Blast from the Past - Carp Valley Pride

I can remember back in the early 90s when the Carp Valley Pride had their Senior team - it was a pretty big deal to watch these guys play. There were some large crowds that went to the fairgrounds to watch the challenge matches.

Playing for Pride: New Zealanders' play speaks volumes on the diamond;
Don Campbell - The Ottawa Citizen - May 9, 1990

Eric Wilson and Ross Wallace figured the tough part about playing in Carp this summer would be facing opposing pitchers and hitters.

These two New Zealand imports for the first edition of the Carp Valley Pride didn't expect problems with the language after moving from the predominantly English-speaking Hutt Valley back home to the Ottawa Valley.

At least not until the pair taught at a softball clinic for West Carleton six- and seven-year-olds last week. "Ross and I were telling the kids how to hold the bat, how to grip the ball, stuff like that," related Wilson, the pitching expert. "At the end of it, we asked the kids if they had any questions.

"One stood up and said: 'Do you guys always talk like that? We couldn't understand a word you said.' "

Fortunately for Wilson and Wallace -- or Big Ross Wallace as he is referred to in team press releases -- they have no such trouble getting their point across on the diamond.

The pair are touted as what the Pride, a team combining forces of the former Turpin Pontiacs and Stittsville Canadians, need to win an International Softball Congress world title.

That quest begins when Eastern Ontario's only senior softball team open a series of cash challenges at the Carp Fairgrounds against Bernwood Contractors and continues Saturday against Thetford Mines with a 2 p.m. doubleheader.

"That kind of pressure on you is tough," said Wilson, who pitched for ISC champions in 1985 and '86 in Seattle. "We haven't started so we don't know a whole lot about our chances.

"But I talked with a friend from back home who plays in Waterloo (Ontario). He felt this would be a great team when the two teams combined forces."

Since it's winter in New Zealand when it's summer here and vice versa, the Carp pair are just two of maybe 100 fellow countrymen who opt for North America summers and softball.

All of them have little idea what an off-season is. The season back home ended in late March and they have to be back for October to get ready for the 1990-91 campaign.

All are in high demand. One, they're willing. Two, it broadens the player pool wherever they go. It's not like a Carp stealing Manotick's best two players in order to make one super team as opposed to two better-than-average clubs.

Wallace and Wilson were recruited by Carp Valley teammate Donnie Cox, whose work with Mitel took him to New Zealand for the winter.

"They had other offers. What we got was one of the top hitters in the New Zealand league and one of their top pitchers," said Cox.

"Really it's a good way to see the world," said Wilson, who figures he makes 100 pitching appearances over a 12-month period. "You don't put too many dollars away doing it. But then it's not costing you anything really to see other parts of the world."

Back home, Wallace led the Hutt Valley (near Wellington) League in home runs with 27 and batted .396. Wilson, meanwhile, fashioned a 1.96 ERA and teams with Kingston's Michael Finn for what could be the best right-left pitching combo in the province.

"The New Zealanders improve at twice the rate of our guys," said Valley Pride president Jim Taylor. "We have high expectations and feel fortunate to have them.

"I'm hoping before they go back, we can come up with some kind of agreement that will ensure them back next year, too."

Ross Wallace ended up staying here and is currently married to a local girl, Sandra Lathem - her brother Geoff and dad Warren look after the diamonds in Carp.