The 5th Annual Vancouver Challenge Mens FP tournament commenced this evening under sunny skies and warm temperatures at South Memorial Park in Vancouver. The results from tonight’s opening round robin games were as follows:
Vancouver Grey Sox 9 – Richmond Linus Software Stealers 5
WP – Sean Whitten – relief from Rick Smith (5)
LP – Darren Strang – relief from John Bishop (2)
Short stop Kevin Schellenberg powered the Grey Sox offense with a 4 for 4 performance at the plate, which included 2 triples. Brian Powell lead the Richmond attack with a 2 run homerun.
Saskatoon Diamondbacks 4 – Squamish Wizards 0
WP – Jeff Farion
LP – Jim Peers
Adam Schnarr an addition for the tournament from the Victoria Central Nine Senior B squad, lead the D’ Backs offense with a 2 run homerun.
Ball Park Tidbits – A very large opening night crowd turned out for the start of what has the makings of a very competitive weekend of top quality Senior Mens FP. Many of the fans are looking forward to Saturday morning when the So Cal Bombers, Portland CR and the hosts of the 2006 Canadian Mens FP Nationals, the Prince George Black Bears will take the field. Good food,
beverages and atmosphere in the park were evident during the first night and more of the same is expected throughout the weekend. Some of the noteable first night attendees included Softball Canada National Team Coach Don Bates who is in town scouting for the weekend. As well George Morneau, father of Minnesota Twins star Justin Morneau, was working his customary salesmanship in assisting with the 50 / 50 sales.
Saturday’s round robin games are as follows:
9:00 am – So Cal vs. Prince George
11:00 am – Vancouver vs. Prince George
11:00 am – Portland vs. Richmond – Diamond 2
1:00 pm – Vancouver vs Saskatoon
3:00 pm – Prince George vs Richmond
3:00 pm – Squamish vs. So Cal – Diamond 2
5:00 pm – Vancouver vs. So Cal
5:00 pm – Squamish vs. Portland – Diamond 2
7:00 pm – Portland vs. Saskatoon
After completion of the modified round robin the top 6 teams will be seeded and advance to Sunday’s single elimination playoff round. 1st and 2nd overall receive a bye to the semi finals, and 3rd vs 6th and 4th vs. 5th will square off in the quarter finals.
The weather forecast remains positive for the balance of the weekend with mainly sunny skies and highs in the low 20’s c and thus bodes well for the teams and the many fastpitch enthusiasts. We will continue to provide results at the conclusion of each day and will also be providing information via the Vancouver Challenge link on our website at www.vancouvergreysox.com
Larry Kancs
President
Vancouver Grey Sox
www.vancouvergreysox.com