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. For information or to reserve a spot for your team, email 2024@carpshootout.ca.

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. 

Game 3 of GOFL finals on Wednesday - tonight!

The third and final game of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoffs will be held on Wednesday (tonight) October 18 at 7:30 p.m. at the Manotick Arena diamond.

The Orleans Rebels and Kars Aces are knotted at one win apiece in the best-of-three series.

Kars won the first game 11-4, while the Rebels responded with a 6-4 win in eight innings in game two.

Micksburg KVH wins Glen title

Micksburg Kool Vent Heat won the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoff Finals with a 7-2 victory over West End Landscapes to sweep the best of three series.

John Enright earned the won while Matt McKay took the loss.

That wraps up the eight team "Glen" League for the season. The league had six men's teams, a U17 team and a U20 team and plays Monday, Tuesday and some Wednesdays at AY Jackson Secondary School on Kanata. 

Back row: Jamey Mick, Nolan Rook, Riley Hennessy, Paul Griffith, Joel Corbin, Tyler Branchaud 

Front row: Joe Mick, John Enright, Andrew McIntyre, Matt McIntyre, Ryan McIntyre 

Missing: Noah Fleurie, Zach Branchaud 

University of Ottawa to play at Provincials

The University of Ottawa GeeGees women's softball team will be participating this weekend October 20-22 at the eight team Provincial tournament in Paris, ON hosted by University of Waterloo.

The Garnet and Grey finished second in the East division. Their first game in the event is the third West seed Laurier Golden Hawks at 9 a.m. Saturday morning. 

Info here: https://www.facebook.com/OntarioUniversitySoftball

Game 2 tonight in the Glen final

Game two of the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League final series is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the AY Jackson SS diamond in Kanata, between Micksburg Kool Vent Heat and West End Landscapes.

Kool Vent leads the best of three series 1-0.

Orleans evens GOFL final

The Orleans Rebels evened the best of three Greater Ottawa Fastball League final series at a game apiece defeating the Kars Aces 6-4 in eight innings on a chilly Thursday night in Manotick. 

Andy Barber earned the win and hit a solo homer for the Rebels. Cory Alkerton took the loss and also hit a solo shot for the Aces, as did his catcher Brad Pender.

The Aces scored two in the bottom of the first on Alkerton's home run and a misplayed fly ball that scored Nick Ellis, who had walked.

Andy Barber's solo shot in the third made it 2-1 for Kars. 

The Rebels took a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth. Felipe Morales walked and moved to second on a Derek Barber sacrifice bunt and moved to third on a wild pitch. Andy Barber then walked. Jeff Barber hit a ball hard to short, and Kars elected to try to get the out at home but Morales was safe. When Andy went to third on a wild pitch the throw attempting to get him out sailed into left field and he scored.

Kars tied the game at three in the bottom of the sixth when Dylan Toms singled and was brought home on a Danny Powers triple off the fence in right.

Orleans added a run in the seventh. Felipe Morales walked, moved to second on a Derek Barber sac bunt. Kars elected to intentionally walk Andy Barber. A wild pitch advanced the runners and Jeff Barber's infield single made it 4-3.

A one out monster solo homer to right field by Pender tied the game in the seventh at four each and moved things to an eighth inning.

The Rebels managed two runs in the top of the eighth. Tyler Borris went in to pinch run on second base. With two out, Juan Morales singled to right field, scoring Borris. The throw in from the outfield was cut off at first and it looked like Morales would be out at second but the throw went high and into centre field, allowing Morales to score on a close play at home.

Kars went three up three down in the bottom of the extra inning.

Deciding game three will be scheduled soon.

Play by play

Kars line up: Brad Pender c; Kristian Knapp ss; Cory Alkerton p / dp; Nick Ellis lf; Dylan Toms 2b; Danny Powers 1b; Brady Hamilton cf; Matt Alkerton rf; Chad Milne 3b; Brad Porter flex

Orleans line up: Derek Barber c; Andy Barber p; Jeff Barber cf; Moises Del Corral 1b; Jefferson Roman rf; Andre Mainville dp; Matt Healey 3b; Juan Morales lf; Felipe Morales 2b; Kevin Shonfield ss / flex

Umpires: Gary Findley (plate); Dave Herbst (bases)

Orleans top of 1st
D Barber single. A Barber strikeout. J Barber strikeout. Del Corral ground out ss to 1b.

0 runs 1 hit 0 errors 1 LOB

Orleans 0 Kars 0

Kars bottom of 1st
Pender strikeout. Knapp ground out to 1b, unassisted. C Alkerton homerun, RBI. Ellis walk. Toms fly ball to lf, error, Toms to second, Ellis scores. Powers strikeout.
2 runs 1 hit 1 error 1 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 0

Orleans top of 2nd
Roman walk. Mainville pop out to 2b. Healey fielder's choice, Roman out ss to 2b. J Morales walk, Healey to second. F Morales strikeout.
0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 2 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 0

Kars bottom of 2nd
Hamilton strikeout. M Alkerton strikeout. Milne pop out to 2b.

0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 0 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 0

Orleans top of 3rd

D Barber line out to ss. A Barber homerun, RBI. J Barber walk. Del Corral strikeout. Roman strikeout.

1 run 1 hit 0 errors 1 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 1

Kars bottom of 3rd
Pender line out to ss. Knapp strikeout. C Alkerton strikeout.

0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 0 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 1

Orleans top of 4th
Mainville ground out 2b to 1b. Healey strikeout. J Morales fly out to rf. 
0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 0 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 1

Kars bottom of 4th
Ellis walk. Toms ground out ss to 1b, Ellis to second. Powers walk, wild pitch Ellis to third. Wild pitch, Powers to second. Hamilton strikeout. M Alkerton strikeout.

0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 2 LOB

Kars 2 Orleans 1

Orleans top of 5th
F Morales walk. D Barber sac bunt, p to 2b; F Morales to second. Wild pitch, F Morales to third. A Barber walk. J Barber fielder's choice to ss, RBI, F Morales scores. Wild pitch, throw to third, error to c, A Barber scores, J Barber to third. Del Corral strikeout. Roman ground out p to 1b.

2 runs 0 hits 1 error 1 LOB
Orleans 3 Kars 2

Kars bottom of 5th
Milne strikeout. Pender walk. Wild pitch, Pender to second. Knapp strikeout. Wild pitch, Pender to third. C Alkerton ground out 2b to 1b. 
0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 1 LOB
Orleans 3 Kars 2

Orleans top of 6th

Mainville strikeout. Healey pop out to ss. J Morales strikeout.
0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 0 LOB

Orleans 3 Kars 2

Kars bottom of 6th
Ellis pop out to 1b. Toms single. Powers triple, RBI; Toms scores. Hamilton strikeout. Morrison pinch hit for M Alkerton; pop out to 2b.
1 run 2 hits 0 errors 1 LOB
Orleans 3 Kars 3

Orleans top of 7th
M Alkerton re-enters on defense to rf. F Morales walk. D Barber sac bunt 1b to 2b, F Morales to second. A Barber intentional walk. Wild pitch, F Morales to third, A Barber to second. J Barber single, RBI, F Morales scores, A Barber to third. Wild pitch, J Barber to second. Del Corral strikeout. Roman strikeout.
1 run 1 hit 0 errors 2 LOB
Orleans 4 Kars 3

Kars bottom of 7th
Milne ground out ss to 1b. Pender homerun, RBI. Knapp fly out to lf. C Alkerton singles. Wild pitch, C Alkerton to second. Ellis ground out 3b to 1b.

1 run 2 hits 0 errors 1 LOB

Orleans 4 Kars 4

Orleans top of 8th
Tyler Borris pinch run at second for Roman. Mainville fly out to lf. Healey ground out ss to 1b. J Morales single, RBI; Borris scores; error by 1b after cutoff, J Morales scores. F Morales grounder to ss, error, F Morales to second. D Barber strikeout.

2 runs 1 hit 2 errors 1 LOB
Orleans 6 Kars 4

Kars bottom of 8th
Roman re-enters on defense to rf. Ellis to second base. Toms pop out to ss. Powers ground out ss to 1b. Hamilton strikeout.

0 runs 0 hits 0 errors 0 LOB

Orleans 6 Kars 4 - FINAL

Orleans 6R 4H 1E 

Kars 4R 5H 3E

Kool Vent wins first game of Glen finals

Micksburg Kool Vent Heat won the first game of the best of three Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League Final on Thursday night by a score of 6-5 over West End Landscapes.

John Enright got the won while Matt McKay took the loss. 

Ryan McIntyre hit a three run homer for Kool Vent in the sixth inning.

Game 2 is scheduled for Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the AY Jackson SS diamond.

Glen Finals - updated

The scheduled Game 1 for Tuesday night (Oct 10) has been postponed due to field conditions. See below for amended schedule.

*********************

The dates for the first two games of the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League best of three Final series have been set.

Glen games are at AY Jackson Secondary School in Kanata. 

Game 1: October 12 - Micksburg KVH 7 WEL 5

Game 2: Micksburg Kool Vent Heat at West End Landscapes, Monday October 16 at 7:30 p.m.

Game 3: West End Landscapes at Micksburg Kool Vent Heat, Wednesday October 18 at 7:30 p.m., if necessary, 

GOFL playoff summary to date

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League best of three finals are now set with Kars facing Orleans. As dates and times are finalized for the best of three final series they will be published on the blog as well as GOFL.ca.

Final Series: 4th place Kars Aces vs 2nd place Orleans Rebels
Game 1: Wednesday October 4: Kars 11 Orleans 4
Game 2: Thursday October 12: Orleans 6 Kars 4 (8 innings)
Game 3: Wednesday October 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Manotick

Completed series:

Series A: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 7th place West Carleton Electric

Game 1: Thursday August 31: Orleans 2 WC 0

Game 2: September 7 & 13: Orleans 11 WC 7

Orleans wins 2-0

Series B: 3rd place Quyon Flyers vs 6th place Osgoode Chiefs

Game 1: Wednesday September 6: Quyon 8 Osgoode 0

Game 2: Monday September 18: Quyon 7 Osgoode 0
Quyon wins 2-0

Series C: 4th place Kars Aces vs 5th place Manotick Brewers

Game 1: Wednesday August 30: Kars 3 Manotick 2

Game 2: Wednesday September 6 & 13: Kars 11 Manotick 8

Kars wins 2-0

Series D: 1st place Micksburg Twins vs 4th place Kars Aces

Game 1: Wednesday September 20: Kars 4 Micksburg 2 (10 innings)
Game 2: Tuesday September 26: Kars 2 Micksburg 1
Kars wins 2-0

Series E: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 3rd place Quyon Flyers
Game 1: Wednesday September 20: Orleans 3 Quyon 0

Game 2: Monday September 25: Orleans 3 Quyon 0
Orleans wins 2-0

Article on West Online - Harbour’s Hopper ‘very excited’ for fastball World Cup

West Carleton Online, which has provided great coverage of local fastball all year, has an article about Conner Hopper's selection to Team Canada U18. It is $50 a year for a subscription, and I highly recommend it, especially if you live in West Carleton.

Harbour’s Hopper ‘very excited’ for fastball World Cup - West Carleton Online

Venezuelan Brewers win Orthodox league

Orthodox softball, once a popular sport in our area has really declined. It is similar to fastpitch softball, but pitchers are not allowed to throw windmill. There is one league remaining in our area, the seven-team Ottawa Jewish Men's Softball League - article here. This year's champions are the Venezuelan Brewers.

The Brewers, who really are from that South American country, won the second game of the best of three finals, against the Zephyrs by a score of 13-6 in 7 innings at Hampton Park last week.

Top: Jose Sandoval, Edgar Contreras, Manny Luna, Mitchel Cedeño, Edgar Contreras, Jose Zea, Lizandro Ramirez, Alvaro Arenas

Bottom: Rafael Quijada, Gustavo Delgado, Delmar Osuna

Kars wins game one of GOFL final (now with details)

The Kars Aces won the first game of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League best of three final with an 11-4 win over the Orleans Rebels at Carriere Park on Wednesday night.

Cory Alkerton earned the pitching win and also hit a two-run homer. Andy Barber took the loss.

Dylan Toms hit a three-run shot for Kars.

*********
Kars got started early in the top of the first on a beautiful fall night. Brad Pender tripled, followed by a Kristian Knapp walk. Pender scored on a wild pitch and Knapp advanced to third after a fly out to left field. Nick Ellis then walked and stole second. Dylan Toms hit a grounder to second base and the Rebels tried to get the speedy Knapp at home but were unsuccessful. With the Rebels not scoring in the bottom of the frame, the Aces led 2-0 after one.

The Aces put up another three runs in the second. After Chad Milne reached on an error, Pender singled, moving Milne to third. A Knapp sacrifice fly to left scored Milne. Cory Alkerton then hit a two-run shot to put Kars up 5-0.

Orleans got on the board in the third. Derek Barber reached based on a dropped third strike. Andy Barber singled and when it was misplayed, Derek scored. A single by Moises Del Corral scored Andy to make it 5-2.

In the fourth Kars made it 6-2 when Toms drove in Alkerton who had singled and moved to second on a wild pitch.

A bases loaded, two out, dropped third strike in the sixth allowed Knapp to score to make it 7-2.

The Aces put up four more in the seventh. Pender doubled with one out and Knapp reached on a hit by pitch. Pender scored on an Ellis single, followed by a Toms three-run homer.

Orleans got two back in the bottom of the seventh. Spencer Rodd walked and scored on a Juan Morales triple. Morales scored on a passed ball.

Glen finals now set

The teams in the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League best of three final series are now determined after Monday night's games as Micksburg Kool Vent Heat will face West End Landscapes. 

Kool Vent beat Upper Canada Elevators 9-7 to win their series two straight. John Enright had the pitching win while Trevor Lahey took the loss.

In Game 3 of the other semi-final, WEL beat Laurysen 4-3 in eight innings. Matt McKay was the winning pitcher and Carley Shane threw for Laurysen. 

The Finals should get started next week.

Wednesday night playoff fastball

There are three men's fastball playoff games to be played tonight (Wednesday Oct 4), taking advantage of the mild early October weather.

In the Greater Ottawa Fastball League, Game 1 of the best of three Finals start, with the Orleans Rebels hosting the Kars Aces at Carriere Park in Orleans.

On Monday, Micksburg Kool Vent Heat beat Upper Canada Elevators 13-3 with John Enright earning the win and Trevor Lahey taking the loss. Game 2 of that best of three Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League semi-final series is tonight at 6:30 p.m.

In other Glen semi-final, Laurysen evened things up on Monday night with West End Landscapes, so the deciding Game 3 of that series will be played tonight at 8:30 p.m.

Game 1 of the GOFL Finals now set

The date and time for Game 1 of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League best of three Final Series between the Kars Aces and the Orleans Rebels has been set for Wednesday October 4 at 7:30 p.m. at Carrière Park in Orléans.

Game 2 and 3 (if necessary) are to be determined.

Los Caballos win Blackburn title

Los Caballos won their second straight Blackburn Men's Fastball League playoff title on Thursday night at Pierre Rocque diamond with a 2-0 win over Goodfellows.

Will Lowe was the winning pitcher, while Shannon Borho took the loss. 

Los Caballos scored their first run when a throw on an attempted steal of third went into left field and scored their second run on a wild pitch.

Blackburn Men's Fastball League is a six-team league that plays Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, usually at the Blackburn Arena.

Back row: Pedro López, Yefry Castillo, Juan Morales, Moisés Del Corral, Elvin Gómez, Jonady Nunez.                                  

                                                                                    Front row: Felipe Morales, Luis Anguas, Wilmer Lovera,Will Lowe

WEL wins game 1

West End Landscapes won game one of their best of three semi-final playoff series in the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League by a score of 3-0 over Laurysen on Wednesday night.

Chris Parish got the win in relief of starter Matt McKay who had to come out due to injury.  Carley Shane took the loss. Game 2 is Monday at 6:30 p.m. with the Micksburg Kool Vent Heat vs. Upper Canada Elevators game one to follow.

Glen Cairn semi-final schedule & results

The Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League has announced the schedule for the best-of-three semi-final playoff series. Results posted below as they come in.

Wed Sept 27th - 730 pm - West End Landscapes 3 Laurysen -0 WEL leads 1-0

Mon Oct 2nd - 630 pm - Laurysen @ WEL - game 2

Mon Oct 2nd - 830 pm - Upper Canada Elevators @ Micksburg - Game 1

Wed Oct 4th - 630 pm - Micksburg @ UCE - game 2 Wed Oct 4th - 830 pm - WEL @ Laurysen - game 3 (if necessary)

Blackburn playoff update

 from Nick Bowman

Goodfellows defeated the Bandits 2-0 Tuesday night in Blackburn Men's Fastball League playoffs to advance to the finals against Los Caballos. Shannon Borho had the complete game shutout. Chris MacFarlane went yard. Max Lalonde and Tyler Alexander threw 3 innings each for the Bandits, ending an impressive run in the post-season. 

Los Caballos need only one win to claim the BMFL title for a 2nd straight year. Goodfellows will need to win 3-straight starting tonight. Finals begin at 8:00 pm on Thursday, September 28, at Pierre Rocque in Orleans.

Coverage of Hopper selection to Team Canada

Some coverage online of Conner Hopper being selected to play for Team Canada at the U18 World Cup in Mexico:

West Carleton Online (paywall, but it's worth the 50 bucks annually to subscribe, especially for WC residents): Harbour’s Hopper to represent Canada at U18 softball world cup - West Carleton Online

Martin Cleary's "High Achievers" on the Ottawa Sports Pages:
HIGH ACHIEVERS: West Carleton Electric’s Conner Hopper off to softball World Cup for Canada – OttawaSportsPages.ca

Kars advances to GOFL finals

A new Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoff champion will be declared in 2023 as the Kars Aces eliminated defending champs Micksburg Twins with a 2-1 victory on Tuesday night in Manotick. 

It was a wild finish to a well-played game that put the Aces on top with a two-game sweep of their semi-final best of three series.

Cory Alkerton got the pitching win, allowing only one hit, three walks and a hit batsman. Joran Graham threw very well taking the loss, also only allowing one hit, one hit batsman and striking out 17. 

The Twins got their run in the top of the third. Quentin Rook started the inning and was hit by a pitch. A sacrifice bunt by Paul Griffith moved Rook to second. After a strikeout, Matt McIntyre singled up the middle to put Micksburg up 1-0.

The scored stayed that way until the bottom of the final inning as Graham was perfect through six. 

Brad Pender led off the seventh with an offhand triple to left field. Kristian Knapp followed and was hit by a pitch. Knapp immediately stole second on the first pitch. Graham struck out the next two batters. Then, with Nick Ellis at the plate, a wild pitch to the screen scored Pender to tie the game. As Pender was scoring the catcher attempted to throw to Graham who was covering the plate; the toss was errant, and the speedy Knapp scored all the way from second to walk off the win for Kars.

The win by the Aces avenges their loss to the Twins in the Finals in 2022. Kars will face Orleans Rebels in the Final as they defeated Quyon Flyers in the other semi-final. 

Dates and times will be posted for the best of three series as soon as available. 

A nice crowd on hand in Manotick for playoff fastball. 

Annual GOFL history lesson

Once again, a yearly tradition (except for 2020) - blog readers' annual history lesson on the GOFL. The Greater Ottawa Fastball League and its predecessor, the Kemptville Men's Fastball League have been around since 2000.

With Micksburg and Quyon beat out in the semi-finals and Kars and Orleans in the Final, we will have a new champion for the first time since 2012, when Kars won the title. 

Here are the past winners/finalists, as well as the league teams and franchise histories.

Past winners / finalists

2000 Dolco defeated Macton (3-0, best of five)
2001 Macton defeated D.T.I. (3-1, best of five)
2002 Lomor defeated Macton (3-0, best of five)
2003 Team Easton defeated Macton (1 game final, 8 innings)
2004 Team Easton defeated West Carleton (3-1, best of five)
2005 Team Easton defeated Stittsville (3-1, best of five)
2006 Team Easton defeated Stittsville (3-1, best of five)
2007 Team Easton defeated West Carleton (3-0, best of five)
2008 Stittsville defeated Team Easton (3-1, best of five)
2009 Stittsville defeated Quyon (3-2, best of five)
2010 Kars defeated Quyon (2-0, series shortened to best of three)
2011 Kars defeated Quyon (Final Weekend Showdown tournament format)
2012 Kars defeated Quyon (FWS tournament format)
2013 Micksburg defeated Kars (FWS tournament format)
2014 I4C Victory defeated Micksburg (FWS tournament format)
2015 I4C Victory defeated Micksburg (2-0, best of three)
2016 Micksburg defeated Kars (Final Four format)
2017 Micksburg defeated West Carleton (Final Four format)
2018 Quyon defeated Kars (Final Four format)
2019 Micksburg defeated Kars (2-1, best of three)
2020 No league - COVID
2021 Micksburg defeated Orleans (COVID double knockout bracket)
2022 Micksburg defeated Kars (2-1, best of three)

League Composition

2000 - 6 teams
Kemptville Macton Muckdogs
Kemptville D.T.I.
Stittsville 56ers
Kemptville Dolco Printing
Kemptville Thunder Juniors
Kanata Pirates Juniors

2001 - 5 teams
Kemptville Macton Muckdogs
Kemptville D.T.I.
Stittsville 56ers
Kemptville Dolco Printing
Kanata Pirates Juniors

2002 - 4 teams
Kemptville Macton Muckdogs
Kemptville Team Easton (formerly D.T.I.)
Stittsville 56ers
Kemptville Lomor Printers (formerly Dolco Printing)

2003 - 4 teams
Kemptville Macton Muckdogs
Kemptville Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Kemptville Lomor Printers

2004 - 5 teams
Kemptville Macton Muckdogs
Kanata Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Manotick Lomor Printers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric

2005 - 4 teams
Kanata Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Manotick Lomor Printers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric

2006 - 6 teams
Kanata Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Manotick Lomor Printers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Blitz

2007 - 8 teams
Ottawa Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Manotick Lomor Printers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Blitz
Quyon Combat Flyers
Orleans Gators

2008 - 9 teams
Ottawa Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Manotick Lomor Printers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Blitz
Quyon Combat Flyers
Orleans Gators
Greely DNTW Eagles

2009 - 9 teams
Ottawa Team Easton
Stittsville 56ers
Manotick Lomor Printers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Blitz
Quyon Combat Flyers
Orleans Gators
Greely DNTW Eagles

2010 - 8 teams
Kars Aces (formerly Team Easton)
Stittsville 56ers
Barrhaven Broadway Blues (formerly Lomor Printers)
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Blitz
Quyon Combat Flyers
North Gower Marlboroughs (formerly Greely Eagles)

2011 - 7 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Barrhaven Broadway Blues
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Taylor's Blitz
Quyon Combat Flyers

2012 - 7 team
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Barrhaven Broadway Blues
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Ottawa Taylor's Blitz
Quyon Combat Flyers

2013 - 8 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Barrhaven Broadway Blues
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Carp I4C Victory
Manotick Taylor's Blitz (changed name to Manotick)
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins

2014 - 7 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
I4C Victory (home diamond moved to Manotick)|
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins
Kanata Pirates

2015 - 7 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
I4C Victory
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins
Ottawa Valley As

2016 - 7 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
I4C Victory
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins
Ottawa Valley As

2017 - 7 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
I4C Victory
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins
Ottawa Valley As

2018 - 7 teams + 1 affiliated team
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
I4C Victory
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins
Ottawa Valley As
Kemptville Black Sox (affiliate team)

2019 - 9 teams
Kars Aces
Stittsville 56ers
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
I4C Victory
Quyon Flyers
Micksburg Twins
Ottawa Valley As
Kemptville Black Sox (joined full time)
Orleans Rebels

2020 - no season (COVID)

2021 - 6 teams
Kars Aces
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Manotick Brewers (formerly I4C Victory)
Micksburg Twins
Ottawa Valley As
Orleans Rebels

2022 - 8 teams
GOFL East
Orleans Rebels
Manotick Brewers
Kars Aces
Osgoode Chiefs U23
GOFL West
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Ottawa Valley As
Micksburg Twins
Quyon Flyers (returned to league after one year off)

2023 - 7 teams
Orleans Rebels
Manotick Brewers
Kars Aces
Osgoode Chiefs 
Fitzroy Harbour West Carleton Electric
Micksburg Twins
Quyon Flyers

Franchise History - Current Teams

Kars Aces
Home Diamond: Manotick
Years in League: 23 (2000-23)
Previous Names: D.T.I., Team Easton
Previous Home Diamonds: Kemptville, Stittsville, Kanata, North Gower
Championships: 8 (2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012)
Finalists: 5 (2001, 2008, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, 2022)

West Carleton Electric
Home Diamond: Fitzroy Harbour
Years in League: 19 (2004-2023)
Championships: none
Finalists: 3 (2004, 2007, 2017)

Manotick Brewers
Home Diamond: Manotick
Years in League: 17 (2006-2023)
Previous name: I4C Victory
Previous Home Diamonds: Carp
Championships: 2 (2014, 2015)
Finalists: none

Micksburg Twins
Home Diamond: Micksburg
Years in League: 10 (2013-2023)
Previous League: Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League
Championships: 5 (2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2022)
Finalists: 2 (2014, 2015)

Orleans Rebels
Home Diamond: Orleans
Years in League: 4 (2019-23)
Championships: none
Finalists: 1 (2021)

Quyon Flyers
Home Diamond: Shawville
Years in League: 15 (2007-2019, 2022-2023)
Previous Names: Quyon Combat Flyers
Previous League: Ottawa R.A. League
Previous Home Diamond: Quyon
Championships: 1 (2018)
Finalists: 4 (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012)

Osgoode Chiefs
Home Diamond: Manotick
Years in League: 2 (2022-2023)
Previous Names: Osgoode Chiefs U23
Previous League: Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League
Previous Home Diamond: Osgoode
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Franchise History - Defunct Teams

Ottawa Valley As
Home Diamond: Carp
Years in League: 8 (2015-2023)
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Stittsville 56ers
Home Diamond: Stittsville
Years in League: 20 (2000-2019)
Championships: 2 (2008, 2009)
Finalists: 2 (2005, 2006)

Kemptville Black Sox
Home Diamond: Carp, Kemptville
Years in League: 2 (2018-2019)
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Kanata Pirates
Home Diamond: Carp
Years in League: 1 (2014)
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Manotick Taylor's Blitz
Home Diamond: Manotick
Years in League: 8 (2006-2013)
Previous Names: Ottawa Blitz, Ottawa Taylor's Blitz
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Barrhaven Broadway Blues
Home Diamonds: Manotick, Kemptville
Years in League: 14 (2000-2013)
Previous Names: Lomor Printers, Dolco Printing
Championships: 2 (2000, 2002)
Finalists: none

North Gower Marlboroughs
Home Diamonds: North Gower, Greely
Years in League: 3 (2008-2010)
Previous Names: Greely DNTW Eagles
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Orleans Gators
Home Diamond: Orleans
Years in League: 3 (2007-2009)
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Macton Muckdogs
Home Diamond: Kemptville
Years in League: 5 (2000-2004)
Championships: 1 (2001)
Finalists: 3 (2000, 2002, 2003)

Kanata Pirates Juniors
Home Diamond: Kemptville
Years in League: 2 (2000-2001)
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Kemptville Thunder Juniors
Home Diamond: Kemptville
Years in League: 1 (2000)
Championships: none
Finalists: none

Orleans advances to GOFL finals

The Orleans Rebels won Game 2 of their Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoffs semi-final  series on Monday night in Shawville 3-0 over the Quyon Flyers, to sweep the series and advance to the Final.

Andy Barber earned the win, his fourth of the playoffs and third by shutout. Barber only allowed one hit for the second straight game. Drew Hathway took the loss with relief from Matt Greer.

Andy Barber helped his cause by hitting a solo homer. He also scored another run after hitting a double and then being cashed on a Moises Del Corral double to centre. The other run was scored by Derek Barber who tripled then scored on a wild pitch. 

Greer had the lone hit for the Flyers.

The Rebels await the winner of the Kars vs Micksburg series. Kars is up 1-0 in the best of three match up, with Game 2 in Manotick on Tuesday September 26 at 7:30 p.m.

Blackburn playoffs down to three teams

From Nick Bowman

The number 6th ranked Bandits eliminated the Rogues with a 6 to 4 win in Blackburn Men's Fastball League playoffs, surpassing their regular season wins. Max Lalonde earned the win and Tyler Alexander also threw for the Bandits. Matt Cox had the loss and had relief from Derick Bulley. Down 4-2, the Bandits rallied in the 5th inning and scored 4 runs in the 5th inning to take the 6-4 lead and held on. Tyler Alexander hit a home run for the Bandits.

Goodfellows and Los Caballos was suspended after an injury on the field. Play resumed on Sunday, with Los Caballos winning 11-0. Will Lowe had the win and Shannon Borho took the loss with relief from spare Nick Bowman.

Next up is the Bandits vs Goodfellows on Tuesday at 7 pm at Pierre Rocque. Loser is eliminated and the winner will play Los Caballos, needing to beat them 3 times to capture the championship. 

UCE advances to Glen semi-finals

Upper Canada Elevators beat KookiJar 7-3 on Monday night to win Game 3 and their quarter-final playoff series in the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League tonight.

Trevor Lahey had the win while Kyle Olson took the loss. The game was tied at 3-3 after six but UCE scored four in the seventh.

Best of three semi-final match ups tentatively starting Wednesday:

#1 Micksburg Kool Vent Heat vs #7 Upper Canada Elevators 

#5 Laurysen vs #6 West End Landscapes

Monday night playoff fastball

Tonight (Sept 25) in Shawville is Game 2 of the Greater Ottawa Fastball League semi-final playoff series between the Orleans Rebels and the Quyon Flyers.

Orleans leads the best-of-three series 1-0 after taking game one by a score of 3-0 last week in Manotick.

Also tonight is Game 3 of the best-of-three quarter-final series in the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League between Upper Canada Elevators and KookiJar. First pitch is at 7:30 p.m. at the AY Jackson diamond.

Blackburn playoff bracket continues on Sunday

The Blackburn Men's Fastball League triple knockout continues with a playoff game today (Sunday) at 6 p.m. in Carlsbad between Los Caballos and Goodfellows.

Games are being played at other diamonds as there are ongoing renovations at the Blackburn Arena diamond, typical location for BMFL games.

Hopper named to Team Canada for U18 World Cup in Mexico

Conner Hopper from Fitzroy Harbour was officially named today by Softball Canada to the national team for the U18 Men's Softball World Cup to be held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation in Hermosillo, Mexico on 11-19 November.

Conner grew up playing West Carleton Minor Softball and has been a member of the West Carleton Electric boy's rep program in since mites (U10).

He is a catcher who can also play infield or outfield, and he is a very good hitter at both the youth and men's level.

Conner currently plays for West Carleton Electric U20 in the Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League and Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League, as well as in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League for West Carleton Electric.

Information on the tournament is available here: World Baseball Softball Confederation (wbsc.org)

Kars wins in 10 innings over Micksburg in Game 1

The Kars Aces won the first game of their best of three playoff semi-final series in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League on the road against the Micksburg Twins by a score of 4-2 in ten innings on Wednesday night. Despite the three extra innings, the game only took about two hours to complete.

Cory Alkerton was the winning pitcher while Joran Graham took the loss.

The Twins took the lead in the second inning on a two run homer by Quinton Rook.

In the top of the sixth, Kristian Knapp walked then scored on a Cory Alkerton misplayed fly ball.

The Aces tied the game in the top of the seventh when Cory Morrison walked in a pinch hit situation and scored after Chad Milne's single was subsequently misplayed by an outfielder.

After two scoreless extra innings, Kars put up two in the tenth. Milne walked, Brad Pender was hit by a pitch to load the bases (as there was a runner on second to start the inning via the international tie breaker rule). A Knapp single scored two.

In the bottom the tenth, Micksburg got two runners on with the international rule runner and a Matt McIntyre walk. After a strikeout, a liner to the second baseman was caught, and he touched second base for the double play to end the game (then threw to first, which would have been a triple play if there was not already an out).

Game two of the series will be played Tuesday September 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Manotick Arena diamond.

Glen Cairn schedule next week

The Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoffs continue next week.

Monday's game is scheduled and no games Tuesday. Wednesday's games are to be determined though we know that Micksburg Kool Vent Heat, Laurysen, and West End Landscapes will be in the semis along with Monday's winner.

Monday 25th
@630 - UCE @ Kookijar - Game 3

Tuesday 26th
No games

Wednesday 27th - Semi-Finals
@630 - TBD - Game 1
@830 - TBD - Game 1

GOFL semi-finals schedule and results

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League best of three semi-final playoff series are now set. As dates and times are finalized, they will be published on the blog as well as GOFL.ca.

Semi-finals

Series D: 1st place Micksburg Twins vs 4th place Kars Aces
Game 1: Wednesday September 20: Kars 4 Micksburg 2 (10 innings)
Game 2: Tuesday September 26 at 7:30 p.m. in Manotick
Game 3: TBD (if necessary)
Kars leads 1-0

Series E: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 3rd place Quyon Flyers
Game 1: Wednesday September 20: Orleans 3 Quyon 0

Game 2: Monday September 25 at 7:30 p.m. in Shawville
Game 3: TBD (if necessary)

Orleans leads 1-0

Completed series:

Series A: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 7th place West Carleton Electric

Game 1 Thursday August 31: Orleans 2 WC 0

Game 2: September 7 & 13: Orleans 11 WC 7

Orleans wins 2-0

Series B: 3rd place Quyon Flyers vs 6th place Osgoode Chiefs

Game 1: Wednesday September 6: Quyon 8 Osgoode 0

Game 2: Monday September 18: Quyon 7 Osgoode 0
Quyon wins 2-0

Series C: 4th place Kars Aces vs 5th place Manotick Brewers

Game 1 Wednesday August 30: Kars 3 Manotick 2

Game 2: Wednesday September 6 & 13: Kars 11 Manotick 8

Kars wins 2-0

Kars and Orleans win in GOFL playoffs

The Greater Ottawa Fastball League best of three playoff semi-finals got started on Wednesday night.

In Micksburg, the host Twins lost 4-2 to the Kars Aces in ten innings. Cory Alkerton earned the win while Joran Graham took the loss. Quinton Rook had a two-run homer for Micksburg.

In Manotick, the Orleans Rebels defeated the Quyon Flyers 3-0. Andy Barber earned the win while Matt Greer took the loss. Barber threw a one hitter. Andy Barber and Derek Barber hit solo HRs for the Rebels. 

West Carleton Electric U20 take Harbour Ball title

West Carleton Electric U20 won the deciding game three of the Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League final with a 14-4 win over Grandor Farms on Wednesday night to take the Harbour Ball title.

A good crowd was on hand on a chilly night for the final softball game of the year at the Fitzroy Harbour Community Centre. 

Blake Bramburger and Gabe Brown pitched for WC U20, while Adam Rueckwald and Ryley Burns threw for Grandor. 

Conner Hopper was 3 for 5 including a two-run homer for the Jr Trics in the first inning. Brett Almeida was 3 for 4 with a walk and four runs batted in, Bramburger was two for three with two walks and three runs batted in and HK Khan had three RBIs.

Brad Smith was 3 for 3 for Grandor with an RBI and Rueckwald drew three walks.

The Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League is an eight team league that plays Wednesday nights at the Fitzroy Harbour CC. There were six men's teams, a U20 team and a U17 team.

Front row: Hayden HK Khan, Conner Hopper

Back row: Coach Blair Armstrong, Ryland Hill, Alex Strathern, Jack Armstrong, Sponsor Dale Hanna, Nolan Costello, Blake Bramburger, Gabe Brown, Dylan Rorwick, Brett Almeida, Will Potten, Coach Adam Brown.

Absent: Garrett Box and Sammy Perkins (away at school in Nova Scotia)

Front row: Brad Smith, Joe Gray, Les McLeod, Ryley Burns

Back row: Tyler Craig, Adam Rueckwald, Evan Campbell, Chris Cahill, Jeff Istead, Austin McCord, Joey Gribbon

Play by Play
Umpires - Plate: Mike Sul, Bases: Leo O'Rourke

WC Line up: Dylan Rorwick, Gabe Brown, Conner Hopper, Alex Strathern, Jack Armstong, Blake Bramburger, Brett Almeida, Will Potten, Nolan Costello, Hayden HK Khan

Grandor Line up: Les McLeod, Evan Campbell, Austin McCord, Adam Rueckwald, Ryley Burns, Jeff Istead, Brad Smith, Chris Cahill, Tyler Craig, Joey Gribbon, Joe Gray

Top of first - WC
Rueckwald pitching

Rorwick strikeout swinging, one out
Brown single
Hopper home run, 2 RBI; Brown scores, Hopper scores
Strathern strikeout looking, two out
Armstrong strikeout swinging, three out

2R 1H 0LOB

Bottom of first - Grandor

Bramburger pitching

McLeod pop out to 1b, one out
Campbell single, advance to second on E7
McCord ground out p to 1b, two out
Rueckwald walk

Burns single, RBI; Campbell scores
Burns steals second
Istead reaches on E3; Rueckwald scores
Smith singles, RBI; Burn scores

Cahill grounds out 1b unassisted, three out
3R 3H 2LOB

Top of second - WC
Burns pitching
Bramburger walk

Almeida hit by pitch
Potten walk
Costello strikeout swinging, one out
Khan ground out 2b to 1b, two out, RBI; Bramburger scores
Rorwick intentionally walked
Brown strike out swinging, three out
1R 0H 3LOB

Bottom of second - Grandor

Bramburger pitching

Craig strikeout swinging, one out
Gribbon line out to ss, two out
Gray walk

McLeod fly out to cf
0R 0H 1LOB

Top of third - WC
Burns pitching

Hopper single, advances to second on E9
Strathern walk
Armstrong walk

Bramburger walk, RBI; Hopper scores
Almeida to first on fielder's choice; Strathern out p to c; one out
Potten reaches on E5, RBI; Armstrong scores
Costello strikes out looking; two out
Khan singles, 2 RBI; Bramburger scores, Almeida scores
Rorwick fly out to cf, three out

4R 2H 2LOB

Bottom of third - Grandor
Bramburger pitching
Campbell grounds out 2b to 1b, one out

McCord singles, thrown out at second cf to 2b, two out

Rueckwald walks
Burns reaches on E4
Istead grounds out p to 1b
0R 1H 2LOB

Top of fourth - WC
Burns pitching
Brown walks

Hopper singles
Strathern fly out to cf, one out
Armstrong singles, RBI; Brown scores
Bramburger strikes out swinging, two out
Almeida singles, 2RBI: Hopper scores, Armstrong scores
Potten strikeout swinging, three out
3R 3H 1LOB

Bottom of fourth - Grandor
Brown pitching 
Smith singles
Cahill sacrifice bunt 3b to 2b, one out
Craig singles; advances to second on wild pitch
Gribbon strikeout swinging, two out
Gray walk
McLeod reaches on fielder's choice, Gray out p to ss to 2b, three out. (Note: Brown got drilled on this one, off the shoulder, but the ball went directly to the ss)
0R 2H 3 LOB

Top of fifth - WC
Rueckwald pitching
Costello strikeout looking, one out
Khan strikeout looking, two out
Rorwick singles
Brown walks
Hopper strikeout swinging, three out
0R 1H 2LOB

Bottom of fifth - Grandor
Brown pitching
Campbell ground out ss to 1b, one out
McCord ground out 1b unassisted, two out

Rueckwald walk
Burns strikeout looking, three out
0R 0H 1LOB

Top of sixth - WC
Rueckwald pitching
Strathern fly out to LF, one out
Armstrong reaches on E4
Bramburger singles
Almeida singles, RBI; Armstrong scores
Potten reaches on fielder's choice
Costello strikes out looking, two out
Khan strikes out swinging, three out
1R 2H 3LOB

Bottom of sixth - Grandor
Brown pitching
Istead singles
Smith singles
Cahill singles
Craig sacrifice fly to lf, RBI; Istead scores, one out
Gribbon strikes out swinging, two out

Gray walks
McLeod fly out to lf, three out
1R 3H 3LOB

Top of seventh - WC
Rueckwald pitching

Rorwick singles
Brown walk
Hopper reaches on fielder's choice, Rorwick out ss to 3b, one out

Strathern singles
Armstrong strikeout swinging, two out
Bramburger singles, 2RBI; Brown scores, Hopper scores
Almeida singles, RBI; Strathern scores
Potten grounds out 2b to 1b, three out
3R 4H 2LOB

Bottom of seventh - Grandor
Bramburger pitching

Campbell pops up to ss, one out
McCord strikeout swinging, two out
Rueckwald strikeout swinging, three out
0R 0H 0LOB

WC U20     2.1.4.3.0.1.3   14R 14H
Grandor      3.0.0.0.0.1.0     4R 9H

Hitting

Grandor 

Campbell 1-4
McCord 1-4
Rueckwald 3BB
Burns 1-3, RBI
Istead 1-3
Smith 3-3, RBI
Cahill 1-2
Craig 1-2, RBI
Gray 3BB

WC U20
Rorwick 2-3, BB
Brown 1-2, 3BB
Hopper 3-5, HR, 2RBI
Strathern 1-3, BB
Armstrong 1-4, RBI, BB
Bramburger 2-3, 2BB, 3 RBI
Almeida 3-4, BB, 4 RBI
Potten BB, RBI
Khan 1-4, 3RBI

UCE evens series with KookiJar

On Wednesday night Upper Canada Elevators won game two of their Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League best of three quarter-final series against KookiJar to even things at one game apiece by a score of 5-3. Trevor Lahey threw well to earn the win.

Deciding game three will be played early next week, likely on Monday - to be confirmed.

Micksburg Kool Vent Heat, West End Landscapes and Laurysen all have advanced to the semi-finals.

Blackburn playoff update

 An update on the Blackburn Men's Fastball League playoffs, courtesy of Nick Bowman

The Bandits eliminated the Blue Jays with a 18 to 6 win on Tuesday. Seb Rodrigue had the W for the Bandits, throwing 3 innings. Max Lalonde pitched 2 in relief. Andre Mainville threw all 5 for the Jays, with Anthony De Carlo going deep for the Blue Jays.

Goodfellows defeated the Rogues 11 to 1. Shannon Borho picked up the complete game W for Goodfellows. Chris MacFarlane hit a 3-run shot in the first. Derick Bulley threw all 7 for the Rogues and Jose Sandoval hit a solo shot.

Next up, Los Caballos play Goodfellows Thursday at 7 pm at Pierre Rocque in Orleans, and the Rogues battle the Bandits at 9pm in an elimination game.

Wednesday night playoff fastball

Wednesday night is a busy one for playoff fastball in eastern Ontario. Here are some games being played tonight.

Greater Ottawa Fastball League

The best of three semi-finals get started tonight with games in Micksburg and Manotick. Up the Valley, the first seed Micksburg Twins get their playoffs started against the fourth seed Kars Aces at 7:30 p.m. At the Manotick Arena diamond, the second seed Orleans Rebels host the third seed Quyon Flyers, with first pitch at 7 p.m.

Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League

Game 3 of the best of three Harbour Ball Final will be played tonight at the Fitzroy Harbour Community Centre with top regular season finisher Grandor Farms playing second place finisher West Carleton Electric U20 at 8:30 p.m. Grandor won the first game 8-2 while WC took the second 6-1.

Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League

The last remaining quarter-final series in the Glen has second seed KookiJar playing seventh seed Upper Canada Elevators in Game 2 of their best of three tonight at 7:30 p.m. at AY Jackson Secondary School diamond. KookiJar leads the series 1-0.

Tuesday night results in the Glen

Two more series ended in the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoffs on Tuesday night so three of four semi-finalists are now determined. 

West End Landscapes (#6) edged Corfix (#3) by a score of 4-2 in game three to win the series two games to one. 

Micksburg Kool Vent Heat (#1) beat Stittsville 56ers U17 (#8) 10-0 to win their series two games straight. 

Laurysen (#5) had previously beat out West Carleton Electric U20 (#4) two games straight, leaving the only series remaining between KookiJar (#2) and Upper Canada Elevators (#7). Game two of that series will be played Wednesday night at 7:30 with KookiJar up a game.

If KookiJar wins that series, they will play Laurysen and Kool Vent gets WEL in the semis.

If UCE pulls off the upset, they face Kool Vent and Laurysen would face WEL.

Blackburn league playoff games update

As per the Blackburn Men's Fastball League website, two games in the playoffs tonight

Bandit vs Blue Jays at 7 p.m.

Goodfellows vs Rogues at 9 p.m.

Quyon advances to GOFL semi-finals

The Quyon Flyers advanced to the Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoff semi-finals with a 7-0 win over the Osgoode Chiefs on Monday night to take their best of three series two games to none.

Matt Greer threw three innings for Quyon while Drew Hathway tossed two in relief. Bobby Holmes got the start for Osgoode and had relief from Matt McKay.

Quyon scored six runs in the second. Evan Atkinson drew a bases loaded walk to score Greer. Lane McMurtry's hard ground to second was misplayed and Luke Young scored. That was followed by a Shawn Laframboise grand slam.

The Flyers will now face the Orleans Rebels in the semi-final.

Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League new playoff schedule

 Monday's games were rained out in the Glen - here is the new schedule for this week.

Tuesday September 19

6:30 West End Landscapes vs Corfix game 3

8:30 Stittsville 56ers U17 vs Micksburg Kool Vent Heat game 2

Wednesday September 20 7:30 KookiJar vs Upper Canada Elevators game 2

Game 2 of Osgoode vs Quyon scheduled for Monday and GOFL playoff update

The second game of the best of three Greater Ottawa Fastball League quarter-final series between the Osgoode Chiefs and Quyon Flyers will be played Monday September 18 at 7 p.m. This game has been rained out twice on September 7 and 12. 

Quyon leads the series 1-0. If the Chiefs win Game 2, the deciding Game 3 will be played immediately following.

Playoff update:

Series A: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 7th place West Carleton Electric

Game 1 Thursday August 31: Orleans 2 WC 0

Game 2: September 7 & 13: Orleans 11 WC 7

Orleans wins 2-0

Series B: 3rd place Quyon Flyers vs 6th place Osgoode Chiefs

Game 1: Wednesday September 6: Quyon 8 Osgoode 0

Game 2: Monday September 18 at 7 p.m. in Shawville

Game 3: Immediately following Game 2 (if necessary)

Series C: 4th place Kars Aces vs 5th place Manotick Brewers

Game 1 Wednesday August 30: Kars 3 Manotick 2

Game 2: Wednesday September 6 & 13: Kars 11 Manotick 8

Kars wins 2-0

Series D: 1st place Micksburg Twins vs 4th place Kars Aces or 6th place Osgoode Chiefs

Series E: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 3rd place Quyon Flyers or 4th place Kars Aces

Trappers win North Leeds title

The North Augusta Trappers won the North Leeds Men's Fastball League playoff title at home with a 10-0 win over the Westport Lumberjacks in the deciding Game 3 of the Finals on Thursday night. 

A good crowd was on hand at the "Cabin" to watch the Trappers take the championship. 

Cory Alkerton had the shutout win over five innings, striking out nine and allowing three hits. Thomas McLean took the loss and had relief from Martin Mauveil and Brock Seed.

North Augusta scored six runs in the first on walks, errors, and a single to take an early lead at they would not relinquish. 

The Trappers had four hits: Jamie Finucan with two singles, Mike Conlin a solo homerun in the fourth and Jordie Finucan had a two RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to put the run rule in effect. 

Westport's three hits were doubles by Tyler Robinson and Adam Raison, and a single from Evan Rice.

Finalists: Westport Lumberjacks 

Champions: North Augusta Trappers 

Back row: Kurtis Summers, Jordie Finucan, Cory Alkerton, Ricky Salmon, Luke Severson, Mike Conlin, Jamie Finucan
Front row: Chris Finucan, Shawn Forbes, Jason Poulin, Kristian Knapp, Matt Alkerton
Fans in front with sign: Brody and Olivia Finucan
Missing: Danny Powers, Jordan Shipclark and Hunter Shipclark

The North Leeds Men's Fastball League is an eight-team travel loop that generally plays on Tuesdays and Thursdays. 

Glen Cairn playoff update

The updated playoff schedule has been released for the Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League next week.

Monday September 18th:

630 - Micksburg Kool Vent Heat @ Stittsville 56ers U17 (Game 2)  (Kool Vent leads 1-0)

830 - Kookijar @ Upper Canada Elevators (Game 2)  (KookiJar leads 1-0)

Tuesday September 19th:

730 - West End Landscapes @ Corfix (Game 3)  (series tied 1-1)

Wednesday September 20th: *If necessary*

630 - TBD - (Game 3)

830 - TBD - (Game 3)

Laurysen has already advanced to the semi-finals.

North Augusta championship tonight

The playoff champion for the North Leeds Men's Fastball League will be declared tonight as game three of the Final series is scheduled for 8 p.m. at the "Cabin" in North Augusta where the Trappers will host the Westport Lumberjacks. 

WC U20 even Harbour Ball Finals

The second game of the best of three Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League finals was won by West Carleton Electric U20 by a score of 6-1 over Grandor Farms on Wednesday night, knotting the series at a game apiece.

Blake Bramburger and Gabe Brown combined for a one hitter for WC while Adam Rueckwald and Ryley Burns threw for Grandor.

A good crowd was on hand to watch as the U20 team got out to a 5-0 lead in the third with Conner Hopper (2), Alex Strathern, and Bramburger (2) earning runs batted in.

Grandor responded with a run driven in on a double by Austin McCord, the only hit of the game for the Farmers.

WC added to the lead in the fourth when Brown singled to score Dylan Rorwick who had doubled.

The deciding game three of the Harbour Ball Final will be played Wednesday September 20 at 8:30 p.m. at the Fitzroy Harbour C.C.

Kars and Orleans advance

The Kars Aces and Orleans Rebels advanced to the Greater Ottawa Fastball League semi-finals on Wednesday night, winning their best of three series 2-0

In Manotick, the game picked up from the suspended game last week with the Aces up 9-8 over the Manotick Brewers in the sixth.  The Aces scored another two and won 11-8. Brad Porter had started the game last week, had relief from Cory Alkerton, then completed the game for the win. Carley Shane took the loss for the Brewers.

In Fitzroy Harbour, the game continued from the top of the third with West Carleton Electric up 4-1 over Orleans in the top of the third. Orleans scored two in the third, with WC responding with one to make it 5-3. A five run inning for the Rebels in the fifth, capitalizing on some errors allowed them to take the lead, which they kept to win 11-7. Andy Barber had the win while Ben Broek took the loss. Broek and Conner Hopper had homers for WC last week as did Jefferson Román for Orleans.

Micksburg Twins have a bye to the semi-finals.  

The next best of three semi-final series opponents will be determined by the result of the Quyon Flyers - Osgoode Chiefs series which the Flyers lead by one game. The next game is anticipated to be played early next week.

Blackburn playoff update

From Nick Bowman

On Sunday play in the Blackburn Men's Fastball League, the Blue Jays defeated the Braves 2-1 with Andy Barber picking up the win and Nick Bowman the loss. Sean Murphy hit an inside the park homerun for the Braves in the second inning. In the bottom of the seventh, Spencer Rodd hit a two out triple. After intentionally loading up the bases, Matt Ellis hit a walk-off single scoring two runs to win the game for the Blue Jays and eliminate the Braves.

Rogues beat the Bandits 16-4. Rogues bats stayed hot, with Derick Bulley going yard twice, including his second straight game with a grand slam. He also picked up the W on the mound. Max Lalonde started for the Bandits and hit a 3-run shot to help his cause. Seb Rodgrigue pitched in relief.

Los Caballos got a bye to finals as a result of a Goodfellows forfeit.

Next games are Tuesday, September 19 at 7 pm and 9 pm at Pierre Rocque in Orleans with the Blue Jays playing against the Bandits and Goodfellows against the Rogues.

GOFL playoff info update

Updated information for the Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoffs first round, as of September 14.

Series A: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 7th place West Carleton Electric

Game 1 Thursday August 31: Orleans 2 WC 0

Game 2: September 7 & 13: Orleans 11 WC 7

Orleans wins 2-0

Series B: 3rd place Quyon Flyers vs 6th place Osgoode Chiefs

Game 1: Wednesday September 6: Quyon 8 Osgoode 0

Thursday September 7 at 8 p.m. in Shawville RAINED OUT

Tuesday September 12 at 7 p.m. in Shawville RAINED OUT 

Game 2: TBD
Game 3: TBD (if necessary)

Series C: 4th place Kars Aces vs 5th place Manotick Brewers

Game 1 Wednesday August 30: Kars 3 Manotick 2

Game 2: Wednesday September 6 & 13: Kars 11 Manotick 8

Kars wins 2-0

Series D: 1st place Micksburg Twins vs 4th place Kars Aces or 6th place Osgoode Chiefs

Series E: 2nd place Orleans Rebels vs 3rd place Quyon Flyers or 4th place Kars Aces

Women's University fastpitch this weekend

There is Ontario University Softball women's fastpitch action this weekend in the area, as University of Ottawa GeeGees are hosting six games at the Carp Fairgrounds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Info here: Ottawa Gee-Gees – OUS (ontariouniversitysoftball.ca)

Ottawa won four and lost two last weekend in their first games of the season.

Carleton University Ravens also play this weekend with four games at the Kars Recreation Centre - info here: Carleton University – OUS (ontariouniversitysoftball.ca). The Ravens were 0-6 on opening weekend.

First Nations men's and women's fastpitch tournament in Gatineau

There is a large First Nations softball tournament this weekend at Parc Sanscartier in Gatineau, featuring men's and women's fastpitch. 

There are 11 men's fastpitch teams participating, including the Eastmain Fireballs and Chisasibi Comets, two teams which have previously played in tournaments in the area before including the Gil Read Memorial Tournament.

The full schedule is available here on Facebook.

Double header in Fitzroy

Tonight (Wednesday September 13) at 7 p.m. in Fitzroy Harbour, West Carleton Electric and Orleans Rebels will finish off game 2 of their Greater Ottawa Fastball League quarter-final series. The game was suspended last week with WC up 4-1 in the top of the third inning. Orleans leads the series 1-0.

Following that at 8:30, Game 2 of the Fitzroy Harbour Men's Fastball League finals will take place with Grandor Farms hoping to close off the best of three series with a win over West Carleton Electric U20.

Kars and Manotick resume tonight

Game 2 of the Kars Aces vs Manotick Brewers Greater Ottawa Fastball League quarter final series will resume tonight at 9 p.m. in Manotick with the Aces up 9-8 in the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Aces lead the series one game to none. If Kars holds on for the win, they advance to the semi-finals. If the Brewers comes back to win, Game 3 will immediately follow.

Chiefs - Flyers tonight in GOFL playoffs UPDATED

Game 2 of the best of three Greater Ottawa Fastball League playoff series between the Osgoode Chiefs and the Quyon Flyers is scheduled for tonight at 7 p.m. in Shawville.

Game 3 of the series will be played immediately following if necessary. 

Quyon leads the series 1-0.

UPDATE: The game was postponed due to the weather forecast and will be rescheduled.

Glen Cairn games postponed on Tuesday

The Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoff games scheduled tonight have been postponed due to the weather forecast (Stittsville vs Micksburg and Upper Canada Elevators vs KookiJar). Make up dates to be announced.

Royals win Shawville title (updated)

The Royals won the Shawville Men's Fastpitch League playoff title on Monday night with a 12-2 win over the Twins. 

Adam Rueckwald had the win while Blake Bramburger took the loss. Rueckwald also hit two homers, and Hunter Beauregard hit one out as well for the Royals.

After an undefeated regular season, the Royals were upset in the first game of the playoff bracket by the Twins, but rebounded to win three straight to capture the John Atkinson Memorial trophy.

Back row L-R: Adam Rueckwald, Ryan Nugent, Kaelen Ireland, Mike Kavanagh, Liam Dowe, Nick Emmerson

Front row L-R: Jean-Michel Landry, Hunter Beauregard, Tyson Ferrigan, Ron "Bones" Laronde, Tim Ferrigan, Brycen Ireland

The Shawville Men's Fastpitch League has four teams and plays Monday nights (mostly) at the Shawville, QC Recreation Association diamond.

Glen Cairn results from Monday

There were two games in Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League playoff action on Monday night.

In the early game, West End Landscapes overcame a four-run deficit to defeat Corfix 6-5 in eight innings to force a deciding Game 3 in their quarter-final series. Matt McKay had the win for WEL while Kevin Daize and Riley Dunbar threw for Corfix.

The late game saw Laurysen defeat West Carleton Electric U20 by a score of 4-0 to win the series two straight and advance to the semi-finals. Carley Shane threw for Laursyen while Ryland Hill had the ball for WC U20.

Tuesday games feature Micksburg Kool Vent Heat vs Stittsville 56ers U17 at 6:30 p.m. and Upper Canada Elevators vs KookiJar at 8:30 p.m.

North Augusta evens NLMFL final series (with details)

The North Augusta Trappers won Game 2 of the North Leeds Men's Fastball League playoff final with a 7-0 win over Westport Lumberjacks to even the best of three series at a game apiece.

Cory Alkerton threw a six inning no hitter recording 8 strikeouts. Matt Alkerton had an inside the park home run. 

Mike Dier took the loss for Westport throwing four innings, Thomas Mclean pitched two innings in relief

Game 3 will be on Thursday at 8 p.m. on North Augusta. 

Shawville title decided tonight

from Shawville Men's Fastpitch

The John Atkinson Memorial Trophy will be handed out tomorrow night as the championship game will take place at Elwood Dale Park in Shawville, QC. First pitch between the Royals and Twins is set for 7:30. The Twins are undefeated in the playoffs and lead by the battery combo of two young stars, Cade Kuehl and Blake Bramburger. They are taking on the regular season champs lead by Adam Rueckwald. Should be a great night of fastpitch!