With the fastball season only about a week away, it’s time for the 4th annual preseason rankings. For the Ontario ISC II Rankings this year, we will be using the average score of the Ontario teams that are ranked by the Ontario members of the ISC II Ranking Committee.

1. Elmira Cubs – The 2005 ISC II Champions come into the 2006 season ranked on top and all eyes will be on ToC Top Pitcher & MVP Casey Halstead. The Cubs have added a couple more graduating Waterloo Juniors to the team and there is concern about playing time for some, but an already impressive lineup may be even better in 2006. The Cubs are taking a big early step with the Woodstock Legends tourney on the heels of St. Clement’s.

2. Alvinston Indians – After an impressive run to the semi-finals at the 2005 ToC, the Indians have brought shortstop Scott Macauley and pitcher Derwyn Hodgins out of retirement to bolster their lineup for 2006. Doug Charlton seems to get better with age and was throwing as hard as anyone except Konkle and Costello. The Indians will be in St. Clement’s and the Snapper Shootout early in the year prior to Innerkip.

3. Port Elgin Blue Devils – Finalists at the 2005 ToC, the young Blue Devils squad run away with the Blue Water league last year, but will need to add some pitching help to keep ace Rob Fawcett fresh. If Dan Martin returns and they can find a #3, the Blue Devils will definitely be around on Friday at this year’s ToC. Port Elgin will be in St. Clement’s in late May.

4. Niagara Snappers – The Snappers won six tournaments in 2005 and finished tied for 5th at the ToC. Have added 2nd baseman Jamie Morey for tournaments and will move Trevor Falk back behind the plate and Kevin Newhouse to shortstop. Key for the Snappers success will be for Dan Duemo to duplicate his monster 2005 this year. The Snappers are in the Jarvis ISC tournament before hosting the Snapper Shootout and then heading to Innerkip.

5. Bridgeport PROforma Braves – Todd Winkworth will share mound time with Jim Schnarr this year, giving the Braves a solid 1-2. With Jay and Jodie Schnarr at the top of the lineup the Braves can hit with anyone and will be going into the season with the knowledge that they can win when it counts after taking the South Perth title last year. The Braves will be in St. Clement’s and then the Woodstock Legends tournament.

6. Elora Wellington Brewers – With Todd Uhrig and Mike Pinder, the Brewers are set in the circle while Ryan Dilgee and Terry Martin bring lots of championship experience from their time with Harriston. Elora is in the Snapper Shootout prior to Innerkip.

7. Ottawa Team Easton Thunder – The million dollar questions is: What is Dan Konkle doing this year? The hot rumour in March had DK and Todd Fraser headed south to Pennsylvania, but that has cooled recently. Lefty Jeff Murphy and Darryl Buttar from Cobourg will travel east to join the Thunder for tournaments. They will be in the Fitzroy Harbour qualifier.

8. Micksburg Twins – Ace Corey Costello wants to bring the Twins to the ToC. Does anyone want to bet against him? Micksburg will try to qualify out of Fitzroy Harbour and Costello may be enough to get them to the ToC on his own, with some help from cousin Shawn.

8. Tavistock Smully’s Merchants – Tavistock will be in need of some pitching help to go along with lone holdover Steve Cook in 2006. There’s still lots of offence, despite the loss of Pinder, with the likes of Jamie Boyd, Jamie Rader and Dave Kollman. Tavistock is also in the St. Clement’s tournament before travelling down the road to Innerkip.

10. Harriston Mercury’s – Harriston pick up P Jeremy Osbourne and C Bryan Depencier from the wreckage of Highgate to go along with ace Scott Smith and DP Jeremy Creeden. While the loss of Dilgee will hurt up the middle, Harriston still has lots of experience and will be a force to be reckoned with in St. Clement’s and Innerkip.

10. Toronto Champion Indians – Toronto went undefeated to win the Ontario Challenge Cup last August. A team loaded with veterans who can hit the ball, the Indians see plenty of good pitching every night in the Oshawa league and will be a contender in Kitchener. They are playing in Waterloo and the Snapper Shootout early on in the year.

Other Ontario teams receiving votes:
Palermo Athletics – just falling outside the top 10, Palermo showed they still know how to win with their victory at last year’s OASA Intermediate Eliminations. Had a disappointing ToC, losing to Eric Steinbeck in the first round, but Palermo play top opposition every night in the ISC Travel League. Will be in Millgrove and the Snapper Shootout before heading to Innerkip.

Waterdown Hammer – With ace Tim Neill on board, the Hammer will look to duplicate the success they often have on the road by travelling to Fitzroy to try to qualify.

Shakespeare Falcons – Top gun Fred Follings heads to Innerkip with the Falcons who will look to build on their success in the South Perth league last year.

Glencoe Astros – Shaun Winship has spent all winter putting this team together. Looks good on paper, but can they make it work in Innerkip?

Blair Setford
ISC II Commissioner
blairjs(at)rogers.com

Here are the season-ending Ontario ISC II Rankings. Congratulations to the Elmira Cubs, vaulting 8 spots to #1 in the rankings. The bracketed numbers refer to the last rankings which were released around July 31.

1 (9) Elmira Cubs – Won the biggest tournament of the year and will be in Kitchener to defend their title on home turf. The best may still be ahead for this team which is a great collection of young players combined with some veteran leadership.

2 (7) Port Elgin Blue Devils – Breezed through their league, but didn’t play in the playoffs due to player shortage – looked very good in Chippewa Falls. Another team with a bright future if they can stay together.

3 (1) Niagara Snappers – Won a lot of tournaments, including the tough Snapper Shootout and Innerkip ISC II Qualifer. Should have most of their team back for next year.

4 (4) Ottawa Team Easton Thunder – Were two feet away from tying their semi-final game at the ToC in the bottom of the seventh. They’ve got the pitching, just need one more bat in the lineup.

5 (2) Tavistock Smully’s Merchants – Another bridesmaid finish in the South Perth league tourney for Tavi. Will likely lose Fred Follings to Shakespeare next year for ISC II play and rumours are swirling about other players moving on, but that shouldn’t take away from an exceptional season.

6 (8) Bridgeport Braves – Dropped a second round playoff game to Elmira at the ToC, but rebounded to win the South Perth league championship.

7 (-) Alvinston Indians – Were as good as anyone in the second half of the season, winning the Glencoe and Alvinston tourneys and finishing tied for third at the ToC.

8 (4) Palermo Athletics – Ran into the Eric Steinbeck buzzsaw in Chippewa Falls, but showed their capabilities in winning the Intermediate elims.

9 (6) Harriston Mercurys – Fell about two feet short in tying their quarter final game against Port Elgin. Will need to take the long way through qualifying to get to Kitchener.

10 (-) Toronto Champion Indians – Won the Ontario Challenge Cup and are in the finals of the Oshawa league.

Honourable mentions:
Orangeville Resolve Kings – opened a lot of eyes in finishing a strong second at the Ontario Challenge Cup.

Waterdown Hammer – finished second in the tough Elkland First Weekend Tournament and lost only once in the GHFL regular season.

Micksburg Twins – hard to go wrong with Cory Costello, who had a monster season and was named to the All-Tournament team at the ToC.

Kitchener Phoenix Outlaws – hit the ball a ton, lead by Tim Dubois. With the right pitching, could step up and make some noise in ISC II. Finished third at the Challenge Cup.

Highgate Rock – strong showing at the Intermediate elims in finishing second and are among the final four in the St. Thomas league.

Glencoe Astros – put up a good showing at the qualifier after losing early and are in the St. Thomas league finals.

Congratulations to all the tournament and league winners this year in what has been an outstanding summer for Ontario fastball.

On a personal note, I want to thank all the teams and players for their support of the ISC II program and for those who love the game and voice their opinions about how to make things better here on ghfl.ca.

There have been many highlights this year, but once again Ontario teams have shown their mettle by not only winning the ISC II championship for a fourth straight year, but all 10 teams made the playoffs and Ontario teams took 7 of the top 8 placings.

The four-team photo with Elmira, Port Elgin, Ottawa & Alvinston was a proud moment for Ontario fastball. Hopefully we’ll see even better things in Kitchener.

Cheers,

Blair Setford
ISC II Commissioner

As might be expected after winning two tough tournaments in June, the Niagara Snappers are the new number one atop the Ontario Top 10 Rankings. Previous month’s rankings are included in brackets.

1 (5) Niagara Snappers Won the highly competitive Snapper Shootout & the Innerkip qualifier beating Palermo twice & Norwich. Added Tim Neill, who was named to the All Tournament Team last year, for the ISC II Tournament of Champions.

2 (1) Tavistock Smully’s Merchants After losing in the semi’s to Niagara at Snapper Shootout, rebounded to win the Mitchell tournament. Informed speculation has Tavi looking for a middle infielder and possibly a pitcher for the ToC.

3 (8) Ottawa Team Easton Thunder Won the Blackburn qualifier along with the Baltimore and Manotick tournaments – Dan Konkle is on a roll on the mound, but if Dan Bradley is unable to go to Chippewa Falls, will need someone to back up DK.

4 (4) Palermo Athletics Pushed Snappers to “if” game in Innerkip beating Bridgeport & Elmira along the way. Looking to add a middle infielder for ToC, where they will also have Mike Joseph.

5 (3) Micksburg Twins Corey Costello strikes out 22 in 9 innings but couldn’t do it all himself in finishing second in Blackburn. Costello will be high on most team’s pickup list but it’s unknown if he can go to Wisconsin.

6 (2) Harriston Mercury’s Hand injury is keeping Ryan Diljee on the shelf. Joe German doing a lot of pitching while Scott Smith rounds into form. Adding Shaun Winship, Terry Martin and one other for ToC.

7 (7) Port Elgin Blue Devils Lost a close game to Tavistock in Mitchell. Burning up the Blue Water league, but rumour has it the BDs are scrambling for pickups for ToC.

8 (10) Bridgeport Braves Schnarr brothers carried Braves to 3rd at the qualifier after opening loss to Highgate. Have been invited to ToC.

9 (-) Elmira Cubs Good looking team lost two close games to Palermo & Bridgeport in finishing 4th at Innerkip after beating Alvinston, Durham and Glencoe.

10 (-) Cobourg Stingers Finished 3rd in Blackburn after a fourth place finish in Baltimore.

Honourable mentions:
Durham Eagles Tough time in Innerkip, but finished strong third in Baltimore.
Glencoe Astros Finished 5th in Innerkip – already starting to plan for next year.

Blair Setford
ISC II Commissioner
mail to: blairjs@rogers.com