DARTMOUTH JUNIORS TO HOST CANADA’S BEST IN 2013

Nova Scotia’s baseball enthusiasts, fans and players, will eagerly welcome the very best junior-aged baseball players (21 and under) in Canada to Dartmouth and Halifax as the Dartmouth Juniors have been selected by Baseball Canada to host the 2013 Canadian Junior Baseball Championship. In what many refer to as “The Memorial Cup of Canadian Junior Baseball”, the 10 teams that will represent each province (with the exception of Alberta) will surely showcase some future stars of the game in Canada and in the United States, even at the professional level.

“We are extremely excited in hosting the very best junior baseball teams and players next year for the national junior baseball championship,” said Paul Arsenault owner and coach of the Dartmouth Juniors. “With the experience gathered in hosting the senior nationals, the volunteers are more than ready, willing, and able to host a high-quality event that will be a huge success. The local junior baseball players are thrilled as well.”

Many are unaware of the high calibre of baseball played by players at this level in Canada. The Canadian Baseball Network reports that over 700 players from this country are currently playing in one of the 6 categories of U.S. university or college baseball. The number of players drafted by major league baseball clubs continues to grow each year and this age group is the focus for scouts from the various major league clubs, and it is a given that many scouts will be in attendance during the tournament.

Baseball fans will be familiar with a number of players who have participated at the national junior event. New Brunswick’s Matt Stairs, Paul Spoljaric, Rob Butler, and Corey Koskie all played for the Toronto Blue Jays. Jason Dickson, also from New Brunswick, was an all-star MLB pitcher, and is still a standout pitcher with the Chatham Ironmen of the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League.

Arsenault will double his responsibilities as the chairman for the tournament. He took on the same position for the extremely successful Canadian Senior Baseball Championship in 2009 and 2010 and looks forward to hosting the event over five days from Aug. 15-19 next summer. Most of the supporting cast of volunteers have returned to ensure the same results seen at the senior nationals, something not lost on Baseball Canada, extremely impressed with the turnout of fans for the event in those two years and with the overall success of the tournaments.

The Week in NSSBL

UPDATE: CATCH LIVE ACTION AS DARTMOUTH FACES RED DEER

The Dartmouth Moosehead Dry and the Halifax Pelham Molson Canadians have travelled to Chatham, NB to participate in the Canadian Senior Baseball League Championship.

The tournament kicked off Thursday morning, and the teams from Nova Scotia will be in action. Dartmouth plays its first game at noon against Alberta representative, the Red Deer Riggers. Halifax kicks things off against the team from Windsor, ON this afternoon at 4:00 pm.

2011 NSSBL Preview

The Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League is set to kick off Friday night, as the Sydney Sooners travel to Truro to meet the Bearcats.

The 2011 season has the makings to be the most competitive in recent memory. The teams perennially at the top remain strong, but rest of the league has made some interesting moves that could tighten things up at the top of the standings.

Here’s a look at each of the clubs for this upcoming season, along with a few of the highlights from last year.

Burnaby Bulldogs Win Canadian Baseball Championship

Gold Medal Game

Burnaby Bulldogs – 1 Dartmouth Moosehead Dry – 0

The Dartmouth Moosedhead Dry lost their first and only game of the Canadian Senior Baseball Championship Sunday night. Unfortunately it was the gold medal game, and the team from Burnaby, BC had the slight edge when all was said and done.

The Championship game featured a pitchers duel between Dartmouth hurler Marek Deska and tournament MVP Steve McCrea. Deska struck out the side in the first and the fifth innings on his way to a three-hit, 10 strikeout performance. The only blemish on the start coming on solo homerun by the Bulldogs firstbaseman Kevin Atkinson in the fourth.