Ottawa team at World Masters Games in Torino, Italy

from Eric Rosenquist

What do you call a team of 14 guys from Ontario, Quebec, PEI, and Florida?

 

The Ottawa 13s are at the World Masters Games in Torino Italy for the next 12 days, hoping to have a good showing in the 35+ competitive division.

 

Fastball fans from Eastern Ontario will recognise most of the team members from GOFL and tournament play in the region.

 

Ottawa-area players include Neil Cooke, Kevin McGuire, Mike Money, Cory Morrison, and Eric Rosenquist.

 

Bobby Jack Hart hails from nearby South Mountain; Cornwall is represented by Darryl Beck, Dan Loney, and Jason Woodside; and Terry Redden from Kingston round out the Ontario contingent.

 

Quebec has two representatives, both mainstays of the Donnacona Blue Sox team. Patrice Leclerc and Luc Thibault will share the pitching duties with Neil Cooke as well as play other defensive positions and contribute their coaching skills.

 

Curtis Reilly is the lone PEI representative, playing his intermediate ball in the Maritime leagues and joining fellow Islander Cory "Spud" Morrison in tournaments from time to time.

 

Jeff Lane lives in Florida, but plays several  tournaments a year with the Knoxville/Ontario squad that plays in the Elkland PA and Au Sable NY annually.

Competition for the 13s in the 35+ competitive division consists of one team from each of Australia, the European Union, and New Zealand, plus the Toronto Gators. The Gators entered in the 35+ premier division due to having several former national team members, but got bumped down a level when there were no other premier level teams in the 35+ age bracket. Each team in the division also has three crossover games against teams in the 35+ recreational division, making for 7 preliminary round games in 8 days. After the preliminary round, the top 2 seeds play for gold/silver while seeds 3 & 4 play for bronze.

 

Stay tuned for updates during the tourney, or follow @rosenqui on Twitter.

 

Good luck to the guys over in Italy - I will try and post results to the blog as they come in.