Equipment drive for the D.R.

Victor De Los Santos from Kingston is organizing an equipment drive to bring bats, gloves, cleats uniforms and catcher's equipment for youth and young adults in the less fortunate communities of the Dominican Republic.

If you have any equipment to donate, you can contact Victor at vdelossantos@cogeco.ca.

WC Men edge WC U20

West Carleton Electric U20 played the first of a series of exhibition games against Greater Ottawa Fastball League teams, facing off against the West Carleton Electric men's team and losing 8-6 on Thursday night in Fitzroy Harbour. 

Both teams used all their pitchers as Steve Cavanagh started for the men's side and had relief from Ben Broek and Adam Rueckwald. 

For the U20s, Noah Fleurie started and had relief from Blake Bramburger, Gabe Brown and Ryland Hill. 

Dawson Pennock and Conner Hopper from the U20s both hit homers. 

The men's side got out to an 8-1 lead and the young lads rallied back with five runs to make it close.

Quyon vs Micksburg postponed

Unfortunately the Greater Ottawa Fastball League game in Shawville tonight between Micksburg Twins and Quyon Flyers is postponed due to unavailability of umpires, due to unforeseen circumstances.

The exhibition game in Fitzroy Harbour between West Carleton Electric men's vs West Carleton Electric U20 is still scheduled to be played at 9 p.m.

Manotick and Osgoode win GOFL games on Wednesday

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League doubleheader in Manotick saw the Manotick Brewers win the first game 9-0 over the Orleans Rebels. Carley Shane threw a two hitter for the Brewers while Andy Barber took the loss for the Rebels. James Martel led Manotick offensively going 3 for 3 with a triple, a stolen base and two RBIs.

The late game saw the Osgoode Chiefs beat the Kars Aces 11-8. Todd Templeton and Kyle McNamara threw for Osgoode while Nick Ellis and Kurtis Summers threw for Kars.

2nd Annual Carp Shootout - July 19-21

 

The 2024 edition of the Carp Shootout men's fastpitch tournament will be held at the Carp, ON Fairgrounds from July 19th to July 21st.

Each game will be paying out some of the prize money. 

Entry fee is $550. The host committee is looking for 10-12 teams - the more teams, the bigger the payout. Contact Paul Griffith paulgriffith216@gmail.com. There are 5 teams confirmed.

Dunkirk, NY early bird tournament

from John Sliwa

The Dunkirk, NY early bird tournament is on Saturday May 11 at Wright Park. Six teams are participating.

Quyon edges WC 7-6 in GOFL opener

The first game of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League this season was in Shawville, with the host Quyon Flyers defeating West Carleton Electric 7-6 on Thursday night.

Matt Greer earned the win and hit a homer for Quyon, pitching in relief of Drew Hathway and Trevor Lahey. Adam Rueckwald went the distance for West Carleton.

West Carleton scored two in the first when Neil Murphy's single drove in two runs. Quyon responded in the bottom of the opening frame when Steve McCord's ground out scored Lane McMurtry who had led off the game with a single and advanced to third on an error.

The Electric added a run in the second. Owen Brown walked with two outs, advanced on Chris Costello's single and scored on Trevor Barton's single.

WC pushed the lead to 4-1 in the fourth. Brown singled, moved to second on a wild pitch and scored on Costello's double.

Quyon put up four in the bottom of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. Evan Atkinson had a two run double, scored Luke Young who had reached on an error and Todd Hearty who had singled. McMurtry and Hunter Beauregard each had doubles and an RBI in the inning.

The Flyers added a run in the fifth. With the bases loaded and two out, it looked like Rueckwald was out the inning, but a misplayed grounder put a run across. 

The visitors responded in the top of six to tie the game at 6-6. Conner Hopper's two out single with the bases loaded scored Adam Brown who had walked and Costello who had singled.

A solo homer by Greer in the bottom of the sixth proved to be the game winner as WC couldn't put a run across in the seventh.

Quyon pitching

Drew Hathway 2IP 3R 2ER 3H 2BB 4K
Trevor Lahey 2IP 1R 1ER 3H 0BB 2K
Matt Greer WIN 3IP 2R 2ER 3H 2BB 5K

WC pitching

Adam Rueckwald 6IP 7R 2ER 9H 3BB 5K

Wednesdays games postponed

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League games scheduled for Wednesday in Manotick were postponed due to poor weather. 

Local men's fastball leagues getting ready for 2024 campaign

It is great to hear that men's fastpitch is alive and well in Eastern Ontario and West Quebec this season as several leagues get ready to start play in May.

Here is a roundup of local men's leagues - if I am missing any that should be added, let me know at fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com. 

Just a reminder that local leagues are welcome to submit reports throughout the season by emailing the address above.

Greater Ottawa Fastball League: The GOFL is back, slightly bigger and better for 2024. The seven teams from last year are back on a full-time basis: Playoff champions Orleans Rebels, finalists Kars Aces, Micksburg Twins, West Carleton Electric, Manotick Brewers, Osgoode Chiefs and Quyon Flyers. Also joining as an affiliate team are Ottawa Los Caballos - they will play each GOFL team once and the games will count in the standings. Each GOFL team has also committed to playing one game as an exhibition match (won't count in the standings) against West Carleton Electric U20 to help them prepare for their season, which includes being host team for the U20 Men's Canadian Championship in Carp in August. The GOFL is a travel league, with games played in places such as Fitzroy Harbour, Micksburg, Shawville, Manotick, and Carp. First games scheduled are May 8 in Manotick.

Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League: The "Glen" is an eight team men's league that plays at the AY Jackson Secondary School diamond in the Glen Cairn neighbourhood of Kanata. There are six men's teams, West Carleton Electric U20 and a youth team from Stittsville. The league plays on Mondays and Tuesdays, and on Wednesdays on long weekends. League play was to begin on May 6, but the fields aren't ready, so they will get going on May 13. The Glen is also hosting a twelve-team tournament in Carp on June 7-9. 

Blackburn Men's Fastball League: The BMFL will have seven teams, playing on Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday at the Arena in Blackburn Hamlet. The first slate of games in Blackburn are scheduled for May 14.

Ashton Men's Fastball League: The Ashton league plays once a week on Thursdays at the Thomas Cavanagh Community Centre. There will be four times in the Ashton league, with the league opener scheduled for May 9.

Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League: Harbour Ball has eight teams again this season for the Wednesday night league  at the Fitzroy Harbour Community Centre. There are seven men's teams plus the U17 West Carleton Rona squad. The leagues plans to begin play on May 8. The Fitzroy tournament, hopefully with 12 teams, will be held June 14-16.

Carp Men's Fastball League: The Carp league has four teams again this season. They play on Tuesday nights at the Carp Fairgrounds. League play is scheduled to start May 7.

Shawville Men's Fastball League: West Quebec's premier fastpitch softball league plays Monday nights at the Shawville Recreation Association. There are four teams planning to start play on May 20.

North Leeds Men's Fastball League: The North Leeds league had eight teams last year and hopefully will again this season. NLMFL is a travel league with teams in Eastons Corners (two), Westport, Spencerville, North Augusta, Lyn, Greenbush and Maitland. Games are on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

Bellechasse tournament still looking for teams

Reposting:

Bellechasse Open: June 7-9

The Bellechasse Open will be held near Quebec City on June 7-9, 2024 for U23 Men's and Intermediate Men's teams.

Entry Fee: $500  -  3 game guarantee

Prize money depending on the number of teams (8 teams max, already 4 confirmed)

Main field: Ste-Claire and 2nd field (if needed) St-Henri

Plenty of hotels and cabins about 30-40 min from the field.

Hotels and cabins are also 30-40 min from the old Quebec City.

Contact Mathieu Roy at mat.roy16@hotmail.com for more information or to enter.

Toronto Batmen release May 24-26 tournament schedule

The Toronto Batmen, Men's Canadian Championship gold medal winners last year in Surrey, BC, have announced their tournament schedule for May 24-26 in Mitchell, ON.

There is an eight-team "Rec" division which includes two teams of U20 players looking to make Team Ontario for the Canada Summer Games in 2025. 

The six-team "Open" division features the Batmen along with the Micksburg Twins of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League.

The full schedule is posted here on Facebook and cut and pasted below.

Toronto Batmen Tournament Schedule

May 24-26, 2024

Keterson Park

Mitchell, Ontario

Rec Division:

Levy Pool:

Ontario Red

Sebringville Sting

Rostock U20

Brussels Tigers

Scott Pool:

Ontario Black

Meaford Athletics

Walton Brewers

Harwood Corners U23

Open Division:

Martin Pool:

Toronto Batmen

Georgian Bay Giants

Chippewa Chiefs

Wolfe Pool:

Micksburg Twins

Ohsweken Redmen

Goulding Park Fastball

Friday, May 24: Rec Division Play

A Diamond:

7 pm: Ontario Red vs Brussels

9 pm: Ontario Black vs Harwood

B Diamond:

7 pm: Sebringville vs Rostock

9 pm: Rain Delay if needed

D Diamond:

7 pm: Walton vs Meaford

9 pm: Rain Delay if needed

Saturday, May 25: Rec and Open Division Play

A:

9 am: Ontario Black vs Meaford

11 am: Ontario Red vs Rostock

1 pm: Micksburg vs Goulding

3 pm: Sebringville vs Brussels

5 pm: Brussels vs Rostock

7 pm: Ontario Red vs Sebringville

B:

9 am: Rain Delay if needed

11 am: Rain Delay if needed

1 pm: Rain Delay if needed

3 pm: Walton vs Harwood

5 pm: Rain Delay if needed

7 pm: Meaford vs Harwood

D:

9 am: Micksburg vs Ohsweken

11 am: Toronto Batmen vs Chippewa

1 pm: Toronto Batmen vs Georgian Bay

3 pm: Goulding vs Ohsweken

5 pm: Georgian Bay vs Chippewa

7 pm: Ontario Black vs Walton

Sunday, May 26: Rec and Open Division Play

A:

9 am: 3rd Scott vs 4th Levy (Rec ‘B’ Semis)

11 am: 1st Levy vs 2nd Scott (Rec ‘A’ semis)

1 pm: Rec ‘B’ Finals (winners of ‘B’ Semis)

3 pm: Rec ‘A’ Finals (winners of ‘A’ Semis)

B:

9 am: 3rd Levy vs 4th Scott (Rec ‘B’ Semis)

11 am: 1st Scott vs 2nd Levy (Rec ‘A’ Semis)

1 pm: Rain Delay if needed

3 pm: Rain Delay if needed

D:

9 am: 1st Wolfe vs 2nd Martin (Open Semis)

11 am: 1st Martin vs 2nd Wolfe (Open Semis)

1 pm: 3rd Wolfe vs 3rd Martin (Open ‘B’ Finals)

3 pm: Open Finals (winners of Open Semis)

Team Quebec U20 to play four games in the area

Update as of Friday: with the rainy forecast, Team Québec won't make the trip this weekend.

Team Quebec U20 will be touring the area on an upcoming weekend and playing four exhibition games.

On Saturday May 4, they will face off against the Greater Ottawa Fastball League's Quyon Flyers and Micksburg Twins at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the Shawville RA diamonds.

The next day, Sunday May 5, they will play a doubleheader against West Carleton Electric U20 at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Fitzroy Harbour Community Centre.

Pitcher wanted for North Leeds League

Attention pitchers - a team from Eastons Corners (just south of Smiths Falls) is looking for a pitcher for the North Leeds Men's Fastball League. 

If you are interested, contact William Earl at 613-206-2310.

Kingston Axemen tournament May 18-19

 

Harbour Ball tournament slated for June 14-16

The Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League annual tournament is slated for June 14-16 at the FHCC.

Harbour Ball has eight league teams and is looking for up to four teams to join them for this recreational men's fastpitch softball tournament. Three game minimum. Entry fee depending on number of teams, but likely $250.

To enter a team, contact Brendan Coker the Harbour Ball Commish at harbourfastball@gmail.com.

Men's tournament in Westport May 24-25

 

U Ottawa to host Women's University National Championship

An announcement from UOttawa Gee-Gees Softball Facebook page:

It’s with great excitement and pleasure that the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees women’s softball team announces that we will be hosting the next CCSA national championship in 2024!

After finishing 3rd at the 2023 OUS Championship, the Gee-Gees came very close to qualifying for the National Championship. It’s a great opportunity for the team to be able to participate as a host and show what they’re capable of. The championship will bring together the 8 best university and college teams in the country and will take place from October 10th to 13th.

To set up the project, we are pleased to announce the appointment of a former player of the team, Éliane Cinq-Mars, as director of the event. Éliane will be supported by the host committee and coaching staff.

If you have any questions, requests for information or would like to participate as a volunteer at the event, please do not hesitate to contact us at ecinq064@uottawa.ca .

Stay tuned to our page for more information!

We wish the best of luck to the whole team for this championship and that the event will be a great success!

GOFL 2024 season news

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League will have seven members teams this season, with some added games to the schedule.

The seven teams from last season all indicated that they will return for the 2024 season as full members: defending champions Orleans Rebels, finalists Kars Aces, Micksburg Twins, Quyon Flyers, West Carleton Electric, Manotick Brewers, and Osgoode Chiefs.

The League also decided at the annual meeting that Los Caballos, a local Ottawa-based team that won the Blackburn Men's Fastball League the past two seasons, will be accepted as an affiliate member of the GOFL. They will play each of the seven member teams once throughout the season schedule and the games will count in the league standings.

In addition, West Carleton Electric U20 will play member teams of the GOFL in exhibition games throughout the season to help in their preparation for the 2024 campaign. These games will be part of the league schedule but will not count in the league standings.

Also at the annual meeting, the member teams confirmed that while the final game of the GOFL playoffs last year was never completed, the Orleans Rebels will be recognized as 2023 playoff champions, earning their first I4C Consulting Trophy.

Registration now open for BMFL

The Blackburn Men's Fastball League is back for the 2024 season with all games to be played at the new-look Blackburn arena diamond. All 6 squads from last season are expected to return and the league is looking into expansion with a 7th team. 

Registration is now open, and as always, we welcome new players looking to join the league. As per previous years, payment is to be sent via e-transfer to bmfltreasurer@gmail.com. Please ensure that the transfer clearly indicates the name of the player being registered. The cost for 2024 is $300 with an anticipated 18-game regular season and double-knockout bracket playoff. Early-bird pricing includes a $25 discount if the full $275 is paid prior to April 1, so get your payments in to take advantage of this offer. 

Any questions about the league or registration can be directed to Derek Bergeron (bergeronderek@gmail.com) and Mike Brownhill (mikebrownhill@gmail.com). The season will start as early as May 2 (or when the city allows access to the diamonds) and runs into the fall, with the regular season usually ending before Labour Day and playoffs completed by end of September.

Registration now open for GCMFL

Registration is now open for the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League.

This is a great local league that plays weekly at the AY Jackson diamonds in Kanata. The Glen is open to new and returning registrants. Visit their website for more information or to sign up.

West Carleton Electric U20 will be entering the Glen again this season as an intact team.

Micksburg Twins golf fundraiser - May 10

 

Trivia Fundraiser on April 5

Trivia Night fundraiser for the upcoming U20 Canadian Men's Fastball Championship on Friday April 5 at the Fitzroy Harbour Community Centre.

Trivia starts at 7:30 p.m., Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Beverages and pizza are available for purchase.

Teams are 4-8 people and cost is $20 per person.

Trivia master will be Jason Marshall of Valley Heritage Radio.

Teams can reserve their spot by emailing U20CanadiansCarp@gmail.com - advise of captain's name and number of players on the team.

Bellechasse Open: June 7-9

The Bellechasse Open will be held near Quebec City on June 7-9, 2024 for U23 Men's and Intermediate Men's teams.

Entry Fee: $500  -  3 game guarantee

Prize money depending on the number of teams (8 teams max, already 4 confirmed)

Main field: Ste-Claire and 2nd field (if needed) St-Henri

Plenty of hotels and cabins about 30-40 min from the field.

Hotels and cabins are also 30-40 min from the old Quebec City.

Contact Mathieu Roy at mat.roy16@hotmail.com for more information or to enter.

 

Carp to host 2024 U20 Men's Canadian Championship

Carp will be the host of the Softball Canada 2024 U20 Men's Fastpitch Canadian Championship.

After a successful event for the U23 Men's Canadians in 2022, the Carp Fastball Committee decided to apply to host another national championship and were successful with their bid.

This will be the third year in a row for the U20 Men's nationals to be hosted in Ontario, as Napanee hosted in 2022 and 2023, winning gold at home last year.

The dates for the 2024 event will be August 20 - 25 at the Carp Fairgrounds. 

For more information, to volunteer, or to sponsor the event, you can visit the Facebook page, or email U20CanadiansCarp@gmail.com.

Conner Hopper recognized as Ottawa Sports Award winner

Conner Hopper of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League's West Carleton Electric and WC Electric U20 has been recognized as a recipient of the Ottawa Sports Award for softball in 2023.

Here is the write up from the Ottawa Sports Awards page:

Softball – Conner Hopper: In 2023 Hopper was selected to his first national softball team and represented Canada at the U18 Men’s Softball World Cup. The West Carleton catcher and centre-fielder has power and speed at bat and he recorded two hits and two RBIS before injuring his shoulder on Canada’s way to a bronze medal finish. His ability to excel on both domestic and international stages highlights not only his individual talent but also his commitment to elevating the performance of his teams.

Conner accepts his award from West Carleton-March Councillor Clarke Kelly

Elkland tournaments for 2024

The Elkland Softball Association has three weekends for tournaments in 2024.

18th Annual Molly Sherman Memorial: May 25-26
31st Annual Gary Sherman Knockout: August 24-25
72nd Annual Durk Sherman Classic: August 30-September 1 

Dunkirk Tournament - July 19-21

Dunkirk, NY will host the First Ward Falcons annual men's fastpitch tournament on July 19-21, 2024. This will be a 3-game guarantee. Based on 10 teams, the top 8 will advance to single elimination on Sunday.

Entry fee is $400; prize money and more information will be posted in a few weeks.  Any teams interested please contact Tim Wdowiasz at Dopeywdowiasz@hotmail.com or 716-679-6797.

62nd Annual Au Sable Forks, NY tournament - July 12-14

 

For more information about this classic Men's Fastpitch Softball tournament, visit https://www.facebook.com/ausablefastpitch

Canada wins bronze at U18 Men's

Team Canada won bronze with an exciting 2-1 victory over the USA at the Men's U18 World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico.  Alex McGillivray's two run homer in the sixth was the difference. Conner Hopper of Fitzroy Harbour, member of West Carleton Electric, was on Team Canada.

Japan won gold 8-4 over Mexico, also in a very exciting game, in eight innings decided by a walk off grand slam.

Canada to play USA for Bronze

Canada will play the USA for the bronze medal today (4 p.m. EST) at the U18 Men's World Cup in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Both teams finished the Super Round at 3-2, also tied with Mexico. With the host having defeated both USA and Canada, they advance to the gold medal game vs Japan (7 p.m. EST).

Games will be streamed at https://gametime.sport.

Team Canada U18 advances to the Super Round

Team Canada U18 finished pool play at the Men's U18 World Cup with a 4-1 record in Hermosillo, Mexico. They defeated Czechia, Singapore, Colombia and Australia and lost to undefeated Mexico.

They lost their first game in the Super Round to Japan 4-1.

In the Super Round, teams take their records versus other teams which advanced. So with their win over Australia (1-2) and loss to Mexico (3-0), plus their loss to Japan (2-1), they sit at 1-2.

The third and fourth place teams after the Super Round play for bronze while first and second play for gold.

Next up is USA (2-1) tonight at 7 p.m. EST then Venezuela (0-3) on Saturday at 7 p.m. Streaming is available at gametime.sport.

Team Canada U18 starts off World Cup with two wins

Team Canada U18 Men's started off the World Cup tournament in Hermosillo, Mexico with two wins. The started off with a 5-2 victory over Czechia, followed by a 18-1 thumping of Singapore.

They have a big game tonight (Monday) at 10 p.m. EST versus also undefeated host Mexico. The game will be livestreamed (fee applies) on GameTimeSport.

Local lad Conner Hopper from Fitzroy Harbour had an excellent start to the tournament for Team Canada, going two for three with two RBIs, a walk and a sacrifice bunt, as well as a highlight reel catch in centrefield. Unfortunately for Conner, he suffered a shoulder injury in the game versus Singapore and his tournament appears to be over.

U18 Men's World Cup starts Saturday

The World Baseball Softball Confederation U18 Men's World Cup starts tomorrow (Saturday) in Hermosillo, Mexico.

Team Canada - featuring Fitzroy Harbour's Conner Hopper - has their first game tomorrow at 2 p.m. EST vs Czechia.

Livestream available here: https://gametime.sport/

GeeGees win bronze

The University of Ottawa GeeGees were bronze medalists this past weekend at the Ontario University Softball provincials in Paris, ON.

The top eight teams in the province (four from the East and four from the West) were invited to the event.

The GeeGees, second seed from the East, started off with a 14-8 win over the third seed Laurier Golden Hawks from the West.

Next up they defeated the Western Mustangs, the previously undefeated top seed from the West, 2-1 in eight innings. 

In the "undefeated game", the GeeGees lost 6-3 to the Toronto Varsity Blues who were top seed from the East.

Ottawa then lost 6-5 in a rematch with Western as a seventh inning comeback just fell short, finishing in third place.

Toronto defeated Western in the Final 7-6, walking it off in the bottom of the seventh to earn the Provincial title. 

GeeGees win two straight on Saturday at provincials

University of Ottawa GeeGees women's softball team won two games at the Provincial event this weekend in Paris, ON.

They opened up the event with a 14-8 victory over Laurier Golden Hawks. They followed that with a 2-1 win in eight innings over the top ranked Western Mustangs. The Mustangs won twenty straight regular season games.

The GeeGees will play in the undefeated game at 10 a.m. on Sunday morning.

"How you gonna write this one up?"

I have heard the line many times: "How are you going to write this one up on the blog?".

Usually it pertains to some funny or weird or wacky incident that takes place during a fastball game, and I have to figure out how to explain what happened. I always try to make sure no one is embarrassed because that's not what this site is about.

I try to keep things light-hearted on the blog while still informing everyone. I also don't write first personal accounts (now that the Caveman is an adult) but this post is going to be written that way.

What happened last night in the GOFL finals, in what should have been a showcase for our game in the area, was an embarrassment to our sport, our league, and to some of those involved, plain and simple. I am not going to use names here but I am going to do my best to explain what happened. I will clarify that when I talk about "brothers" below it is not referring to the three Barbers who are the core of the Orleans team. 

To be clear, some guys behaved honorably and did their best to diffuse the situation. Some participated but essentially acted in self defense or defending their teammates. Others did not behave appropriately at all. Probably everyone involved knows (or should know) where they are on that spectrum and as mentioned I'm not naming anyone.

Orleans was up 5-0 in the fourth inning. No real incidents worth any commentary happened previous to this point. An Orleans baserunner on first made it to third on a single. When he got to third, the player moved quickly back and forth on and off the base at the end of play. This elicited some chirping from the Kars bench, which to be honest I think is to be expected. However, I am not sure what those comments were and if they "crossed the line" or not; only those involved would know. There is of course no rule against this kind of baserunning move.

The baserunner was stranded on third at the end of the inning. As he crossed the diamond to get to the Orleans bench on the first base side, the baserunner was intentionally bumped by a Kars infielder. This shouldn't have happened. It wasn't violent or anything, but it was unnecessary. It is probably an ejectable offense but the Kars player was not kicked out. There was a reaction from the Orleans player, as one would expect, but nothing of major significance immediately transpired. 

Then in the top of the fifth, words were exchanged between some Orleans players on defense and the Kars bench, most notably an outfielder who is the brother of the player who was bumped. This outfielder ran in from the grass and began gesturing and shouting at the Kars bench. Things significantly escalated when that Orleans player threw his glove at a player or players on Kars.

Following that, the benches emptied and scuffles broke out with pushes and shoves and possibly actual punches exchanged.  Some players fell to the ground. There was at least one player who kicked another player. I heard at least one unacceptable discriminatory remark. Neither team was blameless. A couple of spectators went on the field; one grabbed a bat from the ground and to me looked like he was going to use it though he didn't. Some players on both sides attempted to be peacemakers. Others fought. It was about 60 seconds of complete mayhem, a shameful display. I don't think I've ever used profanity on this site previously, but I will now - it was an utter shit show.

Personally, I welcome any fastball player in our league with open arms no matter their background. I hope everyone else would as well. But I cannot condone acts of violence that ruin the game from anyone no matter who they are.

Where do we go from here? I don't know. But I do know that I spend a lot of my time volunteering to organize this game that I love and this incident makes me want to reconsider my commitment. 

Some folks refer to me or think I'm the "commissioner" of the league, but I'm not. I manage a team in the league and sometimes even play. I'm not an impartial commissioner. I do like helping organize and coordinate the GOFL and I am very involved in the league operations. (Ask the teams about my obsessive texts asking for updates for games I'm not at.) But I am not "in charge" of things. 

Decisions in the GOFL are made by consensus, and we generally get along very well. There was a video taken of the last part of the fracas. I am not going to post it on here, but it will be used to help determine next steps. I am not sure if we will be able to get consensus on the aftermath from last night and I have no idea where we go from here.  

I will update this site if / when any decisions are made by the league members, in consultation with the umpires.

Note: This post was edited on October 19 to change some words in the sixth paragraph, but no changes were made to the facts of what happened.

Game 3 of GOFL finals suspended

Game three of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League final series was suspended after four innings with Orleans Rebels leading the Kars Aces 5-0.

When a physical altercation occurred in the top of the fifth, the umpires suspended the game.

More to follow.