Courtesy of the St. Thomas Times Journal<\/p>\n
The seven-team St. Thomas and District Fastball League kicks off it’s season this week. Included in the league are several players from last year’s Canadian Champion St. Thomas Centennials along with ISC II contenders Alvinston Indians & Glencoe Astros.<\/p>\n
Union aims to repeat as champs
\nPreview of St. Thomas and District Fastball League <\/p>\nMonday May 01, 2006 <\/p>\n
By Rob Ross
\nTimes-Journal staff
\nComplacency will not hold back the reigning champions of the St. Thomas and District Fastball League.
\nFrom setting high goals to changing venues, the Union Storm now known as the St. Thomas Evergreen Storm has intentions to duplicate their success of last season.
\n
\nThe Storm finally a cleared a hurdle by winning the league championship after taking the pennant for the best record of the 2005 season.
\nSince winning the club\u2019s first league championship in 2001, the Storm had the best regular season record each season but faltered in the playoffs.
\nWith eight members riding the high of contributing to the St. Thomas Evergreen Centennials win of the Canadian senior men\u2019s fastball championship, the Storm blew through the STDFL playoffs concluding by sweeping the defending champion Glencoe Astros in the final.
\nThe star last season for the Storm was league and playoff MVP pitcher Dan Beecroft, who led with 16 wins and a 1.46 earned run average.
\nAlso back in the lineup are leadoff man and centre fielder Mark Coleman, infielders Chris Wismer, Brian Harvey, Ty Lessard and outfielders Chris Payne and Troy Rick.
\nNew in the Storm cloud are ex-Shedden Mission pitcher Brent Crocker and infielder Scott Bate, a former St. Thomas Tom Cat of the Junior IBL. Out of retirement comes Rich Silple.
\nThis season the Storm, now based out of Fingal, are looking to be the first team to repeat as champions since the Alvinston Indians won back to back titles in 1999 and 2000.
\nThe Storm also plan on not being gracious host of the year\u2019s league all-star game July 11 in Fingal.
\nEach season the reigning champs play a team of all-stars selected from the other teams in the league. Other than a tie with Alvinston, the all-stars have always prevailed victorious. The Storm look to wash out that trend.
\nIt\u2019s the St. Thomas Storm but their home games will be played in Fingal, 15 minutes west of the city.
\nThe Storm played the 2005 final in Fingal and enjoyed the more spectator friendly ballpark than Union with its washroom facilities, concession booth and better lighting for both the fans and players.
\nHome games are Thursdays or Tuesdays at 8 p.m.
\nAction begins tonight with the Storm in Belmont for the league\u2019s season opener at 8 p.m.
\nSix teams hope to stop the Storm\u2019s bid to repeat.
\nThe Highgate Rock will not field a team this season however many of the club\u2019s players have hooked up with other teams. <\/p>\nBELMONT
\nAnother club changing addresses is the former Aylmer Cardinals. The birds flew the old nest landing in Belmont as the Swiss Chalet Black Sox.
\nAn improved spectator -friendly diamond is the major reason behind the move.
\nMost of the roster remains the same, led by pitchers Todd Winkworth, a league MVP, Mark Van Vleit and catchers Mark McCallum and Brad Van Gorp. The infield sees Rob Burns, Dwayne Gee, Jesse Brown and Jeff Ingram. Speedy Matt Lynch is joined by brother Tyler in the outfield. Pitcher Craig Walker jumps over from Shedden and pitcher Keenan Haight moves up from the junior ranks. Cory Winkworth adds to the infield.
\nReturning to the league in a Black Sox uniform are veterans utility man Darryl McCallum and outfielders Darren Shackleton and Scott Wilson.
\nThe club has never advanced past the semifinals, losing the first round last year.
\nHome games are Mondays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. <\/p>\nSHEDDEN
\nWith the Storm moving in just down the road the rivalry with Shedden Mission will certainly not lose its intensity. Eying a move above the .500 mark Shedden will be led by Gary Cooke batting champion (.475) and co-home run leader (8). Also big on the long ball are outfielder Jeff Wilcox and pitcher Jason Dawdy, with eight each.
\nThe infield sees Mike Unwin and Kyle Cornelius. Pitcher Corey Williams returns after missing most of last season with a broken wrist and should lighten the load for Dawdy. Standout pitcher Mike Joseph will be making occasional appearances for Shedden. New to the Mission are Joe Caponcini and former Storm catcher Paul Velma.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ll need better defence because we have the offence. If we improve on the defence we\u2019ll improve our record,\u201d manager Paul Unwin said. \u201cFewer walks and fewer unearned runs.\u201d
\nHome games are Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. <\/p>\nBLENHEIM
\nHeading to the post season, Blenheim Home Run Restaurant looked for a long playoff run after finishing second. Instead the Restaurant was closed down in the first round.
\nBack to erase a disappointing end to the club\u2019s season are pitchers Greg Guy and Paul Ceppi, infielders Gregg Haskell, Chris Drew, Steve Donald and outfielders Ryan Gray and Chris Fenton. New entrees on the Home Run Restaurant menu are catcher Bryan Depencier and last season\u2019s rookie of the year Geoff Gunson from Highgate.
\n\u201cTo stay up in the top three and do better in the playoffs, we\u2019ll need the same dedication as last year,\u201d said Matt Haskell of the team\u2019s 2006 hopes. \u201cWe\u2019ll rely on consistent pitching and being able to manufacture runs. With our youth and speed we\u2019ll put pressure on opponents.
\nHaskell would like to see a higher team batting average.
\nHome games are Wednesdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Two games will be played in Merlin, May 7 and a June 11 double-header against Fingal. <\/p>\nMORPETH
\nEven a magician or witch likely couldn\u2019t have helped the Morpeth Magic from a dreadful league debut. The expansion team finished last with just seven wins in 28 games. \u201cOur first year didn\u2019t go as planned. Our starting pitcher (Warren Voth) got hurt three games in and was out for most of the season,\u201d manager Scott Ryckman said. \u201cWe\u2019ve picked up another pitcher and added a few key players. We\u2019re expecting to finish top three.\u201d
\nHoping to forget any memory of last season are returning outfielders Jeff Parney, Scott Lackei, Wes Shaw, Mike Taylor, shortstop John Pickering and team MVP catcher Jeff Hope. That new pitcher is Ben Blonde, the long time star on the Highgate Rock mound. Also coming over from the Rock are second baseman Norm Logan and first baseman-catcher Jason Hope.
\nThose new additions have given the Magic talent to enter two big tournaments, an ISC 2 qualifier and the KW Pride in St. Catharines later this month. Watch the Magic Fridays at 8 p.m. and occasionally Thursdays at 8 p.m. <\/p>\nALVINSTON
\nA familiar line-up returns to the field for the Alvinston Indians, the last club to repeat as league champions.
\nPitchers Doug Charlton and Brad Young continue to be aces on the mound with Scott Smith back as catcher. First baseman Mike Black, second baseman Joe Triest, outfielders Marc Greenwood, Andy Triest and Ryan Chapman, plus designated hitter Jeff Huston and pitcher Greg Moore are back as the Indians usual suspects. Also Scott McAuley.
\nNew faces are first baseman Shawn Fenton and utility man Darryl Smith both move from Highgate and catcher\/ DH Greg Huston from Glencoe.
\nPitcher Derwyn Hodgins comes out of retirement to pitch.
\nManager Paul McCart says the Indians want to improve on last season\u2019s result. Having a more consistent attendance at games will surely add to the win column.
\nOutside of the league the Indians will be working towards winning the ISC 2 tournament and the OASA Intermediate Eliminations Aug. 4-7 held in St. Thomas. Eight players from the league roster are part of the Alvinston team that has won the OASA Masters provincial title for the past two years. <\/p>\nGLENCOE
\nOnly two years in the league the Glencoe Astros have been to the final twice winning in 2004. The goal is to return again but the team will have the goal with a younger roster.
\nThe Astros loss eight players with many fresh faces filling in the spots. Pitching remains strong with Shaun Winship and Brett Neal.
\nBack as Astros are catcher Ed Gould, first baseman Ron Pazitka, John Gougoulais, third baseman Bill Piskorowski and outfielders Greg Eichenberger and Kyle Mitchell who also serves as team manager.
\nOne veteran star added to the team is former Highgate infielder Theo Metron and infielder Rowan Lamb. \u201cWe\u2019re confident we can be right back in the final,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cWe have strong pitching. The biggest challenge will be our hitting because we\u2019re young.\u201d
\nHome games are Tuesdays at 8 p.m.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Courtesy of the St. Thomas Times Journal The seven-team St. Thomas and District Fastball League kicks off it’s season this week. Included in the league are several players from last year’s Canadian Champion St. Thomas Centennials along with ISC II contenders Alvinston Indians & Glencoe Astros. Union aims to repeat as champs Preview of St. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,11,3],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/fastpitchwest.com\/thedeuce\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}