catchers in Brooklyn Foster and Larry Balkwill of London,” said Doucette. “There won’t be any easy outs in our lineup. We’ll run out some live young arms like Skylar Janisse, Billy Martin, Sean Callegheri and David Hatt. Our veteran pitchers, Mitch Hodge, Ryan Eiswerth and Dustin Northcott, know how to get outs. This is going to be a great test for us all, and a lot of fun with the atmosphere at Citizen Field.” Manager – Darren Doucette; Coaches – Trevor Strandlund, Harold Northcott, Darrell Gervais Catchers (4) – Jeremy Kral (Prince George), Larry Balkwill (London), Brooklyn Foster (Prince George), Cole Laviolette (Prince George) Infielders (7) – Jared Johnson SS (Kelowna), Justin Fillion 2B (Prince George), Jason Chatwood 2B (Red Deer), Sean Reilly 1B (Toronto), John Waltenbury DH (Toronto), Rob Recuenco 3B (Burnaby), 3B Casey Smith (Kelowna) Outfielders (5) – Brandon Hunter (Prince George), Aaron Dunsmore (Edmonton), Charlie Strandlund (Victoria), Jackson Gooch (Ladner), Chris Clark (Prince George) Pitchers (13) – Dustin Northcott RHP (Edmonton), Mitch Hodge RHP (Burnaby), Cortez Chappell, RHP (Prince George), RHP Eric Hall (Oakville/Chicago State), RHP Billy Martin (Medicine Hat/WMBL), RHP David Hatt (Medicine Hat/WMBL), RHP Kyle Mackay (Medicine Hat/WMBL), RHP Skylar Janisse (Windsor), RHP Ryan Eiswerth (Langley), LHP Sean Callegheri (Vancouver), LHP Curtis Sawchuk (Prince George), RHP Graham Allard (Prince George), Ty Jocko RHP (Prince George/Victoria).
Posted on: Tue, 13 Aug 2013 00:24:26 +0000
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