My friend and broadcast partner at ISC II has released his Top 10 rankings for ISC II teams in Ontario, Canada. As most of you know, Ontario is a hotbed for men’s fastball and turns out some of the best teams in the game. Last year, both teams in the ISC II Championship game were from Ontario. (2-time defending champion Harriston Mercurys and Smully’s Tavistock Merchants.).
The full ISC II rankings for all teams — Canadian, U.S. and other are due out shortly, and it’s a good bet you’ll find many of the teams listed in the Ontario Top 10 near the top of the heap.
For the uninitiated, the ISC II is the “intermediate” level classification, just below the ISC World Tournament open teams, still in its infancy. In only it’s fourth year, it’s already drawing a solid 40 teams, roughly comparable to ASA “A” and NAFA “AA”. By way of comparison, last year’s ASA “A” runnerup, Keatings Fitness from Pennsylvania finished 12th in the ISC II. It’s a great place for teams not quite at the open level required for the ISC World Tournament. Last year, new ISC II Commissioner Blair Setford initiated an ambitious broadcast program for ISC II games, carrying 18 games live on the internet. (We were fortunate enough to be a part of that, and will be back at the ISC II this summer, in Chippewa Falls, WI.
Click here for Maddy’s extensive photo galleries from the ISC II taken last year in Fargo, N.D. As you can see from the shots, she was right down on the field to capture all the action.
It was just a few years ago that Team Rainey was going head to head with the Toronto Jaguars and the Sebringville Sting in the NAFA “AA” division before they moved up to open level ball. This year, a California team will be bidding for a berth to the ISC II Tournament of Champions in Chippewa Falls, WI, the NorCal Mavericks, with former Rainey player Chris Wright, joining forces with Troy Parker’s Leaf team. They’ll have Spud Barker and 2002 NAFA “A” MVPitcher Ed Gaspar on the mound. Keep an eye on the Mavs, and I don’t mean Dallas.
