(click logo for official tournament website)

June 23, 2008

Marquee match-ups for today include 3-1 Japan vs. 3-1 Mexico at 2:30pm and a nightcap of 4-1 Venezuela vs. the current leader, 4-0 Canada at 7:30pm

Game Time Field Team Team

25 9:30am I Denmark vs. Australia
26 11:00am II Botswana vs. Canada
27 12:00pm I South Africa vs. Argentina
28 1:30pm II Venezuela vs. Czech Republic
29 2:30pm I Japan vs. Mexico
30 4:00pm II New Zealand vs. United States
31 5:00pm I Australia vs. Czech Republic
32 6:30pm II Denmark vs. Argentina
33 7:30pm I Venezuela vs. Canada

Vancouver Grey Sox & Playoff Results from the Rose Cup Tournament

[Portland, OR ] – The Vancouver Grey Sox were eliminated from further action this morning at the Rose Cup Tournament being held in Portland, Oregon. Horse Lake, AB Thunder beat the Grey Sox 2 – 1. Game details are as follows:

Horse Lake, AB Thunder 2 – Vancouver Grey Sox 1
WP – Darren Zack (6) 2IP, 1H, 2Ks in relief of Sean Whitten, 5IP, 1H, 2Ks
LP – Nick Underhill, 7IP, 2R, 3H, 6Ks
Evan Potskin delivered a 2 run homerun in the top of the sixth to provide the Thunder with the margin of victory.

Other playoff results were the host Portland DeMarini team defeating the Bakersfield, CA Lumberkings 6 – 3 to advance to the semi final vs. Broken Bow. Bow then knocked the Portland side out of the event with a 5 inning victory. Horse Lake by virtue of their win over the Grey Sox faced Palm Springs, CA So Cal Bombers, with So Cal winning 3 – 0. That set up a very good final matchup between So Cal and Broken Bow. Broken Bow won the tight contest with a run in the seventh to prevail 1 – 0, and are to be congratulated for their fine play in capturing the event. Winning pitcher was Andrew Kirkpatrick, losing pitcher was Lucas Mata.

After a 2 – 2 record at the Rose Cup the Grey Sox seasonal record now stands at 22 – 5. Next action is June 28 and 29 when we will be hosting Portland, Oregon DeMarini for a 4 game super series in Vancouver. Game times at South Memorial Park are 6:30 & 8:30 pm Saturday and 11:00 am & 1:00 pm Sunday.

Larry Kancs
President
Vancouver Grey Sox
www.vancouvergreysox.com

Al Doran, of everyone’s favorite site, Al’s Fastball is providing on-the-scene coverage of a number of tournaments this summer, leading up to “The Big One”, the ISC World Tournament, in Kimberly Wisconsin. Next up is the World Fastball Invitational in Monkton, June 26-29.

In addition to the reports posted to his website, Al travels with his trusty Blackberry, often posting several updates during the course of the games. For information on how to get on the email list, see below.

Here’s the schedule for Al’s “Summer Tour 2008”

2008 Season Plans for www.alsfastball.com
We plan to be in:
Kitchener May 30 – June 1 – Legends of Fastball
Niagara-on-the-Lake – June 6-8 – Snapper Shootout
Midland – June 13-15 – Explorer Tournament
Monkton – June 26-29 – World Fastball Invitational
Kimberly – August 10-16 – 2008 ISC World Tournament
http://www.iscfastpitch.com

Al’s Fastball News
*Email: fastball(at)pmihrm.com
fastball@pmihrm.com
NEWS-1: http://www.AlsFastball.com/
NEWS-2: http://fastpitchwest.com/alsfastball

If you’re not on his mailing list, you can write to him at fastball (at) pmihrm.com and ask to be added. Be sure to include your full name, and put “Please subscribe me” on the subject line.

From the Whitehorse Daily Star

June 19, 2008

Photo by Vince Fedoroff

TAKING A CUT – An Argentinean batter takes a cut during Wednesday’s exhibition game against the Czech Republic while some of the U.S. team watch on from the bleachers. (top) PREPARATIONS – Head coach Eduardo Sabat of Argentina’s Jr. men’s fastpitch team, left, discusses preparations during a practice Wednesday at Takhini diamond number one. His son, pitching coach Francisco Sabate, listens on while coach Arturo Anea, right, looks over the roster.

On one field, Takhini diamond number four, the South Africans.

Across the way on three, the Czech Republic and Argentina.

And tucked in the corner on five, Venezuela.

Under the sunshine of Wednesday afternoon, youth from around the world continued to shake off their jet lag while preparing for an international fastpitch championship that will come only once in their life.

The eighth ISF Junior Men’s World Fast Pitch Championship begins at noon Friday with Australia defending its three consecutive titles against Botswana, a newcomer to the event held every four years. The 12-team round robin tournament runs for 10 days, with the finals scheduled for June 29.

Canada, a consistently top contender with a gold in 1993, and bronze in ‘97, ‘01 and in ‘05, opens the championship against the Czechs Friday evening at 7 p.m. after the opening ceremonies.

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