West Carleton Online article about U20s
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WC Electric 2026 national champions
By Jake Davies - West Carleton Online
CARP – What became a calling card for the West Carleton Electric throughout the 2026 Canadian Fast Pitch Championship held last week Tuesday to Sunday (Aug. 4 to Aug. 10), the team became national champions on the very last pitch of the tournament.
The cardiac kids won time and time again through last-minute heroics all week, becoming the first local team to win a national fast pitch championship and doing it at the tournament they were hosting. Large crowds enjoyed great fastball all week long at the Carp Fairgrounds, and having the home team to cheer on all week, meant tournament organizers had their largest turnout of the three national championships Carp has hosted over the last four years.
The ‘Trics started the tournament last Tuesday (Aug. 4), beating Newfoundland and Labrador on the last pitch of the game with a walk-off home run hit by Nolan O’Brien. That would become the team’s signature play. But first a bit of adversity for West Carleton as Équipe Québec would pummel the Electric 15-1 later that same day.
West Carleton would finish the first round of the championship going 5-2, finishing second in the eight-team standings behind only the Brookfield Elks of Nova Scotia, who beat the ‘Trics 3-1 in the final game of the first round.
The playoff round started Saturday (Aug. 8). West Carleton would take on the Elks in what was undoubtedly the wildest game of the tournament and possibly any tournament.
First, both teams had to deal with a rain delay that pushed back the start of the game by more than two hours. Incredible work by the incredible field crew had the ball diamond in impeccable shape for the roughly 6 p.m. start. Despite the delay, organizers estimate there were roughly 1,000 fans in attendance for the game.
The Electric battled back from two huge deficits to earn a highly improbably win against the team wit the best record in the tournament.
In the fifth inning of the seven-inning game, the ‘Trics were down 9-3 and the Elks were one run away from invoking the seven-run mercy rule with a runner on third base looking to get home for the win.
West Carleton got out of that jam and was able to somehow tie the game and eventually win it 12-10 in the ninth inning – two extra past regulation.
Electric star Kaden Fowler hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth for the win. He also was credited for the pitching win, having taken over the bump from the starter.
Fitzroy Harbour’s Colton Lecuyer and Kinburn’s Finn Barton also had home runs for West Carleton.
The ‘Trics would play Ontario’s St. George Aces in the gold medal match. The Elks defeated Équipe Québec 7-6 to make it to the finals.
The bleachers were full and the entire field was surrounded by fans for Sunday’s (Aug. 9) gold medal game under a hot, punishing sun.
The Aces got off to an early lead in the back-and-forth game, but the ‘Trics would quickly tie it up, and eventually take their own lead. By the end of the sixth, the ‘Trics had once again overcome a one-run deficit to tie it up. Fowler, who pitched the entire game, would keep the Aces from scoring in the top of the seventh, and then would win the game for West Carleton with a one out, walk-off, solo home run to secure the national championship for the Electric’s first national championship.
Colton Lecuyer and Jackson Barton also homered for the ‘Trics in the game.
Fowler would be named playoff Most Valuable Player.
Following the game and the medal ceremony, West Carleton Electric manager Kinburn’s Trevor Barton, and his son, hot-hitting outfield Finn (Trevor’s other son Jackson is also on the team) spoke to West Carleton Online about the historic win.
“Unreal, can’t beat it,” Finn said of winning gold on a walk-off home run.
Trevor, who West Carleton Online spoke to about the national championship earlier in the season, despite the numerous close calls was supremely confident about the end result of the tournament.
“Unbelievable,” he said. “Never a doubt. I wasn’t worried in the least. We talked about adversity all year. Tuesday night we got beat bad and sometimes that can wake a team up. We used it as fuel the rest of the week and the boys played great.”
From coming within one run of being eliminated from even playing in the gold medal match, to wearing the medal proudly around their necks, it was a roller coaster of emotions for the ‘Trics.
“As a team, I don’t think we ever gave up,” Finn said. “Not one time. We always knew we had a chance to win. Just one run at a time, one hit at a time, one pitch at a time, and when you take it that way, it’s pretty easy to win.”
Trevor’s affiliation with the West Carleton Electric goes back decades, as a longtime infielder for the Electric’s adult Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) team to coaching for almost as long. He can’t quite remember a win this big for the West Carleton club.
“I can’t say we have (put a gold medal around his neck),” Barton said. “That’s the best group and the best result we’ve ever had as a group. Some of these kids I had in t-ball. I think up until now, the best we ever did was second in the province (which also just happened this year). Our men’s team, I think we’ve been in a provincial final, but nothing like this at the national level.”
Finn says winning at home makes the championship even more special.
“Can’t beat it,” he said. “In front of the fans with everyone cheering you on (Finn’s grandparents Don and Pam Armstrong sat just feet away from home plate for the entire tournament), there’s nothing better.”
“The crowds were amazing all week,” Trevor said. “It was unreal. It was the 10th man on our team every at bat, every game. It was huge.”
Many of the U20 Electric are only 18 years old. When West Carleton Online spoke to Trevor earlier in the year, he mentioned he expected the team to be even stronger next year. Now the coach has expanded his expectations.
“We’ll be looking to repeat,” he said. “We’ve got three kids graduating this year and everyone else will be back. So, we’ll be looking to repeat, but until then, we’re going to enjoy this moment.”
West Carleton Online also spoke to Finn earlier this year, but in that interview, we focused on his first year as a member of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Gatineau Olympiques.
Of course, we did talk about fastball and at that time he was “pretty pumped,” for the tournament. We asked Finn if the tournament lived up to his spring expectations.
“Everything and more,” Finn said. “No one could have drawn that up any other way. It was unreal.”
Following the awards ceremony, Softball Canada had an award for the West Carleton Fastball committee presented to Carp’s Geoff Lathem in honour of their hard work putting the tournament together.
Lathem said it took more than 150 volunteers and a year and a half to put it all together.
“Now let’s go drink some beer,” he told the fans.
“All the teams, all the fans, everyone we met in Carp, a class act,” the Softball Canada representative told the crowd.
Labels: Junior, Softball Canada
posted by fitzroyfastball | 8/11/2026 12:23:00 am
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