2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Table of Contents 1. Message from the BNS President, Andrew Downs 2. Finances – Holly LaPierre 2.1 Income Statement 2.2 Balance Sheet 3. Coaching – Cory Boutilier 4. Officials – Blaine Gallant 5. Girls Baseball – Mike Crawford 6. BNS Programs 6.1 Rally Cap 6.2 Winterball 6.3 Challenger Baseball – Randy Crouse 6.4 High Performance 6.5 Bluenose League 6.6 Provincial Championships 7. Atlantic Championship Results 8. National Championship Results 9. Regional Reports 9.1 Cape Breton – Brad Stevens 9.2 Northern – Chris Hatchard 9.3 Metro North – Bill Laurette 9.4 Metro South – Stephan Handerek 9.5 Southern – Chris Zinck 10. 2019 By the Numbers 11. 2019 Year in Review
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
1. Message from the President – Andrew Downs
Building on the success that Baseball Nova Scotia enjoyed in 2018, the 2019 season was quite busy as I will touch on below. Baseball Nova Scotia was named the Baseball Canada Province of the Year in November 2018. BNS won this prestigious award as a result of being scored extremely high in a number of categories. The scorings ranked BNS against our nine Provincial counterparts. BNS rankings in the country included: • 1st in Programs • 1st in Governance • 2nd in Coaching • 1st in Umpires • 2nd in Championships • 5th in Registration
Months of work have resulted in Baseball Nova Scotia’s Strategic Plan 2019-2023. Stakeholders from around the province participated in a development weekend in December 2018. The following months resulted in the document you will see presented during the 2019 AGM weekend. Overall athlete membership saw a 6% increase (7292 to 7725) Four new Coach Developers were trained in St. John's, Newfoundland this past March. All four have begun co-facilitating or completing their requirements to be active Coach Developers. These newly trained coach developers address a regional need in Cape Breton and South Shore. Actively organized event with Newfoundland. 2019 saw BNS host it's first ever all girl Provincial Championship (12U) Five teams participated and was a huge success. Plan to expand programming for 2020, including more Provincial events, and a girls league. These are among several other initiatives within our Strategic Plan and Yearly Outcomes focused on athlete, recruitment, coaches, and officials. VP of Girls Baseball still very active with staff in promotion of the girls game. All female NCCP clinic trained nine new female coaches. Also continued partnership with Canadian Girls Baseball. In total, 257 (up from 237 in 2018 - 9% increase) children with varying disabilities and approximately 600 (up from 345 in 2018 - 74% increase) buddies participated. Baseball5 Pilot was hosted in Prospect, NS. In partnership with Baseball Canada and Sport Canada, BNS ran the pilot at Prospect Road Elementary school. 30 kids participated in four weeks of sessions, while data was tracked by volunteers from Kidsport Nova Scotia. Blue Jays Winter Tour came to Halifax and BNS associations assisted in organizing baseball camp for players Hosted very successful Baseball Canada 16U Girls Nationals in Bedford, and Baseball Canada 13 AAA Atlantics in Dartmouth. Hosted 13U AA Atlantic Championships in Springhill. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Jake Sanford became highest drafted Nova Scotian ever, going in the 3rd round of the MLB draft to the Yankees. Sanford was also nominated for the Dick Howser Trophy for his great season at McCook University. Alex Lawrie debuted in the Gulf Coast League, becoming first Nova Scotian umpire hired by Minor League Baseball in 17 years. Evan O'Toole (Bridgewater) and Micah McDowell (Kentville) represented Canada at the 19U World Championships in South Korea. It is rare for Nova Scotia to have two representatives on the Junior team in the same year. Katie Hagen (Dartmouth) represented Canada at the Pan Am Women’s Championship in Mexico. The Sandlot field opens in Antigonish as the provinces first full accessible field. The 17U Selects made history by capturing the provinces first Gold Medal at the Canada Cup. The team went 5-1, and defeated Ontario 3-2 in the final game to capture the National Championship. The Dartmouth Senior Dry came just short of capturing another National Championship, capturing the Silver Medal at the Senior Men’s National Championship in Chatham, NB. BNS saw both it’s 16U Girls team finish in the top 6 at the 16U Girls National Championship in Bedford. Nova Scotia and Quebec are the only provinces to ever have two teams reach the playoff round in the same year at a female National Championship. The World Series trophy visited Halifax. In partnership with Baseball NS, the Red Sox surprised 11U players in the middle of their game to take some pictures with the trophy. BNS presented an adaptive Baseball5 variation in wheelchairs to physical education teachers at a conference in Mulgrave. BNS and NAIG 2020 (North American Indigenous Games) developed a partnership agreement. BNS will assist in the delivery of the baseball portion of the event, which will be the largest multi- sport event ever hosted in Nova Scotia. BNS has also committed to providing support and training to Team Nova Scotia, and spearheading development initiatives in Indigenous communities across the province. BNS conducted close to 40 development sessions around the province in Winterball, Rally Cap, My First Pitch, and Recreational Coach Development sessions. Provincial team fundraiser was done all via social media and raised over $19,000 for Provincial teams. 27 Provincial Championships, two National Eliminations, six Provincial Qualifiers, and nine Provincial Classification tournaments hosted by BNS. 13 Bluenose Leagues featuring 110 teams played June through August. Darren Doucette lead coaching sessions in five communities specific to hitting. After massive increases in new coaches and officials in 2018, those numbers held steady in 2019. NCCP clinic attendance records were shattered in 2019 with 566 participants (compared to the previous record of 483 in 2018). Approximately 488 officials participated in training in 2019 (compared to 521 in 2018). 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
To the out going board and executive members, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with you. I sincerely thankyou for all you have contributed to further grow and develop the organization. Have a great off season and look forward to the 2020 season.
Andrew Downs President, Baseball Nova Scotia
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
2. Finance 2.1 Income Statement
Baseball Nova Scotia Comparative Income Statement
Budget 2019-04-01 to Actual 2019-04-01 to 2020-03-31 2019-10-31 Difference REVENUE
REVENUE Membership Fees 173,000.00 182,110.00 -9,110.00 Provincial Championship Fees 24,000.00 24,300.00 -300.00 Bluenose League Fees 18,000.00 17,100.00 900.00 REGISTRATION TOTAL 215,000.00 223,510.00 -8,510.00 NCCP Clinic Registration 5,000.00 4,270.00 730.00 Participation Funding Grant 20,000.00 0.00 20,000.00 Core Funding Grant 46,250.00 66,250.00 -20,000.00 Excellence Funding Grant 13,750.00 0.00 13,750.00 S4S Funding PSO 0.00 2,500.02 -2,500.02 Provincial Coach Grant 35,000.00 17,500.02 17,499.98 TOTAL PROVINCIAL GRANTS 115,000.00 86,250.04 28,749.96 Student Employment Grant 6,737.66 7,431.50 -693.84 Rally Cap Hats 1,500.00 1,786.00 -286.00 Awards Banquet 1,500.00 990.00 510.00 Fines/Appeals 0.00 700.00 -700.00 Provincial Team Fundraising 0.00 4,006.21 -4,006.21 Miscellaneous Revenue 7,000.00 15,205.60 -8,205.60 Interest Revenue 1,350.00 269.57 1,080.43 TOTAL REVENUE 353,087.66 344,418.92 8,668.74
TOTAL REVENUE 353,087.66 344,418.92 8,668.74
EXPENSE
PAYROLL Payroll 147,875.14 81,966.22 65,908.92 MERC Expense 10,098.70 5,817.81 4,280.89 RRSP Expense 4,730.18 2,364.89 2,365.29 Group Ins. & MMC Expense 2,114.16 1,061.04 1,053.12 Payroll Expense 100.00 189.30 -89.30 TOTAL PAYROLL 164,918.18 91,399.26 73,518.92 *
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
GENERAL & ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE
Interest and Bank Charges 500.00 445.50 54.50 Merchant Fees 0.00 136.50 -136.50 Bad Debt 0.00 2,260.00 -2,260.00 Baseball Canada Membership 13,100.00 13,100.00 0.00 Baseball Atlantic Membership 500.00 550.00 -50.00 Sport Nova Scotia Membership 345.00 345.00 0.00 TOTAL MEMBERSHIP 13,945.00 13,995.00 -50.00 Office Travel 800.00 1,574.34 -774.34 Baseball Canada Meetings - Staff 3,500.00 1,617.80 1,882.20 Professional Development 3,000.00 0.00 3,000.00 Homewood Health 0.00 86.94 -86.94 Rent & Storage 3,500.00 2,100.34 1,399.66 Cell Phones 3,500.00 2,050.95 1,449.05 Printing 700.00 1,552.28 -852.28 Office Equipment 500.00 27.36 472.64 Parking 5,700.00 3,984.75 1,715.25 Network & Internet 1,650.00 1,415.21 234.79 Office Phone/Fax 0.00 199.86 -199.86 Office Supplies 0.00 216.95 -216.95 Mailing & Shipping 700.00 446.69 253.31 Licences and Fees 31.15 31.15 0.00 TOTAL OFFICE EXPENSE 23,581.15 15,304.62 8,276.53 Provincial Medals 5,600.00 5,492.95 107.05 Provincial Banners 800.00 891.25 -91.25 Provincial Hosting Stipends 13,000.00 12,483.20 516.80 Provincial BNS Line 1,000.00 250.00 750.00 TOTAL PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 20,400.00 19,117.40 1,282.60 Board Meetings 1,500.00 440.73 1,059.27 Baseball Canada Meetings - Board 2,500.00 151.56 2,348.44 Regional Meetings 1,500.00 0.00 1,500.00 Standing Committee Expense 2,000.00 0.00 2,000.00 TOTAL BOARD EXPENSE 7,500.00 592.29 6,907.71 Nationals Hosting Stipend 2,500.00 2,500.00 0.00 Atlantics Hosting Stipend 1,000.00 1,000.00 0.00 Awards Banquet 13,000.00 0.00 13,000.00 NCCP Facilitator 10,000.00 13,276.58 -3,276.58 NCCP Materials 1,100.00 737.81 362.19 NCCP Facility Rental 400.00 115.00 285.00 TOTAL NCCP CLINIC EXPENSE 11,500.00 14,129.39 -2,629.39 Insurance 14,920.00 15,666.00 -746.00 17U Provincial Team 4,000.00 4,479.85 -479.85 15U Provincial Team 2,000.00 2,000.00 0.00 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
16U Girls Provincial Team 2,000.00 1,540.00 460.00 21U Girls Provincial Team 2,000.00 2,000.00 0.00 13U Provincial Team 1,500.00 2,000.00 -500.00 14U Girls Provincial Team 1,000.00 0.00 1,000.00 Provincial Team Fundraising Expense 0.00 4,297.51 -4,297.51 TOTAL PROVINVIAL TEAM EXPENSE 12,500.00 16,317.36 -3,817.36 Rally Cap 2,250.00 5,879.82 -3,629.82 My First Pitch 2,000.00 0.00 2,000.00 Challenger 2,000.00 1,892.99 107.01 Girls Grassroots 2,000.00 270.00 1,730.00 Winterball 3,000.00 676.59 2,323.41 Recreational Baseball 3,500.00 2,015.79 1,484.21 TOTAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 14,750.00 10,735.19 4,014.81 Rally Cap Hats 3,000.00 0.00 3,000.00 Umpires Rulebooks 250.00 575.00 -325.00 Umpires Development 7,500.00 7,500.00 0.00 Website & Database 3,700.00 3,645.60 54.40 Atlantic Travel Stipend 2,500.00 2,500.00 0.00 National Travel Stipend 3,000.00 3,000.00 0.00 TOTAL CLUB TRAVEL EXPENSE 5,500.00 5,500.00 0.00 Provincial Coach NCCP & PD 2,300.00 0.00 2,300.00 TOTAL COACH DEVELOPMENT 2,300.00 0.00 2,300.00 Bluenose League Fields 200.00 0.00 200.00 Bluenose League Medals 1,000.00 899.88 100.12 TOTAL BLUENOSE LEAGUE EXPENSE 1,200.00 899.88 300.12 Marketing Initiative 1,000.00 227.25 772.75 KidSport Donation 1,500.00 3,500.00 -2,000.00 Legal Fees 15,000.00 3,787.60 11,212.40 Miscellaneous Expense 6,000.00 1,026.55 4,973.45 TOTAL GENERAL & ADMIN EXPENSE 183,046.15 138,861.13 44,185.02
TOTAL EXPENSE 347,964.33 230,260.39 117,703.94
NET INCOME 5,123.33 114,158.53 -109,035.20
*Does not include October payroll
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
2.2 Balance Sheet
Baseball Nova Scotia Balance Sheet As at 2019-10-31
ASSET
ASSETS Investment GIC 58,546.80 Scotiabank Operating 127,106.72 Payroll Bank 21,332.09 Accounts Receivable 18,065.00 TOTAL ASSETS 225,050.61
TOTAL ASSET 225,050.61
LIABILITY
LIABILITIES Payroll Payable 3,360.85 Defered Revenue 2,499.98 TOTAL LIABILITIES 5,860.83
TOTAL LIABILITY 5,860.83
EQUITY
EQUITY Retained Earnings 105,031.25 Current Earnings 114,158.53 TOTAL EQUITY 219,189.78
TOTAL EQUITY 219,189.78
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY 225,050.61
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
3. Coaching
2019 saw more growth and participation in the National Coaching Certification Program. For the second straight year, the Initiation and Teaching & Learning courses were free to all BNS members. Provincially, our momentum from 2018 was sustained, as we nearly matched the record high of new coaches completing their Online Initiation training (137 in 2017, 215 in 2018, and 212 in 2019). Increased participation in NCCP clinics around the province saw a record 60 NCCP clinics (up from 43 in 2018) attended by 566 coaches (up from 483 participants in 2018). Please see below for a comprehensive breakdown of NCCP clinics around Nova Scotia (clinic attendance in brackets)
Teaching & Pitching & Region Location Initiation Learning Absolutes Planning Strategies Catching Metro 1.(20) 1.(19) 2.(11) 2.(15) 3.(19) 3.(19) 4.(8) 4.(8) 1.(19) 1.(18) 5.(9) 5.(9) 2.(18) 2.(24) 1.(6) Sackville 6.(6) 6.(6) 3.(10) 3. (7) 2.(9) 1.(11) Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: 6(73) 6(76) 3(47) 3(49) 2(15) 1(11) Cape Breton Port Hawkesbury 1.(10) 1.(10) 1.(5) New 1.(11) 1.(11) Waterford 2.(5) 2.(5) 1.(4) 1.(5) Sydney 1.(6) 1. (3) 1(3) Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: 3(26) 3(26) 2(9) 2(11) N/A N/A Northern New 1.(11) 1.(11) 1.(5) Glasgow 2.(2) 2.(2) 2.(2) 1.(6) Antigonish 1.(13) 1.(13) Springhill 1.(8) 1.(8) 1.(4) 1.(5) Truro 1.(12) 1.(12) Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: 5(46) 5(46) 3(11) 2(11) N/A N/A Southern 1.(9) Yarmouth 1.(17) 1.(17) 2.(3) 1.(9) 1.(2) Shelburne 1.(9) 1.(9) Kentville 1.(8) 1.(8) Bridgewater 1.(6) 1.(6) Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: 4(40) 4(40) 2(12) 1(9) N/A Total: 1(2)
Grand Totals 18 - (185) 18 - (188) 10 - (79) 8 - (80) 3 - (18) 3 - (16)
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Baseball Nova Scotia participated in Coach Developer training this past march in St.John’s, Newfoundland. Four new Coach Developers were trained and began offering courses this past summer. Sheldon MacDonald (Judique), Mike Crawford (Tantallon), Chris Zinck (Bridgewater) and Cory Boutilier (Halifax) completed the training. The additional Coach Developers will allow BNS to broaden its scope of NCCP clinics offered across the province.
2019 marked the second year Recreational Coaching Education sessions were offered to all member coaches of BNS. These sessions provide relevant, on-field training with BNS Technical Director, Cory Boutilier. BNS decided to focus on the most popular course from 2018 (Practice: How to Make the Most of Your Time, and Keeping Athletes Engaged). Coaches who attended received training material developed by BNS. Sessions were held in the following towns:
Region Location Date/Time # Participants Southern Weymouth July15th, 6- 8 pm 8 Southern Berwick June 18th, 6-8 pm 11 Metro North Hammonds Plains July 25th, 6-8 pm 6 Metro South Woodlawn July 22nd, 6-8 pm 5
Metro South Cole Harbour rd July 23 , 6-8 pm 6 Cape Breton New Waterford July 11th, 6-8pm 6
My First Pitch was revamped in 2019 to focus on coaches and introducing the fundamentals of pitching to athletes. Basic mechanics, drills, and correcting common flaws were the main focuses of the two hour sessions.
Region Location Date/Time # Participants Southern Shelburne February 25th, 6- 8 pm 12 Southern Yarmouth February 27th, 6-8 pm 14 Southern Digby February 28th, 6-8 pm 8 Metro South Dartmouth March 24th, 6-8 pm 33
Southern Bridgewater March 26th, 6-8 pm 9 Metro North Lower Sackville April 17th, 6-8pm 7
Former professional player, and current BNS 15U coach, Darren Doucette, once again traveled the province offering free Hitting clinics for coaches. Darren visited New Waterford, Stellarton, Dartmouth and Truro.
Baseball Nova Scotia will be reviewing all programs offered and seeking feedback from associations as to what they feel would add value to their coach’s continued education. It is our goal to be constantly evolving and adapting to the needs of our members. We look forward to continuing to make coaching education a priority in 2020.
Cory Boutilier Technical Director
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
4. Officials – Supervisor of Umpires, Blaine Gallant
This year we continued to build on the successes of the past few years. I will review the year covering Training / Evaluation, Provincial concerns and National Program.
TRAINING / EVALAUATION Since overhauling the training and recruitment program in 2016, our numbers remained stable in 2019 after an increase of over 50% from 2015 through 2018. We held 21 clinics around the province, with 488 umpires attending these clinics. Moving forward, we expect these number of clinics to remain stable. The focus for the next three years is to increase the number of instructors and supervisors at the provincial level through the Baseball Canada Supervisor Program. We currently have five certified course conductors, two at the Senior level who can run National level clinics and supervise at national events. This fall two more are entering the course to become senior level course conductors, which will increase our ability to improve our program both provincially and at the national level. We are planning another Course Conductor Caravan in 2021 for the Maritime provinces and are in the process of identifying umpires within our organization who would fit this role and attend this training. We continued to work at improving our evaluation program. We were able to evaluate just under 30% of our umpires across all levels. The goal in 2020 is two-fold. First, we need to find a new member to lead this to take the strain off the overworked few key members of our Executive. This person will be tasked with implementing a strategy to increase the number of evaluators to reach our grassroot umpires. We are hoping to evaluate 50% of our grassroot umpires (level 1 and 2) in 2020.
PROVINCIAL PROGRAM At the provincial level, things were fairly stable. We continue to have issues in rural areas that continue to be understaffed. This will be a focus in 2020. Of particular concern is the Sydney area that is still having many games covered by unregistered umpires. In the area, it seems that New Waterford seems to be the only organization that is working with us to recruit and train umpires. I am truly at a loss as to how we can change the culture in the area. For 2020 we are planning to add some younger members to our Board, who have expressed an interest in being more active within the organization. We are also planning to add a new position as the lead for Female Umpiring. As always, we have had issues filling all games, despite our numbers up to 540.I think the key sits squarely with the assignors and I will be working with the local UICs to ensure they help the local assignors to reach out to all the umpires early in the year. In 2019, we were thrilled to continue to receive BNS funding toward our programs. The $7,500 was used directly to supplement training and evaluations. The overall budgets for these programs is at the end of this report.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
NATIONAL PROGRAM Overall, we had 17 active umpires in the province at Level 4. For 2020, we expect that number will remain about the same. We have two new candidates entering the program which will offset a few members who will be leaving the program. This season we sent nine umpires to National events as well as filling three supervisor spots. In addition, we used 19 members to the 16U Girls event in both umpire and supervisory roles. As noted above in the training section, we are actively increasing the number of certified course conductors.
BNS / BNSUD PARTNERSHIP Beginning in 2016, BNS and BNSUD entered into a partnership to assist BNSUD to recruit new umpires, to improve training and to enhance the overall development of our umpires. As noted above, the amount we received this year was $7,500. Moving forward, we are planning to use this amount strictly toward umpire development both at all levels of umpiring. The actual numbers for this year and the budget for 2020 are noted below.
UMPIRE DEVELOPMENT Budget 2019 2020 Registrations ( @ $70) $0.00 $0.00 Evaluations -$3,662.50 -$5,300.00 Supervision (elims and Atl) -$625.00 -$750.00 3rd Umpire 21U -$600.00 -$600.00 3rd Umpire 18U -$585.00 -$600.00 3rd Umpire 13U $0.00 $0.00 3rd Umpire 16U girls -$1,280.00 $0.00 Misc -$928.32 -$250.00 -$7,680.82 -$7,500.00
Blaine Gallant Supervisor of Umpires 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
5. Girls Baseball – VP of Girls Baseball, Mike Crawford
Creating environments for females to excel as athletes, coaches, and officials continues to be a key focus across the province. Below is a snapshot of 2019’s highlights:
Regional Numbers Metro Metro Cape Southern Northern Total North South Breton 2019 359 162 256 163 144 1084 2018 306 79 279 231 129 1024 2017 316 97 257 271 114 1055
Development Events: • It was the second year for the 14U Girls Bedford Days tournament. The event featured two Nova Scotia teams, and a team from New Brunswick • Partnership continued with Nova Scotia Girls Baseball, bringing a summer program to girls aged 4-12. Over 140 girls registered for the program • An all-female Provincial Championship was held for the first time in Nova Scotia. Five teams from Oxford, Antigonish, New Waterford, LWF, and Hammonds Plains competed at the new Sandlot field in Antigonish for the 12U Provincial title. Oxford edged out LWF for the Gold!
High Performance • For the second time, two 16U female only teams participated in the Bluenose League (15U AA/A). • Both 16U teams competed at the 16U Nationals in Bedford. Both teams finished in the top half of the tournament (Team Blue finished 6th, and Team White finished 4th). Nova Scotia and Quebec are the only Provinces to have two teams advance to the playoff round in the same year at a 16U Girls Nationals. • Two Nova Scotia teams went to the 14U Atlantics in New Brunswick. Team Blue captured the Bronze Medal, while Team White finished 5th. • 21U Women finished 4th in Ottawa, Ontario, narrowly missing a birth in the Gold Medal game after a 5-4 loss to Quebec. • Coaching Metro Metro Southern Northern Cape Total North South Breton Female Coaches 98 12 28 79 7 224
• Team Blue at the 16U Nationals featured a female coaching for the second year in a row. Jenna Jackson and Carly Jackson returned, while Emily MacFadyen joined the staff. • A female NCCP clinic was hosted in Lower Sackville. Nine women attended the Initiation and Teaching and Learning courses.
Officials • 26 female umpires were registered in 2019
Mike Crawford VP of Female Baseball 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6. BNS Programs
6.1 Rally Cap
Rally Cap sessions were held in the following locations:
Session Region Location Date/Time # Participants Registered 1 Metro South Eastern Passage June 8th / 6:00-8:00pm 130 June 10th / 6:00- 2 Metro South Dartmouth 8:00pm 30 June 12th / 6:00- 3 Metro South Cole Harbour 8:00pm 30 June 13th / 6:00- 4 Southern Weymouth 8:00pm 20 June 18th / 6:00- 8:00 5 Northern Stellarton pm 80 July 3rd / 6:00 – 8:00 6 Cape Breton St.Peter’s pm 60 July 4th / 6:00 – 8:00 7 Cape Breton New Waterford pm 30
6.2 Winterball
Region Town School Local Association Metro South Prospect Prospect Elementary PRCMBA Metro South Spryfield Cantral Spryfield Elementary Halifax Southern Bridgewater Bridgewater Elementary Bridgewater Southern Liverpool Dr. John C Wickwire Academy Liverpool Southern Digby Digby Elementary School Digby Southern Weymouth Weymouth Consolidated School Weymouth Southern Aylesford St. Mary's Elementary School Alyesford Southern Berwick Berwick & District School Berwick Southern Shelburne Hillcrest Academy Shelburne Southern Clarks Harbour Clarks Harbour Elementary School Clarks Harbour Southern Yarmouth Meadowfields Community School Yarmouth Southern Carleton Carleton Consolidated Elementary School Yarmouth Southern West Pubnico École Pubnico-Ouest Yarmouth Southern Yarmouth Yarmouth Elementary School Yarmouth
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.3 Challenger Challenger Baseball is a program that provides an opportunity for children and youth with cognitive and/or physical disabilities to enjoy the full benefits of participating in organized baseball at a level structured to their abilities. Games are played in a fun and non- competitive environment where no score is kept. Buddies are assigned to each participant and assist players with their involvement in the game. Buddies create a safe environment and help participants with catching, throwing, batting and getting around the bases. In 2019, nine communities provided Challenger Baseball programs in Nova Scotia – Annapolis Valley, Antigonish, Bedford, East Hants, Glace Bay, Hammonds Plains, Pictou County, Sydney Mines and Truro. In total, 300 children with varying disabilities and approximately 600 buddies participated. The players were both male and female and were between four and twenty-two years old. The ages of the buddies ranged from eight to seventy. All players were provided a uniform and played their games at the local baseball fields. The development of the program was largely dependent on a group of volunteers committed to the continued development and improvement of baseball opportunities for children of all ages and abilities throughout Nova Scotia. A special thank you to all the community coordinators and buddies who made this year successful. In January, Nova Scotia Challenger Baseball hosted the 2019 Toronto Blue Jays Winter Tour Challenger Baseball Event in Halifax. This event provided an opportunity for 60 athletes and 70 buddies/coordinators to play games and practice their skills alongside Blue Jays players – Devon Travis, Ryan Borucki, Luke Maile, Danny Jansen and Kevin Pillar. In May, Challenger Baseball leaders from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, participated in the Jays Care Challenger Baseball Workshop in Sackville. The workshop was led by Jays Care Foundation team members, and participants had the opportunity to discuss best practices, engage in adapted activities and games and to share Challenger Baseball experiences and advice. A special thank you to the Toronto Blue Jays, Jays Care Foundation and Hammonds Plains Challenger Baseball players and families for making this weekend a success. In early August, 40 athletes and 50 buddies/coordinators participated in the Toronto Blue Jays Challenger Baseball Game in Halifax. Roberto Alomar, Duane Ward, Homer Bush and Lloyd Moseby were on hand to offer their support and encouragement. Thank you to Baseball Nova Scotia and the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Academy for their continued support with this event. In August, 70 athletes and 80 buddies participated in the 6th Annual Nova Scotia Challenger Baseball Jamboree in Stellarton. Children from across the province had the opportunity to come together to participate in and celebrate Challenger Baseball. In 2020, Nova Scotia will play host to the first-ever Atlantic Challenger Baseball Jamboree in Antigonish. Challenger Baseball programs from New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Nova Scotia will play on The Sandlot – Antigonish’s newly constructed fully accessible ball field. Thank you to Baseball Nova Scotia, Challenger Baseball Canada and the Jays Care Foundation for their continued support of Challenger Baseball across Nova Scotia and Canada. For more information on our program, please visit www.nschallengerbaseball.com. Challenge Perceptions. Challenge Barriers. Challenger Baseball.
Randy Crouse Nova Scotia Challenger Baseball Coordinator 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.4 High Performance Baseball Nova Scotia’s High Performance programs had another historic year at the National Championships. Every BNS team challenged for the playoff round at every event and continued to represent Nova Scotia with pride. See below for a program breakdown:
6.4.1 13U Boys # Last First Position Hometown 1 Marmulak Maddex P/OF Sackville 3 MacPherson Seth C/OF Truro 4 Tang Logan OF/P Hammonds Plains 5 Decoffe Colby SS/C Dartmouth 6 Mackenzie Maddux SS/2B New Glasgow 7 Pollock Destin SS/3B Hammonds Plains 8 James Eli 1B/P Truro 9 Webb Aiden P/OF Windsor 10 Burgess Jacob P/OF Dartmouth 11 Doucette Mitch 1B/C Dartmouth 13 Pelley Jacarden OF/P Dartmouth 14 White Drake P/3B Kennetcook 16 Haines Issac 2B/OF Bridgewater 17 Newell Blake P/3B Yarmouth
Coaches # Coach Type Last First Hometown 15 Head Coach Mason Paul Dartmouth 18 Coach Handerak Stephen Dartmouth 19 Coach Longaphy Ed Dartmouth - Chef de mission Newell Lise Yarmouth
Season Highlights: • Finished with a 2-3 record at the National Championships in Repentigny, Quebec • Opened the tournament with a thrilling 9-8 loss to eventual Gold Medal winner, Ontario • Defeated British Columbia, 11-9, to capture 7th place • Jacarden Pelley of Dartmouth was named the tournament’s Top Offensive player. Pelley was on fire with a stat line of 13 for 18 (.722), hit three doubles, five homeruns with 13 RBI’s
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.4.2 15U Boys # Last First Position Hometown 1 Cheeseman Nolan CF/OF Upper Tantallon 2 Croteau Tyler OF/P Kentville 3 Macdonald Rory P/C Halifax 4 Mackenzie Matt P/OF Vaughn 5 Hines Sam P/OF Dartmouth 6 Jenkins Zach 2B/SS Middle Sackville 7 King Kyle SS/P Cole Harbour 8 Avery Ryan C/SS White's Lake 9 Feltmate Travis 3B/P Halifax 10 George Lane C/3B Belnan 11 Laws Jack P Mahone Bay 12 Crocker Adam OF/P Windsor 13 Doucette Ty 1B/P Dartmouth 15 Mailman Emmit 1B/OF Kentville 17 Miller Kole P/OF Dartmouth
Coaches # Coach Type Last First Hometown 25 Head Coach Doucette Darren Dartmouth - Coach Macdonald Allan Halifax 39 Coach Croteau Trevor Kentville - Coach Tomlinson Shawn Dartmouth - Chef de mission Cheeseman Carla Hammonds Plains
Season Highlights: • Finished with a 3-3 record at the National Championships in Oshawa, Ontario • Lane George (Belnan) was named Top Catcher of the tournament
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.4.3 17U Selects # Last First Position Hometown 2 Riesgo Camilo C Sackville 3 O'Brien Nolan OF/P Hebbville 5 Boutilier Noah SS Dartmouth 8 Boutilier Nathan OF Dartmouth 10 Fitzgerald Ryan 2B/OF Lucasville 11 MacMullin Brett 3B Sydney 18 Hunt Kyle P Hammonds Plains 19 Hanrahan Parker P Glace Bay 22 O'Rourke Corson C Sydney 23 McLaughlin Duncan OF/P Dartmouth 24 Cowan Shane 2B/1B Fall River 27 Boudreau Tyler P Sackville 29 Short Michael 3B Sackville 32 Rendell Camden OF/1B Upper Tantallon 34 Gravel Nick IF Fall River 37 Mann Timmy OF/P Dartmouth 39 McLellan Ethan P Hants County 42 Cuvilier Layton P Hantsport 45 Sibley Breton 1B Glace Bay 49 Song Kiwean P Bedford
Coaches # Coach Type Last First Hometown 44 Head Coach Richardson Kevin Sackville - Coach Zinck Zack Bridgewater 36 Coach Boudreau Gareth Sackville 17 Coach Hood Larry Bridgewater
Season Highlights: • Finished the Canada Cup in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan with a 6-1 record • Captured the province’s first National Championship at the Canada Cup • Every win was by two runs or less (including two walk offs)
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.4.4 16U Girls (White and Blue) # Last First Position Hometown 1 Galloway Shona OF/P Upper Tantallon 10 Smith Avery P/IF Sprinhill 11 Crawford Rachel P/1B Upper Tantallon 15 MacLean Dylan OF/P Fall River 18 White Molly 1B/P Fall River 19 MacAulay Ellie P/OF St.Peter's 21 Bradbury Emma SS/P Hatchet Lake 22 Konigshofer Julia P/3B Waverley 25 Sylliboy Lanissa 3B/P Eskasoni 27 Gavel Elizabeth C/P Weymouth 29 Ryder Fenway 2B/P Fall River 31 Johnston Rylee 3B/C Prospect
Coaches # Coach Type Last First Hometown 40 Head Coach Guenette Brandon Bedford 36 Coach Langille Chris Dartmouth 53 Coach McCamon Rob Iqaluit 41 Coach Fancy Tyler Lower Sackville - Chef de mission Bradbury Kelly Hatchet Lake
# Last First Position Hometown 1 Taylor Eve IF Brookfield 2 Copeland Leah P Fall River 3 Pelrine Ali OF Antigonish 7 Duck Maggie SS Halifax 8 Paquin Jesse P Upper Tantallon 9 Dort Vanessa OF/P Guysborough 10 Strong Aliyah C/OF Fall River 11 Strong Hailey 1B/P Fall River 12 MacFadyen Elle OF Stillwater Lake 13 Ashton Abbey P Hammonds Plains 14 Sauveur Lea OF/P Windsor 15 Derible Claire P Dartmouth 22 Hagen Krissie P/3B Dartmouth 25 Graves Caitlyn OF/C Yarmouth
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Coaches # Coach Type Last First Hometown 55 Head Coach Jackson Jenna Kentville 50 Coach MacFadyen Emily Stillwater Lake 57 Coach Jackson Carly Amherst - Chef de mission Crawford Mike Upper Tantallon
Season Highlights: • Team White advanced to the medal round for the fourth year in a row, finishing with a record of 2-3 (2-1 in the A Pool with Alberta, Quebec, and Ontario) • Team Blue advanced to the medal round after finishing 1st in the C Pool (3-0 vs Newfoundalnd, New Brunswick, and PEI) • Only Nova Scotia and Quebec have had two teams advance to the medal round in the same year at a female National Championship
6.4.5 21U Women # Last First Position Hometown 2 Gallant Jill OF/P Amherst 4 Nickerson Realea IF/P Lower Sackville 5 MacFadyen Emily OF Hammonds Plains 6 Boone Rachel OF/P Hammonds Plains 7 Norris Allie IF Prospect 9 Fulton Claudia IF Aylesford 10 Stymiest Ally C/IF Moncton 12 Addington Makayla IF/P Weymouth 13 Hood Tessa OF/P Charlottetown 14 Roy Maria OF/C Hammonds Plains 16 Hagen Katie P/IF Dartmouth 19 Macaulay Ellie P/OF St. Peter's 20 Gavel Elizabeth C/P Weymouth 22 Konigshofer Julia P/IF Waverley 23 Laurette Alyssa OF Hammonds Plains 26 Slaunwhite Madison IF Williamswood 28 Brimicombe Sydney OF/P Dartmouth
Coaches
# Coach Type Last First Hometown - Head Coach Boutilier Cory Halifax - Coach Konigshofer Mike Dorchester - Chef de mission MacFadyen Todd Hammonds Plains
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Season Highlights: • Finished with a 3-3 record at the National Championships in Ottawa, Ontario • Lost a tight tie breaking game to Quebec, 5-4.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.5 Bluenose League Table 6.5.1 exhibits Bluenose League team registration from 2013-2019 inclusive, by Region. The Bluenose League has seen significant growth in the 11U and 13U divisions, and steady retention of teams at the 15U and 18U levels. Table 6.5.2 exhibits Games Played Per Season. The table also displays the overall percentage of scheduled games that were played, and the average number of games per team in each year. Data does not account for outliers or variables (teams that were scheduled for a season but dropped out at some point, teams that requested reduced schedules, games canceled due to weather, scores that were not entered, etc.).
6.5.1 Bluenose Team Registration Per Year
11U Cape Northern Southern Metro Metro Total Breton South North 2013 0 3 4 7 3 17 2014 0 4 4 7 4 19 2015 1 4 2 7 6 20 2016 1 5 4 6 6 22 2017 3 4 4 7 5 23 2018 5 7 6 7 8 33 2019 1 6 4 8 7 26
13U Cape Northern Southern Metro Metro Total Breton South North 2013 0 4 4 4 4 16 2014 1 4 4 6 3 18 2015 1 4 8 9 5 27 2016 1 3 6 9 6 25 2017 2 6 7 7 8 30 2018 3 7 6 6 9 31 2019 3 5 7 6 7 28
15U Cape Northern Southern Metro Metro Total Breton South North 2013 0 5 6 7 5 23 2014 0 5 4 10 4 23 2015 2 3 5 7 4 21 2016 0 6 4 7 5 22 2017 1 7 6 8 6 28 2018 1 6 5 7 7 26 2019 1 7 6 5 9 28
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
18U Cape Northern Southern Metro Metro Total Breton South North 2013 0 6 6 10 2 24 2014 0 2 5 8 3 18 2015 0 4 5 10 3 22 2016 2 5 7 8 3 25 2017 6 4 6 8 4 28 2018 2 8 3 6 4 23 2019 3 7 3 6 4 23
6.5.2 Games Played Per Season (Total Games Played/Total Games Scheduled)
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 11U 201/233 222/240 134/170 246/266 212/246 382/410 235/276 86 % 93% 79% 92% 86% 93% 85% 13U 176/237 219/238 177/217 298/335 260/287 339/378 256/312 74% 92% 86% 89% 91% 90% 82% 15U 216/279 247/292 150/185 252/289 251/308 305/330 248/301 77% 85% 81% 87 % 82% 92% 82% 18U 249/332 180/237 135/211 219/296 230/306 237/282 187/242 75% 76% 64% 74% 75% 84% 77% 21U NA NA NA NA NA 48/63 46/63 76% 73% Overall % 78% 86% 76% 86% 83% 90% 81% Scheduled Games Played Games 842/81 868/82 596/91 1015/97 953/109 1311/123 972/110 Played/Team 10.4*2 10.6*2 6.6*2 10.5*2 8.7*2 10.7*2 8.8*2
20.8 12.2 13.2 21 17.4 21.4 17.7
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.6 Provincial Championships In chart 6.6.1, a Provincial Championships Team Registration by Year comparison is presented. Chart 6.6.2 exhibits registered team who actually participated in a Provincial Championship comparison between 2017 – 2019. 2018 was the first year all teams advanced to the Provincial Championships in a tiered format, eliminating the need for Qualifying or Regional tournaments. This resulted in a 33% increase in teams that attended a championship from 2017 to 2018.
6.6.1 Provincial Championship Team Registration by Year
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 11U 34 35 33 31 36 42 37 12U Girls NA NA NA NA NA NA 5 13U 28 29 37 33 37 38 44 15U 35 33 29 31 32 34 33 18U 33 27 25 28 29 24 25 Intermediate 19 19 18 18 17 16 12 Total 149 143 142 141 151 154 156
6.6.2 Registered Teams Attending Provincial Championships
Registered Eliminated During Attended Provincial Qualifier Championship 2017 151 48 103 2018 154 0 154 2019 156 0 156
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
6.6.3 Provincial Medalists
Division Host Champion Runner Up 11U A - Tier 1 Cole Harbour East Hants - Canning Stewiacke - Flynn 11U A - Tier 2 Bridgewater New Glasgow - Sutherland Bridgewater - Risser 11U A - Tier 3 New Waterford Richmond - Samson Sydney Mines - MacDougall 11U A - Tier 4 Springhill East Hants - Turner Antigonish - Lazzuri 11U AA Halifax Tri County - Robichaud Stellarton - Walker 11U AAA Tri County Tri County - Plotsky Halifax - Dinn 12U Girls Antigonish Oxford - Reade LWF -Nobes 13U A - Tier 1 Hants North Cape Breton West - Hants North - White MacEachern 13U A - Tier 2 Hantsport Eastern Passage - Hiscock Hanstport - Caldwell 13U A - Tier 3 New Waterford Sydney Mines - Ivey Glace Bay - Bonnar 13U A - Tier 4 Cole Harbour LWF - Brown Hammonds Plains - King 13U A – Tier 5 Strait Stewiacke - Turple East Hants - Saunders 13U AA - Tier 1 Dartmouth Springhill - Remington New Glasgow - MacKenzie 13U AA - Tier 2 Tri County East Hants - Wellwood Hammonds Plains - Breau 13U AAA Yarmouth Dartmouth - Doucette Yarmouth - Jeffery 15U A - Tier 1 Liverpool Amherst - Cole Glace Bay – Campbell 15U A - Tier 2 Bridgewater Bridgewater - Risser Great Village - Spencer 15U A - Tier 3 East Hants Metro MacPhee - Strong Windsor - Jones 15U AA - Tier 1 Stellarton Stellarton - Fraser Bridgewater - Zinck 15U AA - Tier 2 Halifax Dartmouth - Zwicker Tri County - Kays 15U AAA Halifax Dartmouth - Miller Halifax - MacDonald 18U A Truro Truro - MacGillvray Lake Echo - Fredericks 18U AA Tri County Hants North - MacPhee Tri County - Isnor 18U AAA Dartmouth/Halifax Hammonds Plains- Pictou County - Hatchard Galloway 21U AAA Co-hosted Halifax - Munroe East Coast - McKegney Intermediate AA Amherst Truro - Leblanc Amherst - Jobes Intermediate AAA Noel Road Hammonds Plains - Gray Noel Road - Roulston Senior Co-hosted Dartmouth Sydney
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
7. Atlantic Championship Results
Division Location Nova Scotia Result Representative 11U AA Sherwood, PE Tri County 4-0; Gold Medal 11U AAA Fredericton, NB Tri County 3-1; Silver Medal 13U AA Springhill, NS New Glasgow 5-0; Gold Medal Springhill 2-3; Silver Medal 13U AAA Dartmouth, NS Yarmouth 4-1; Gold Medal Dartmouth 3-2; Bronze Medal 14U Girls Fredericton, NB NS Blue 2-3; Bronze Medal NS White 1-3; 5th place 15U AA Conception Bay Stellarton 5-0; Gold Medal North, NL 15U AAA Chatham, NB Dartmouth 3-2; Silver Medal 18U AA Summerside, PE Hants North 2-2; 3rd place
8. National Championship Results
Division Location Nova Scotia Result Representative 13U Repentigny, QC BNS 13U Boys 2-3; 7th place 15U Oshawa, ON BNS 15U Boys 3-3; 9th place 16U Girls Bedford, NS BNS 16U Girls 2-3; 4th place White BNS 16U Girls 3-2; 6th place Blue 17U Canada Saskatoon, SK BNS 17U 5-1; Gold Medal Cup 18U London, ON Dartmouth Arrows 0-5; 10th place 21U East Coast Royals 0-4; 8th place 21U Women Ottawa, ON BNS 21U Women 3-3; 4th place Senior Chatham, NB Sydney Sooners 2-3; 6th place Dartmouth Dry 4-2; Silver medal
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
9. Regional Reports
9.1 Cape Breton Male Female Rally Cap/9U 140 61 11U 198 36 13U 168 27 15U 91 17 18U 76 3 Senior/Intermediate 13 0 Other 8 0
I would like to thank everyone in Cape Breton for another great baseball season. It was great to have some areas host Provincials again and have some Cape Breton teams win Provincial banners. Bluenose numbers were down a bit this year but believe they will pick up next year. Was great to see Cheticamp have an 11u team playing this year and excited to see what new area might have baseball next season. There were many teams playing either Bluenose, little league, Cape Breton league or just house baseball in their areas. I’m happy we were able to provide coaching and umpire clinics again around the island. Congrats to all kids who made Provincial teams and winners of awards. Was happy to see Brandon down for Rally Cap again this summer I think it’s very important. Can’t wait for next summer.
Brad Stevens Regional Director Cape Breton
9.2 Northern Male Female Rally Cap/9U 295 59 11U 282 34 13U 226 49 15U 154 4 18U 118 5 Senior/Intermediate 89 0 Other 130 59
I would like to thank everyone within the Northern Region for their help throughout the season. There were a lot of competitive baseball teams in the region. Our region hosted several championships this year and the hosts did a great job. Congratulations to New Glasgow 11U A tier 2, Springhill 13U AA tier 1, Amherst 15U A tier 1, Stellarton 15U AA tier 1, Truro 18U A, Hants North 18U AA, Truro Intermediate AA. Also congrats go to the runner up teams in our region Antigonish 11U A tier 4, Stellarton 11U AA, Hants North 13U A tier 1, New Glasgow 13U AA tier 1, Great Villiage 15U A tier 2, Pictou County Macs 18U AAA, Amherst Intermediate AA and Hants North intermediate AAA. We also had two Atlantic titles this season - New Glasgow 13U AA and Stellarton 15U AA, while Springhill captured the Silver medal at the 13U AA event they hosted. The Challenger baseball programs continues to grow and thrive in Pictou and Antigonish 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
AND I can't forget about the first ever 12U girls provincials. A big thank you to Antigonish for hosting this and congrats goes to Oxford for winning.
Chris Hatchard Regional Director Northern
9.3 Southern Male Female Rally Cap/9U 430 97 11U 433 80 13U 265 43 15U 172 19 18U 81 6 Senior/Intermediate 46 7 Other 12 10
Things were quiet in the Southern Region this past season as everything ran smoothly. I would like to thank all the Associations for their cooperation and an extra thank you to those that hosted Provincial tournaments this past season. Congratulations from the Southern Region to the National Champion Youth Selects team. Congratulations to the 13U AAA Yarmouth Gateways on winning Atlantics as well as BNS Team of the Year and Head Coach Scott Jeffery for receiving Coach of the Year accolades. Great job representing our region and our Province. As well, I’d like to congratulate Jeremy Stevens for being named Umpire of the Year and for doing a spectacular job at the 18U Nationals in London, Ontario.
Chris Zinck Regional Director Southern
9.4 Metro North Male Female Rally Cap/9U 839 113 11U 426 42 13U 349 45 15U 292 26 18U 223 11 Senior/Intermediate 40 0 Other 177 116
The 2019 baseball season continued to provide great experiences and accomplishments for players, coaches and spectators. For the second year, the tiered system for provincials delivered a fun and competitive environment for the different skill levels; improving everyone’s chances at securing a top finish in their appropriate tier. We are especially proud of Bedford Minor Baseball for receiving ‘Association of the Year’ and for having the ‘Volunteer of the Year’, Mark Clare. The hard work and dedication within the 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia association by all volunteers provides a blueprint on how to achieve participation, fun, skill and competitiveness for everyone involved. Metro North continued to show growth in newer areas such as the Challenger Program at Hammonds Plains while Bedford celebrated their inaugural Challenger year with 60+ players and many engaged and excited ‘buddies’. In addition, LWF and Hammonds Plains each provided new all girl’s teams in the inaugural 12U girl’s BNS Provincials. LWF went on to win silver in this division. The development of coaches at the grassroots level was supported and welcomed with camps conducted by BNS Technical Director Cory Boutilier at our regional associations and throughout the province. Coaches provided excellent feedback which encouraged additional support in future years to develop new and current coaches. In addition to all the fun and competitiveness experienced by the players, improved development throughout the region was rewarded by many championships and placements at all levels from 11U to Intermediate. The different associations in Metro North accumulated eight championships in the BNS Provincial Championships and on the Atlantic stage, three silver medals and one gold medal came home to our region. Our 21U AAA Jr Team also won National Eliminations to advance to the Canadian Championships for the first time since inception. Metro Norths’ advanced skill level for boys was acknowledged by seven players being selected for the 17U Provincial Team and two being selected to the 15U Provincial Team. The 17U team went on to win the Canada Cup, which is historic for Nova Scotia and the 15U AAA won Atlantics. For the females, five Metro North players participated in the 21U Women’s Invitational Canadian Championships in Ottawa and at the 14U level, twelve players were selected to play for two all girls’ teams for the 14U Atlantic’s hosted in Fredericton. Five of these 14U girls went on to win bronze at the event with their respective BNS team. In 2019 our region hosted the two (2) provincial championship tournaments and the Baseball Canada 16U Girl’s Invitational Championships for the second consecutive year. In summary, it has been an enjoyable and productive year for baseball in Metro North and all of Nova Scotia.
Bill Laurette Regional Director Metro North
9.5 Metro South Male Female Rally Cap/9U 677 62 11U 414 25 13U 294 49 15U 205 21 18U 174 5 Senior/Intermediate 40 0 Other 0 0
2019 was a great year for the region of Metro South, beginning with the Toronto Blue Jays making a stop in Halifax for Winterfest in January which included an autograph session for 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia fans, a Military appreciation event, a visit to the IWK and a skills camp with various teams in Dartmouth. Baseball Nova Scotia conducted various camps throughout the region including a winterball program in Prospect which was also chosen as the site of a Baseball Canada trial of baseball5 conducted by BNS staff with the help of local students. In June, the World Series trophy made a surprise visit to a U11 game between Kentville and Halifax thanks to Nova Scotia's Red Sox brotherhood. Of course June would also be the month that Cole Harbour’s own Jake Sanford would be selected in the third round of the MLB draft, 105th overall by the New York Yankees, making him the highest selected Nova Scotian ever in the amateur draft. Once again Halifax Minor Baseball hosted a very successful HMB Classic, the largest recreational tournament in the Province, on the Halifax Commons. Across the bridge, Dartmouth Minor baseball would host a number of training sessions throughout the summer including BNS’ recreation coaches clinic and the My First Pitch clinic, which was held at the East Coast Varsity Dome with over 30 coaches from the region in attendance. Baseball Nova Scotia also sponsored a free hitting clinic hosted by Darren Doucette. On the field, the regions teams had great success in both the recreation and Bluenose levels of play. The region played host to various association tournaments, classification tournaments, National Qualification tournaments and Provincial Championships. Additionally, Dartmouth hosted the 2019 13U National Atlantic Championship winning Bronze. Other teams winning titles in the region included: Eastren Passage 13UA tier 2 Provincial Champions; Dartmouth Arrows 13U AAA Provincial Champions, Bronze Atlantic’s; Dartmouth Arrows 15UAA tier 2 Provincial Champions; Dartmouth Arrows 15UAAA Provincial Champions; Halifax Mets 21U Provincial Champions and the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry NSSBL Championship. The Dartmouth Arrows 18UAAA team also represented NS at the U18 Nationals in London, Ont. All of Nova Scotia's High Performance teams were well represented by the regions players and coaches which included four players from Dartmouth; Nathan and Noah Boutilier, Timmy Mann and Duncan McLaughlin who were members of Nova Scotia's U17 team which captured the Provinces first ever Canada Cup. McLaughlin would also be named BNS’ Major Male Athlete of the year. Other individual honours bestowed in the region included: Katie Hagen, Major Female Athlete of the year; Ty Doucette, Minor Male Athlete of the year; Blaine Gallant, Ken Evans award and of course Jake Sanford, News maker of the year. 2019 will be a tough year to beat!
Stephan Handerek Regional Director Metro South
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
10. By the Numbers
Metro Metro Southern Northern Cape Total South North Breton Male Members* 1849 2388 1518 1313 705 7773 Female Members* 166 362 279 260 153 1220 Male Coaches 239 369 145 154 63 970 Female Coaches 98 12 28 79 7 224 Bluenose League 11U 8 7 4 6 1 26 Bluenose League 13U 6 7 7 5 3 28 Bluenose League 15U 5 9 6 7 1 28 Bluenose League 18U 6 4 3 7 3 23 Provincials 11U 7 8 6 9 7 37 Provincials 12U Girls 0 2 0 2 1 5 Provincials 13U 7 10 8 9 10 44 Provincials 15U 5 9 8 8 3 33 Provincials 18U 5 6 3 7 4 25 Provincials Inter. 2 2 2 5 1 12 High Performance 25 30 13 10 6 84 Athletes Winterball Clinics 1 1 13 0 0 15 Rally Cap Clinics 3 0 1 1 2 7 My First Pitch Clinics 1 1 4 0 0 6 Hitting Clinics 1 0 0 2 1 5 NCCP Clinics 0 21 12 10 10 63 Recreational Coach 2 1 2 0 1 6 Clinic Provincial 7 4 5 7 3 26 Championships Hosted** Classification/Qualifier 1 0 5 3 5 14 Tournaments Hosted Atlantic Championships 1 0 0 1 0 2 Hosted National 0 1 0 0 0 1 Championships Hosted *does not include officials **does not include 21U and Senior
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
11. Year in Review
Baseball5 During the month of April, Baseball Nova Scotia piloted a new and fun sport called Baseball5! The new sport is an innovative 5 on 5 street version of baseball that can be played in gymnasiums, basketballs, or on the street. A ball is the only equipment required! Through the support of Sport Canada, Baseball Canada, and Kidsport Nova Scotia, BNS conducted four sessions at Prospect Road Elementary school. Over the course of four weeks, volunteers from Kidsport recorded data on the games to be submitted and reviewed by Baseball Canada.
The fun and enthusiastic group from Prospect Road concluded their Baseball5 season with playoffs and championships on April 16th. Baseball Canada’s Sport Development Director, Andre Lachance, attended the sessions and spoke to kids about the importance of trying different sports prior to the games. Stay tuned, as we have not seen the last of Baseball5 in Nova Scotia!
Check Out What We Did This Year for Winterball! Another great year of Winterball is in the books! This year, Technical Director Cory Boutilier ventured through the southern part of Nova Scotia to introduce the fundamentals of baseball to children at various elementary schools. This environment is to ensure that a positive learning experience is provided for all of those involved.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
This year, BNS focused on the South Shore and Valley regions and we were overwhelmed with the enthusiastic participation throughout the 14 schools we attended. Schools in Bridgewater, Liverpool, New Germany, Shelburne, Clarks Harbour, Pubnico, Yarmouth, Weymouth, Digby, Aylesford, and Berwick were visited! Students aged 5 to 12 are progressed through activities that are set out in multiple lesson plans. It gives us great pleasure year by year going into areas and giving new or experienced kids a chance to try baseball! It's always a goal of ours to have kids excited for the upcoming baseball season. All students following the teachers lesson plans detailed in the Winterball program will exhibit proficiency in movement skills while gaining social skills by working and getting along with others. Some of the goals of Winterball are to promote an active and health lifestyle to children while encouraging them to participate in sport, teach the fundamentals of baseball while promoting a safe and non-competitive environment that provides children with a fun sport environment that is inclusive of everyone and to give students the opportunity of working in a team setting.
Parasport Initiative in Mulgrave On May 10th, Baseball Nova Scotia had the opportunity to spend a morning with a group of physical education teachers in Mulgrave. The group consisted of teachers from surrounding communities coming together for a professional development day. As part of their professional development, the group experimented with various forms of baseball while using wheelchairs.
Baseball5 was a popular choice, as the competitive group of teachers took part in several games amongst themselves. A big thank you goes to the teachers group and Parasport Nova Scotia for facilitating the session! We look forward to exploring further initiatives for parasport opportunities in baseball!
Jays Care in Nova Scotia From May 3rd to 5th, Jays Care conducted their annual Challenger Baseball workshop! The weekend kicked off with a social at The Warehouse in Lower Sackville. Participants from across Atlantic Canada honed their skills in the batting cages, while enjoying pizza and refreshments. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
The training kicked off Saturday morning, where Jays Care provided training on running Challenger Baseball programming. Training included information on working with kids, and new ideas for drills and practices. A big thank you goes to Jays Care for their continued support, and BNS Challenger Baseball Coordinator, Randy Crouse, for organizing yet another fantastic event!
Road to the Big Leagues – Alex Lawrie When you start playing baseball most people want to be the star pitcher. Not Alex. He has always been drawn to the rules and understanding how the game worked. Lawrie started umpiring at the age of 13 and by 18, he was umpiring in the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League, which is the highest level in Atlantic Canada. This past winter Alex travelled to sunny Vero Beach, Florida to take part in the Minor League Baseball Umpiring Training Academy. It wasn't the vacation many of us have in mind when we think of Florida. Alex spent six days a week from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at a baseball field. After the umpires were done at the field there was homework and studying every night because there were tests almost everyday, he recounted to The Chronicle Herald.
After spending a month at the training camp, Alex thoroughly impressed academy officials. At 22-years-old, Alex was offered a contract to work in the Gulf Coast League which would begin in June. The Gulf Coast League is a rookie league and an entry point for young umpires. Lawrie is the first umpire from Nova Scotia to be hired by Minor League Baseball in 17 years. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
The process to work your way up to the big leagues is a long one, but not unreachable for the young umpire. He told The Chronicle Herald that in six to 10 years, you can work your way up to AAA and then possibly the Major Leagues. With that being said Lawrie is excited for his new chapter ahead and as he told The Chronicle Herald “I'm getting paid to do what I love.”
Sanford Makes History! On Tuesday June 4, 2019, Jake Sanford made history for Nova Scotia and took a step forward in his baseball career. Jake became the highest Nova Scotian drafted in the MLB, being selected in the third round 105th overall by the New York Yankees. Previously the highest drafted Nova Scotian was Steve Nelson who was drafted 160th overall by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2001 draft. Before this year, Sanford was flying under the radar. He took a chance and walked on at McCook Community College. He continued to work on his game and caught the attention of Western Kentucky. During his historic season at Western Kentucky, Sanford was honored as the Louisville Slugger national player of the week by the Collegiate Baseball and the national hitter of the week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. This recognition came after 30 hits which included 14 homers in 18 games, batted .411 and 1.041 slugging percentage in the month of March. After an already stellar year, on Tuesday May 21, 2019, Jake Sanford was named the Conference USA baseball player of the year. Sanford also took home newcomer of the year honors and was selected to the All-Conference USA First Team. Sanford became the first hitter in the leagues 24-year history to lead all three major categories for the Triple Crown after putting up .402/.488/.828 for the season with 22 home runs, 19 doubles and 65 RBI’s. Sanford was also named a Dick Howser Trophy semi finalist for the National College Player of the Year. From there the rest is history, Sanford who spent the day draft at Western Kentucky was with coaches and friends when his name was called.
Sanford has come a long way since heading down to McCook just a couple years ago. He officially signed with the Yankees on June 5, 2019. While this is the cherry on top of his already historic season at Western Kentucky, he posted a photo of a stall with his name on it in the Yankees dressing room. We cannot wait to see what is next up for Jake Sanford. The baseball community is already proud of the history Jake has made. We wish Jake the best of luck on the rest of his journey and we cannot wait to see what he will do next.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
World Series Trophy Visits Halifax The Boston Red Sox brought their 2018 World Series trophy to Halifax on June 16th and 17th for a whirlwind tour of the city. This is the third time the trophy has visited the city and was once again organized by the Bluenose BoSox Brotherhood. Accompanied by team staff, and former Red Sox All Star pitcher, Luis Tiant, the trophy visited Province House, the US Consulate, the IWK, Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame, and hosted a meet and greet at HFX Sports. The highlight of the trip for local young players came when the trophy made a surprise appearance at Larry O'Connell field in Halifax. During 11U AA Bluenose League action, a game between the Halifax Mets and Kentville Wildcats was paused in the fifth inning for a quick photo opportunity with the trophy. Surely a game the kids will not forget!
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
The Sandlot – Antigonish’s fully-accessible ball field Opens On Saturday, July 21st after four years in the making The Sandlot officially opened. Before the players showed their skills, the official opening of the accessible field kicked-off with a performance by Grant School of Dance members. It was a very special afternoon for the community and seeing so many come out for this special day made it that much more heart warming. BNS 16U Girl's teams were also on hand to play some games against 15U Antigonish and Stellarton, with a 12U Girls camp held in between games at The Sandlot. The field will host the first ever female Provincial Championship, with the 12U Girls Provincial Championship taking place August 16th-18th. This day has been a long time coming for those who have been involved since day one. Randy Crouse who is the provincial and national co-ordinator for the challenger program has played a huge part in seeing this diamond open. The town of Antigonish helped make it happen, with the town and the county contributing $70,000 and $50,000 to the $450,000 initiative. $50,000 came form grants and $130,000 from community fundraising. The major contribution that put the effort over the top was the $150,000 that came from the Jays' Care Foundation.
“We believe that all kids deserve a chance to play,” Robert Witchel, executive director of the Jays’ Care Foundation said. It's amazing to see a community come together to create an accessible space for everyone to take part and we thank everyone who was involved to make this happen so every kid can play.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Katie Hagen makes Baseball Canada Senior Women Roster Dartmouth's Katie Hagen made the Baseball Canada Senior Women roster and represented Canada at the COPABE Women's Baseball World Cup Qualifier in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Katie attended a three-day selection camp in Okotoks, Alberta where the 20 women roster was selected. Canada is ranked No. 2 in the most recent WBSC Women's Baseball world rankings and they were coming off a 2018 season that included a bronze medal at the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup. Katie pitched several games in relief, including locking down an important victory over Puerto Rico in the final inning with the bases loaded. Canada walked away with the Bronze medal.
Katie is also a member of our 21U Provincial Team that went to Nationals in Ottawa, ON.
National Elimination Champions The 2019 21U National Elimination tournament was a hard fought tournament in the blistering heat, The East Coast Royals defeated the Dartmouth 21U team in an exciting 3-2 Championship game to claim the 2019 21U Elimination Championship! The Royals went on to represent Nova Scotia at the Baseball Canada 21U National Championships in Gatineau! At the 18U tournament, it was a weekend full of exciting and nail biting games that came down to the wire in an exciting championship game with Dartmouth vs Hammonds Plains. Dartmouth ended up making a comeback to take the game 15-14. The Dartmouth Arrows went on to represent N.S at the 18U Nationals in London, Ontario.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Developmental Programming Another season of development programming has come and gone! This year, Baseball Nova Scotia offered Winterball, Recreational Coaching courses, My First Pitch training, Rally Cap sessions, hitting courses with Darren Doucette, and girl’s baseball camps around the Province. In total, over 40 developmental sessions were conducted from Clarks Harbour to New Waterford!
BNS wants to thank our associations for their continued support of these programs, and we look forward building on these relationships to offer more programming in 2020!
First Female Provincial Championship held in Antigonish During a historic weekend in Antigonish, the first ever all female Baseball Nova Scotia Provincial Championships were held. 12U Girls teams from Oxford, LWF, Hammonds Plains, Antigonish, and New Waterford played off at the new Sandlot field. In a fun and competitive weekend, the Oxford Wildcats defeated LWF to capture the Gold medal! Oxford’s achievement was recognized this past October at the Nova Scotia Legislature!
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
16U Girls Invitational hosted in Bedford The 16U Girls program had another strong National Championship in Bedford, as both teams finished in the top half of the 12 team tournament. Nova Scotia 1 finished 4th and Nova Scotia 2 finished 6th. Nova Scotia 2 captured Pool C with victories over Newfoundland, New Brunswick, and PEI. This earned them a trip to the Quarter Finals against British Columbia. Although falling to the eventual National Champions in the Quarters, and dropping the 5th place game to Quebec 2, this young development team managed to finish ahead of six other Province's top teams. Nova Scotia 1 was in the tough Pool A with Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta. The team finished at 2-1 in the round robin, picking up wins against Ontario and Alberta. This set up a rematch with a good Alberta team in the Semi Final. An absolute heart breaker resulted in the team falling 10-9 in eight innings. In the Bronze medal match, the team had a rematch from the 2018 Gold medal game, with Quebec. A great back and forth game went to Quebec, 5-3. Molly White (Fall River) was named the tournament's Top Hitter, posting a 500. batting average.
A big thanks to Hammonds Plains Minor Baseball and Holly LaPierre for hosting another world class event. Always a successful event, we often get the comment from other teams that they 'wish the tournament was in Nova Scotia every year’.
2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Senior Men's Championship – Silver for the Dry In the Men's National Championship held in Chatham, NB this past August N.S. had two teams looking to add medals to their collections. The Dartmouth Dry and the Sydney Sooners had strong starts to their tournaments. Before the tournament got underway as is custom there was a home run derby. Dartmouth Dry's Chris Thibideau captured the home run derby crown, with help from teammate Anthony Mckinley. The Sydney Sooners beat Newfoundland 6-3, had a tough losses against B.C 5-1 and Chatham 13-6, they turned it around winning 6-4 vs N.B and 3-2 against Alberta. This record put the Sooners in the Quarter finals where they lost a close game 3-1 to Quebec. The Dartmouth Dry who have three national titles to their name and they were looking to add another one this year. The Dry beat Ontario 7-0, beat Manitoba 15-4, had a close game against Quebec losing 6-5 but were able to turn it around and win 6-4 vs New Brunswick. This put the Dry in the semi finals against Quebec. The Dry were able to make it through the semis winning 3-1 against Quebec which put them in the finals against the host team Chatham. The final game was a close game with it coming right down to the wire, the score was 3-2 in the 7th with runners on second and third with two outs but a line drive saw the Chatham first baseman put and end to the Dry's come back. While the loss that close hurts, the Dry still came out of the tournament with Silver medal. Congratulations to players and coaches on this great accomplishment!
McDowell and O’Toole named to the U-18 World Cup Roster Micah and Evan were named to the final 20-player roster that represented Canada at the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) U-18 Baseball World Cup in Gijang, South Korea from August 30-September 8, 2019. Both players were key contributors to Canada’s 6th place finish. Micah hit lead off most of the tournament, while sharing the team lead for stolen bases. Evan made four relief appearances, sporting a 1.93 ERA, good for second best on the team. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Dartmouth and Springhill host successful Atlantic Championships The Baseball Canada 13U AAA Atlantic Championships were hosted by the Dartmouth Arrows in 2019. Featuring the top teams from around Atlantic Canada, athletes and coaches were treated to a phenomenally run tournament. The host Dartmouth Arrows captured Bronze, while the Yarmouth Gateways captured the Gold Medal! In Springhill, the 13U AA Atlantic Championship was held. Springhill Minor Baseball hosted a fantastic event, that saw the home town Springhill Fencebuster capture the Silver medal, while the New Glasgow Blizzards took home Gold.
17U Selects Capture the Canada Cup Every so often, an event takes place that can be described as ‘Historic’. Given the rich baseball history of Nova Scotia, it’s not often we can use that term to describe the accomplishments of an individual or team. If what occurred on Monday, August 12th at 1:13 am ADT in Regina, Saskatchewan does not qualify as a ‘historic’ moment, we will likely never see one. With a 3-2 count on the Ontario hitter, two outs, and the tying run on second base, Ethan McLellan of Hants County cemented the 2019 edition of the Nova Scotia 17U Selects place in the history books. Ethan blew a fastball by the batter, causing an eruption of emotion not only at Optimist Park in Regina, but all across Nova Scotia. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Since the inaugural Canada Cup in 1989, many talented Nova Scotia ball players have represented our province at the Canada Cup. Bringing together the best players from Clarks Harbour to New Waterford, our athletes have always represented the province with pride and heart. There are dozens of examples from these teams of players turning professional, or becoming very successful college athletes. Other’s have gone on to continue representing Nova Scotia at the National level, bringing home medals at the 21U and Senior Men’s events. Our 1995 group brought home a Bronze medal from the tournament in Waterloo. A talented group, that featured future Senior stars, and a handful of future college players, would bring home the provinces only Canada Cup medal of 90’s. It would be 23 years before another medal would be brought back to Nova Scotia soil. The 2018 Nova Scotia 17U Selects faced much adversity at the tournament hosted by Moncton, New Brunswick. Close battles in the round robin, resulted in the group narrowly advancing to the Quarter final by finishing 2nd in Group B on a tie breaker. Sitting at 3-2 on the tournament, a dominant performance in the Quarter Final by Evan O’Toole of Bridgewater saw the Bluenose squad upset perennial powerhouse Quebec by a score of 2-0. Nova Scotia gave British Columbia everything they could handle, but fell 10-6 after BC broke out late in the game. This set up the first ever all Maritime medal game match up at the Canada Cup with neighboring rival, New Brunswick. Three hit games from Micah McDowell (Kentville) Layton Cuvilier (Hantsport) and Jake MacKinnon (Dartmouth) paced the team to a dominant 9-3 win and the Provinces first medal since 1995. It’s hard to imagine topping the high of standing on the podium for the first time in 23 years. The 2019 17U team was faced with the unenviable task of living up to the success of the previous years edition. Nine returning players provided enough of a core to be optimistic about the teams chances in 2019, along with the return of Head Coach, Kevin Richardson (Lower Sackville) and Pitching Coach, Larry Hood (Chester). Training indoors almost every weekend from January to April, the coaching staff had the tough task of forming a core team, and then a final roster from that group. The final team featured representation from around the Province, and players who have taken very different paths to get to the Selects team. Some have come through BNS Provincial programming at the 13U and 15U level. Some were representing BNS for the first time. One thing was for certain: it was a good baseball team.
2019 Nova Scotia 17U Final Roster Boudreau, Tyler – Bedford Boutilier, Nathan – Dartmouth Boutilier, Noah – Dartmouth Cowan, Shane – Fall River Cuvilier, Layton – Hantsport Fitzgerald, Ryan – Lucasville Hanrahan, Parker – Glace Bay Hunt, Kyle – Hammonds Plains MacMullin, Brett – Sydney Mann, Timmy – Dartmouth McLaughlin, Duncan – Dartmouth McLellan, Ethan – Hants County 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
O’Brien, Nolan – Hebbville O’Rourke, Corson – Sydney Rendell, Camden – Upper Tantallon Riesgo, Camillo – Sackville Short, Michael – Fall River Sibley, Breton – Glace Bay Song, Kiwean – Bedford
The team participated in the 21U Bluenose League against older athletes from Dartmouth, Kentville, Bridgewater, Halifax, and Hammonds Plains/Tri County (East Coast). In 19 games, the team amassed a 15-4 record. The team also participated in several tournaments around Atlantic Canada to prepare for the Canada Cup. Going into the Canada Cup in Regina, much of the talk centered around the traditional powerhouses; Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. Ontario was an 8 time champion, and the defending champion from the previous years tournament in Moncton. Our team would have to survive the intense 5 game round robin in the B Pool. Featuring tough competition from Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, PEI, and Newfoundland, it would not have been wise to look past any one of these teams. Game 1 against Alberta proved to be a low scoring affair, as expected. Tyler Boudreau (Sackville) threw 5 2/3 masterful innings to maintain a 1-0 lead into the late innings. Parker Hanrahan (Glace Bay) provided effective relief, until an Alberta batter managed to hit a solo home run with one out in the 7th to tie the game. International tie breaking rules came into effect for the 8th inning (runners starting on 1st and 2nd). In the top half of the inning, Nova Scotia managed to put one run across via a Noah Boutilier (Dartmouth) single. Alberta would bunt the runners over in the bottom of the 8th, bringing in Timmy Mann (Dartmouth) to try and strand the runners. A fielder’s choice and pop out secured a dramatic 2-1 victory. Game 2 presented a battle with Manitoba. Although being outhit 9-3, Duncan McLaughlin (Dartmouth) spun five solid innings to hold Manitoba down. Taking advantage of two errors by Manitoba in the bottom of the 4th, Nova Scotia would score all the runs they needed to come out with a 3-2 win. Game 3 was a rematch from 2018’s Bronze Medal game, against New Brunswick. A tight 3-3 game heading into the 7th on the back of solid pitching performances from Ethan McLellan (Hants County), Layton Cuvilier (Hantsport) and Timmy Mann (Dartmouth), the team surrendered three runs to fall behind 6-3 heading to the bottom of the 7th. Taking advantage of five walks by New Brunswick pitching, Nova Scotia was paced by a clutch triple from Michael Short (Fall River) to complete the 7-6 come back win. Game 4 proved to be a seesaw battle with Newfoundland. A victory would secure 1st place in group B for Nova Scotia. Some timely Newfoundland offence put Nova Scotia down 11-6 heading to the bottom of the six. It didn’t seem likely the team would be clinching 1st place at the conclusion of this game. Cue the second comeback of the tournament. Two runs in the 6th, followed by a four run 7th winning provided a 12-11 walk off victory. Breton Sibley (Glace Bay) provided the final blow with a bases clearing double in the 7th. Game 5 saw a tight contest with Prince Edward Island. The two sides faces each other several times this season, but PEI would win this round, 3-1. It didn’t matter though. Nova Scotia was guaranteed another top 4 finish and the chance to play for a medal on Sunday. The Semi Final match would set up a rematch from 2018’s Quarter Final with Quebec. The Quebec squad finished 1st in Group A, just edging out Ontario and British Columbia. Looking for revenge from 2018, Quebec held a 1-0 lead heading into the 6th inning. Our boys had been in 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
this situation a couple times already this tournament. The experience obviously helped. One out singles from Layton Cuvilier and Nick Gravel (Fall River) tied the game at 1. Noah Boutilier (Dartmouth) reached via error to set the stage for Cam Rendell (Upper Tantallon). Rendell drove in two runs on a 1-out double to put his team ahead 3-1. Needing only three outs to secure their spot in the Gold Medal game, the pressure was put on early in the bottom of the 7th when Quebec lead off with a double. Cuvilier would come in with the tough task of securing the victory for Tyler Boudreau, who had stymied Quebec hitters through six innings. Cuvilier was up to the challenge, as two fly outs and a strike out would secure Nova Scotia’s first ever birth in the Canada Cup National Championship. Ontario is an intimidating opponent, no matter what sport or level you’re playing them at. Being the countries biggest province, and a traditional baseball powerhouse, no one would fault the Nova Scotia team for having their dream tournament stopped short at the hands of the defending National Champions. A silver medal would be a massive accomplishment with much celebration. Obviously, no one told this to our guys. Duncan McLaughlin would get the ball again in the finals. The pitcher from Dartmouth brought valuable experience to the high pressured situation, as a part of the 2018 Bronze Medal team. Ontario had put up nine runs on British Columbia in the Semi Final, so keeping their bats at bay is no easy assignment. It would be the underdog Nova Scotia team striking first. In the bottom of the 1st inning, lead off walks to Cuvilier and Gravel would set Boutilier up to drive in a run with a single. 1-0 Nova Scotia after one. The next three innings would be a pitcher’s duel. Neither side budging. McLaughlin was cruising along with nine strike outs on the day. Nova Scotia was just looking for that one breakout inning. Layton Cuvilier would give them that innings. Cuvilier lead the bottom of the 5th off with a booming triple. Gravel would walk, once again setting Boutilier up for a single to drive in two runs. 3-0 Nova Scotia. The top of the 6th saw Ontario finally see some success against the Nova Scotia defence. After putting across two runs to cut Nova Scotia’s lead to one, Ethan McLellan faced the daunting task of coming in with zero outs and the bases loaded. No problem McLellan induced a weak grounder that turned into a fielder’s choice to the catcher, followed by two massive strike outs. 3-2 Nova Scotia heading to the 7th. It’s never over until it’s over. The final three outs are always the toughest to get. Especially while trying to preserve a one run game against a powerhouse like Ontario. McLellan was the right guy to have on the mound for this situation. Two strike outs put our boys within one out of a Gold Medal. Of course, Ontario would not go down quietly, as a single and error extended the game by putting the tying run on second base. Then it happened. A 3-2 count on Ontario’s number two batter was met with a booming fastball. This overpowering fast ball was enough to freeze the hitter for strike three. The Nova Scotia 17U Selects could call themselves National Champions. One could hear the collective cheer across the province. Avid fans and followers flooded Baseball Nova Scotia social media accounts with messages of congratulations, both to the team and individuals alike. Even in the wee hours of Monday morning, all eyes were glued on the Game Changer app, or live feeds provided by proud parents at the tournament. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
Executive Director, Brandon Guenette, provided comment on the massive accomplishment to CBC. "It's an incredibly tough tournament for a smaller province to compete in. Going 6-1, with all six wins decided by two runs or less, shows how little room for error there is at the national level. They came up big, game after game." The victory has caught the attention of not only the baseball world, but all sports fans around the Province. Former Nova Scotia 17U Select player, and current New York Yankee prospect, Jake Sanford of Dartmouth, expressed his excitement via his Twitter account.
Nova Scotia Premier, Stephen MacNeil, also sent his congratulations over Twitter.
Head Coach, Kevin Richardson, provided comment to HalifaxToday, on the accomplishment. "I think we really put a lot of emphasis on team, resiliency, and picking each other up," says Richardson. "I mean, we talk about strong pitching, solid defence, and timely hitting, and that's exactly what we did all week." "The program itself has been evolved over the years, and it's really come a long way so the program should be there," explains Richardson. 2019 AGM Report | Baseball Nova Scotia
"For Baseball Nova Scotia, it's massive, it's huge, it puts us on the mark, and as a small province we can compete with the big provinces."
The word “Historic” can sometimes be used loosely and not always in a deserving context. The 2019 Nova Scotia 17U Selects have earned the right to that label.