U16 Stittsville Competitive Girls Tryouts - November 1 and 8

The Stittsville 56ers have announced their tryouts for their U16 (athletes born prior to 2004) girls bantam II Fastball team. The team will compete in the Provincial Women’s Softball Association qualifier tournament (July 26-28) and the provincial championships (August 8-11).

Tryouts are November 1 and 8 from 8 to 10 pm at Stittsville Public School. Athletes need to register and pay the $10 try out fee (to cover gym costs and insurance) online with the Stittsville organization here (http://www.stittsvillesoftball.org/site/ClientSite/article/826492) and complete the athlete information form online here (https://goo.gl/forms/XPXV34HiD0w0qBEC3). 

The team has a dedicated coaching staff that is committed to maximizing local competitive opportunities for female athletes and improving individual athlete skills. The coaching staff is a dedicated team of volunteers - none of whom have children who will be trying out for the team. We welcome all athletes who are willing to travel to west Ottawa for practices and games to try out for the team. Any questions about the team or tryouts can be directed to Erin Durant at edurant@blg.com.

The 2019 coaching staff bios can be found below:

Erin Durant, Head Coach

Erin is an accomplished softball athlete who has competed in the women’s division of the PWSA and has attended a number of Softball Canada National Championships at the Junior and Women’s division. She is also a former university athlete who competed for the University of Ottawa Gee Gees and the Queen’s University Golden Gaels. Erin was a member of the last Ottawa-area women’s team to win a medal at the women’s Softball Canada National Championships with the Orleans Rebels in 2009 where the team earned bronze. Erin was also named to the Softball Canada All-Canadian team in 2016 at the Senior Women’s Canadians as an all-star outfielder. Erin retired from competitive softball after the 2018 season where the Bytown Belles placed third at the PWSA women’s provincial championships. She has been an occasional coach with the University of Ottawa Gee Gees since 2016 and has previously coached with the Kanata Pirates organization. When she is not at a softball diamond, she is a lawyer at Canada’s largest law firm.

Brad Pender, Assistant Coach

Brad is both an accomplished baseball and softball athlete. Brad played elite-level baseball as an outfielder and catcher with the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians where he competed throughout Ontario and the United States. Brad also played college baseball with the Academy of Baseball Canada, an elite baseball program in Montreal, and with the Trois-Rivières Saints in the Canadian Baseball League. More recently, Brad has competed on the competitive softball circuit where he has attended the International Softball Congress World Tournament with the Micksburg Twins, Broker4Tickets and the Kingston Axemen where he has been named to ISC II All World Team as an outfielder. Brad has experience coaching both male and female baseball and softball players.

Dale Aiken, Assistant Coach

Dale has been involved in softball and baseball most of his life. Dale has been coaching male and female athletes for twenty years. Dale has served in head coach and assistant coach positions for the Kanata Pirates, Ottawa University Gee Gee’s and the Stittsville 56’ers competitive programs. Dale was the president of Kanata Minor Softball for over a decade and was the director of competitive programs for that organization. Dale received certification as a facilitator and instructor with Softball Ontario in 2008 along with his level 3 coaching certification.

Carolyn Harman, Assistant Coach

Carolyn is an accomplished athlete, with over 30 years of playing competitive softball in and around Ottawa. She is a former Kanata Pirate pitcher / shortstop who was personally trained by Gil Read and went on to win multiple golden glove competitions, and was the first woman since 1978 to hit a home run over the fence in the GCLSL. Carolyn has been a competitive coach and board member with the Stittsville Minor Softball Association for the past 3 years - with her teams placing 3rd in the province in 2016 (Bantam Selects) and 2017 (Midget Selects). Since 2015 she worked alongside Kevin Daize, coaching the competitive Bantam/Midget winter ball and pitching programs. She has her Level 1 Umpire training, Level 1 NCCP Coaching training completed and is working towards her certification. On top of her elite softball experience, she brings 10 years of personal development and life coaching experience that helps develop the athletes mental game, confidence and improve mindfulness on and off the field.

GOFL All Stars 2018

The All Stars for the Greater Ottawa Fastball League in 2018 as voted on by the managers of the member teams. Congratulations to all recognized.

1st Team
Pitcher: Matt Greer, Quyon Flyers
Catcher: Chris Costello, West Carleton Electric
First Base: Neil Murphy, West Carleton Electric
Second Base: Kristian Knapp, Kars Aces
Third Base: Steve McCord, Quyon Flyers
Shortstop: Andrew McIntyre, Micksburg Twins
Outfield: Brad Pender, Kars Aces
Outfield: Dave Hobbs, Quyon Flyers
Outfield: Dennis McCleary, Quyon Flyers
Designated Player: Nick Armitage, Quyon Flyers

2nd Team

Pitcher: Andy Barber, West Carleton Electric

Catcher: Shawn Laframboise, Quyon Flyers

First Base: Marcus Rice, I4C Victory

Second Base: Trevor Barton, West Carleton Electric

Third Base: Shawn Rebertz, West Carleton Electric

Shortstop: Michael Cavanagh, West Carleton Electric

Outfield: Quinton Rook, Micksburg Twins

Outfield: Chris MacFarlane, I4C Victory

Outfield: Dan Jessiman, Stittsville 56ers

The winner of the Tim Craig Memorial Award for top utility player is Kyle Gourgon of the Stittsville 56ers.

Western wins the OIWFA provincial tournament in Carp

Western University Mustangs won the Ontario Intercollegiate Women's Fastpitch Association provincial tournament this past weekend in Carp, going undefeated in the eight team event. The Mustangs defeated the Wilfrid Laurier University Golden Hawks in the final, with the Brock University Badgers winning the bronze medal. The event was hosted by the University of Ottawa GeeGees, who finished with a 1-2 record.

Women's university provincials to be held in Carp - news release

University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Fastball Team Hosts Provincial Championships and Provides Opportunities for Women in Sport

October 11, 2018, Ottawa - From October 12^th -14^th, 2018 the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Fastball Team will be hosting the Ontario Intercollegiate Women’s Fastpitch Association (“OIWFA”) championship tournament at the Carp Fairgrounds and banquet in Ottawa. The Gee-Gees will be hosting seven other University women’s teams who will compete in games commencing October 13th at 9:00 am and concluding with the championship game at 1:00 pm on October 14^th.   The event will feature live internet broadcasts of eight games and will feature teams from Western University, Ryerson University, Queen’s University, Brock University, the University of Toronto, the University of Guelph, Wilfrid Laurier University in addition to the host Gee-Gees. The OIWFA is in its 16^th season and features 13 teams from universities across the province. The top 8 teams after five weeks of league play congregate at the OIWFA Championships each year to compete for the championship in a double knockout tournament.

The Gee-Gees will also be using the platform of the tournament to promote women in sport. On October 12th, the team will host the annual OIWFA banquet organized by alumni and coach Jean Cardona. At the banquet, Erin Durant, another graduate of the team, will host a panel discussion on women in sport featuring former Gee-Gees pitcher and accomplished softball coach Elissa Sivel, level five umpire Daryl Way, and Coaches Association of Canada employee Jacqueline Tittley. The panel will discuss challenges faced by women coaches and officials as well as strategies that have been used by Ms. Sivel and Ms. Way to accomplish their goals in sport with the support of mentors. Ms. Tittley will also speak about initiatives of the Coaches Association of Canada to provide more opportunities to women coaches.

According to Ms. Durant the Gee-Gees thought this was an important initiative for a number of reasons, “The Gee-Gees fastball team is led by a team of three women coaches, including the head coach Steph Bouchey, who have each been supported and sponsored by former long-time Gee-Gees coach Scott Searle. We know that women only make up approximately 37% of softball coaches in Canada and less than 8% of officials. We hope to use the platform of the banquet to inspire more female athletes to get involved in coaching and officiating when their playing days are complete and to encourage the male coaches in the room to mentor their athletes into these opportunities.”

In addition to the panel discussion on women in sport, the Gee-Gees are also proud to host an all-female umpire crew who will be officiating the tournament – a first for the OIWFA. Hosting the all-female umpire crew came at a greater expense as a result of paying more travel expenses for women umpires outside of the Ottawa area. However, the host committee believes that the additional cost is worth the investment. “It was important to us to provide opportunities for women officials – a historically underrepresented group in softball,” commented Ms. Sivel. She elaborated that, “we think it will be a great change to have an all women umpire crew – especially when so many tournaments that I have participated in over the years as an athlete and as a coach featured only male umpires.”

The Gee-Gees received significant financial contributions their main sponsor Alterna Savings and an alumni fundraising campaign which assisted significantly in offsetting the cost of hosting the tournament and the banquet. According to Ms. Bouchey, “We could not have accomplished any of this without the support of our sponsor Alterna Savings and our alumni network.” 

2018 List of Champions (with an update)

Here is a list of all the men's league champions across our region for the 2018 season. Did I miss any? Let me know - fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com.

Greater Ottawa Fastball League - Quyon Flyers
Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League - Laurysen Kitchens
North Leeds Men's Fastball League - North Augusta Trappers
Shawville Men's Fastball League - Brewers
Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League - Murphy's Plumbing
Micksburg Recreational Fastball League -  North Stars
Blackburn Men's Fastball League - Knights
Ashton Men's Fastball League - NAPA Shockers
Carp Men's Fastball League - Team Red
Grenville League - Roebuck Relics
New Edinburgh Men's Fastball League - New Edinburgh Pub

Knights win Blackburn playoff title

The Knights defeated Goodfellows 7-4 on Wednesday night in the "if necessary" game of the double knockout playoffs to win the Blackburn Men's Fastball League title.

Jamie Blakely was the winning pitcher, going the distance for the Knights. Shannon Borho started for Goodfellows and went two innings, with Will Lowe throwing four and taking the loss.

Laurysen Kitchens wins Glen Cairn playoff title

The Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoff title was won by Laurysen Kitchens on Monday night, with a 2-1 win in the deciding game three of the final series over Ken Leslie State Farm.

Ty Alexander was the winning pitcher while Luc D'Entremont took the loss.

The games were very low scoring and close in the series, with Laurysen winning Game 1 also by a score of 2-1 and KLSF winning Game 2 with a 1-0 shutout.

Laursyen were the fifth place finishers in the regular season of the nine team league.

Blackburn finals going to the "if necessary" game

The Blackburn Men's Fastball League playoffs are an eight team double knockout event. The Knights beat Goodfellows 9-2 on Sunday in the first game of the final, to set up the "if necessary" game on Wednesday October 3 at 7 pm for the winner take all match.