From the Canberra Times, Australia

Heading bat to basics helps ACT turn tables
BY PAUL NEWMAN

The ACT finally found form to score its first win of the Australian under-19 men’s fastpitch softball championships at Hawker yesterday.

The defending champion made a horror start to the tournament losing its first five matches on the tournament’s opening two days.

But a 45-minute batting drill before yesterday’s match against Queensland sparked the team into some much-needed form.

Queensland had thumped ACT 11-1 on day two, but yesterday the home side turned the tables to score a 7-3 victory.

”Finally we clicked,” coach Wayne Duroux said.

”Poor execution with the bat had let us down but after a 45-minute batting session we turned that around.”

Pitcher Matt Kraeh was just as effective with the bat. He hit a triple and a single, as well as keeping the Queensland runs to a minimum.

But in its second match yesterday the ACT found it tough going against Western Australia. It was behind 8-2, before scoring four runs in the sixth inning and eventually going down 8-6.

Relief pitcher Brendan Robinson helped slow the WA run flow as well as hitting two singles with the bat.

Despite sitting at the bottom of the table the ACT still hopes to contest the final on Saturday, but must beat Victoria and WA today to stay in contention.

Meanwhile, in the under-19 women’s tournament in Victoria, the ACT scored a 13-3 win over Tasmania yesterday before losing to NSW 5-0.

AT A GLANCEUnder-19 men: ACT 11 bt QUEENSLAND 1; WA 4 bt VICTORIA 3; WA 8 bt ACT 6; NSW 10 bt VICTORIA 0; NSW 11 bt QUEENSLAND 1.

Editor’s note: Any wonder why these guys are 4x gold?

From the Miramichi Leader:
By Blake Lynch
Published July 23, 2008
Copyright Miramichi Leader

SOFTBALL— Rejean Legere has a task ahead of him. He’s the head coach of the New Brunswick midget fast pitch softball team. He has 35-40 midget aged players registered and over the course of the next year it will be his task to bring that number down to 17 who will represent New Brunswick on a new international stage.

The squad is preparing for the North American Men’s Under-19 Fast Pitch Championships that will be held July 20, 2009 in Summerside, P.E.I. The tournament was created by Softball Canada in response to boys softball being cut from the Canada Games program.

“It was unfortunate that the boys program was cut,” said Legere. “However this tournament looks like it will be an even bigger venue to showcase elite midget level fast pitch softball.”

The event will feature a team from every Canadian province with the exception of Yukon and the Northwest Territories, as well as three or four U.S.-based teams and two or three teams from Mexico.

Playing within the Miramichi Tim Horton’s Men’s Fast Pitch League he hopes to give the players every opportunity to showcase why they deserve a spot on the final New Brunswick roster. The league consisting of older men’s teams has proven to be a tough challenge for the midget aged squad. The calibre of pitching they see on a regular basis from the likes of Jimmy Keenan, Trevor Ryan, and Brandon Gorman will give them a taste of what they can expect from top teams they will face.

As Softball New Brunswick looks to develop and bring back their programs to the glory of past years the players today are in need of competition and Legere said he is thankful he has a league at his disposal to get some innings in.

“Without the Miramichi Tim Horton’s League they’re be no one and no where for us to play,” Legere admitted. “The support from the league and the people of Miramichi has been very promising and we look forward to working with them over the the next few years as we develop this team.”

Part of that development will see the squad participate in the 2008 Midget Eastern Canadian Championships the Nelson Softball Association will host later this fall from Aug. 21-24. There are a number of local Miramichi boys looking for a spot on the squad and participating in this tournament. Follow the team and look for future articles highlighting their progress and details of of their development as this national event draws closer.