Junior Men’s Fast Pitch Championships to begin today
From the Whitehorse Daily Star
Expectations are high as Canada’s top junior ball players take to the field tonight for the team’s opening game against the Czech Republic at the Eighth ISF Junior Men’s Fast Pitch Championships.
June 20, 2008
Photo by Jon Molson
BATTER UP – A player on Team Australia sizes up a pitch during the country’s practice session on Thursday evening at Takhini diamond four.Expectations are high as Canada’s top junior ball players take to the field tonight for the team’s opening game against the Czech Republic at the Eighth ISF Junior Men’s Fast Pitch Championships.
The game will be played at 7 p.m. at Field One in the Pepsi Softball Centre and will follow the championships opening ceremonies, which are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
“We are excited about playing in front of our own country and feel privileged to do so,†said Canada’s Team Leader Duke Cormier. “It’s a benefit to us.â€
An all-time record of 12 teams for the championships are set to compete in round robin format for the next seven days. The tournament began today with a match between Australia and Botswana, which started at noon on Field One. This will be Botswana’s first appearance in the junior fastpitch championships.
The other countries include the Czech Republic, Argentina, Denmark, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, the United States and Venezuela. Of the 12 countries, only Canada, the United States and Japan have competed in all eight junior fastpitch championships, which was first held in 1981.
After the conclusion of round robin play, the top four countries will advance to the page playoff, which is scheduled to begin on June 28. The page playoff format features the third and fourth place teams facing off against one another, which will immediately be followed by a second game between two top teams at the championships.
The winning team of the second page playoff game will earn a direct birth into the Grand Final. The team that comes out victorious between the third and fourth place squads will then play whichever team loses the second playoff match.
In recent years, Australia has been on a tear at the championships and are currently the three-time defending champions.
The Australians haven’t dropped a single game in the past two world junior events and are, to date, the only team that have been able to win the title on home soil.
