Today’s youth play sports for various reasons and its normally different sports in different seasons and they change from the area you live.
Canada’s west coast see’s the kids play hockey in the winter, others play golf (it’s a weather thing), but come summer on the Coast its lacrosse, ball and maybe one or two others.
In Canada there are roughly 500 leagues that operate, which make Canada the second largest country in little league participation.
Early teams in the World Series (in Canada) saw Montreal compete in 1952; Little Mountain Little League in 1953, but in 1958 Canada was given an automatic berth in the LLWS and have participated in every tournament with the exception of 1975.
Canada has yet to win a Championship, but dating back to 1965 Stoney Creek Optimist Little League of Ontario reached the final.
Ball in the area is fairly prevalent and the sport keeps growing each year, but the leagues and/or associations can only take so many registrations.
The various levels of government, both municipal and Provincial give funding to the sport, but again how do they distribute the funds and to which group.
We are privileged to have the Toronto Blue Jays single A franchise the Vancouver Canadians in our “back yard” and they are extremely generous when it comes to helping the little league teams.
Hastings Minor Ball recently hosted the 70th Canadian Little League at Hastings Park (adjacent from the PNE) with 7 teams from various regions from across Canada all challenged for the title of Canadian Champions who would represent Canada at the Little League World Series in Williamsport Pa.
The jet-lag is over and it was down to business for the boy’s from East Van.
In a somewhat shock to many in the baseball world, but not to Hastings, Canada’s pitcher Loreto Siniscalchi struck out 13 in 5 2/3 innings.
Canada went on to defeat Tokyo 10-4, snapping Japan’s 23-game opening round winning streak in the Little League World Series handing Japan’s it’s first loss to open a LLWS dating back to 1965.
Vancouver opened the first inning with two straight singles taking a 2-0 lead after a fielder’s choice and a double steal.
This allowed Siniscalchi to score on a PB (passed ball) in the third and Sean Coventry crossed home following a wild pitch making it 4-0.
The contest saw Japan have five wild pitches in the first three innings or play, while Cristian Santarelli smashed a two-run homer over the centre-field wall in the fourth for a 6-0 lead.
The fifth inning saw Hastings load the bases with one out.
Stefano Dal Sasso had a RBI single up the middle and Nathan Clegg drove in two runs with a bloop double for a 9-1 lead.
Japan managed to get on the board in the fourth when So Hirao scored from second following a throwing error to first.
The boy’s from Japan managed to add two additional runs in the sixth, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the boys from Vancouver – er Hastings.
Keep it going, we’re rooting for you!
Photo courtesy of http://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/canada-pulls-massive-upset-japan-little-league-world-series/
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