Badgers to take part in Inaugural 2010 Laurier Baseball Invitational
Files from Laurier SID
WATERLOO, Ont. - When Laurier Baseball Head Coach Scott Ballantyne saw the 2010 OUA Baseball schedule had been reduced by four games from 18 games to a 14 game schedule, he was not discouraged.
"This gave us an opportunity to host a tournament and play some much needed exhibition games before the season kicks off," commented Ballantyne.
The reduction laid the groundwork for the Inaugural 2010 Laurier Baseball Invitational Tournament. The tournament will take place on Labour Day weekend at four venues with Bechtel Park playing host to the championship games.
Twelve teams will compete in this preseason event with three
groups of four teams competing at Bechtel Park in Waterloo, home of
the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks, Jack Couch Park in Kitchener,
home of the University of Waterloo Warriors and Larry Pearson Field
in Guelph. Two games will also be p layed at Dickson Park in
Cambridge.
The tournament will see six OUA teams compete against five teams
from the PBLO (Premier Baseball League of Ontario) and one college
team from Quebec (Lafleche College). The OUA teams competing
will be the host team from Laurier, Guelph, Waterloo, McMaster,
Brock and Toronto. The Oakville Royals U18, Windsor Selects
U18, Toronto Mets U18, Terriers U18 and Terriers U17 will make up
the 6 PBLO teams. The PBLO is the marquee elite league for
Ontario baseball players age 18 and under and the majority of the
players on these teams end up playing baseball at the
post-secondary level either in the US or Canada.
Ballantyne hopes that this tournament will serve as a tune-up for
the OUA teams and will also give the PBLO players a chance to see
what OUA baseball is all about and allow them to prepare for their
fall seasons. "Over the past few years we’ve seen a lot
of elite level players stay in Canada to pu rsue their
post-secondary education and the calibre of play in the OUA has
continued to grow and is a viable option for these
student-athletes," noted Ballantyne.
The tournament kicks off on Friday, September 3rd with each team
playing one game on Friday, two games on Saturday and then two more
games on Sunday. Coach Ballantyne is optimistic that the
Golden Hawks will be around on Sunday competing for the
championship trophy. "Our training camp kicks off on Friday
and we expect to have a very competitive team in 2010. This
tournament will be the perfect tune-up for us to see how we stack
up against the best players in Ontario."
See below for a full tournament schedule:
Friday, September 3rd
| Location | Time | Teams |
| Bechtel Park | 4 p.m. | Laurier vs. McMaster |
| Jack Couch Park | 4 p.m. | Waterloo vs. Brock |
| Larry Pearson #3 | 4 p.m. | Guelph vs. Toronto |
| Bechtel Park | 7 p.m. | Windsor Selects U18 vs. Toronto Mets |
| Jack Couch Park | 7 p.m. | Terriers U17 vs. Oakville Royals U18 |
| Larry Pearson #3 | 7 p.m. | Lafleche College vs. Terriers U18 |
Saturday, September 4th
| Location | Time | Teams |
| Bechtel Park | 10 a.m. | Laurier vs. Toronto Mets U18 |
| Jack Couch Park | 10 a.m. | Terriers U17 vs. Waterloo |
| Larry Pearson #3 | 10 a.m. | Lafleche College vs. Guelph |
| Bechtel Park | 1 p.m. | McMaster vs. Windsor Selects U18 |
| Jack Couch Park | 1 p.m. | Brock vs. Oakville Royals U18 |
| Larry Pearson #3 | 1 p.m. | Terriers U18 vs. Toronto |
| Bechtel Park | 4 p.m. | Toronto Mets U18 vs. McMaster |
| Jack Couch Park | 4 p.m. | Brock vs. Terriers U17 |
| Larry Pearson #3 | 4 p.m. | Toronto vs. Lafleche College |
| Bechtel Park | 7 p.m. | Windsor Selects U18 vs. Laurier |
| Jack Couch Park | 7 p.m. | Oakville Royals U18 vs. Waterloo |
| Larry Pearson #3 | 7 p.m. | Terriers U18 vs. Guelph |
Sunday, September 5th
| Location | Time | Teams |
| Bechtel Park | 10 a.m. | Semifinal #1 |
| Bechtel Park | 1 p.m. | Semifinal #2 |
| Bechtel Park | 4 p.m. | Championship Game |
| Bechtel Park | 7 p.m. | Consolation Game |
NOTE: Teams not qualifying for the semifinal round will each play two games at Jack Couch/Dickson Park or Larry Pearson #3.
Come on out to catch some great baseball action. Admission
to all games is free.
