September 23, 2006

Kennedy makes Team Canada

Baseball Calgary would like to congratulate former Cub Ryan Kennedy on being selected to participate with Team Canada Jr. team this fall.  We wish Ryan all the best of luck and hope that he makes the final squad for 2007.

Calgary Cubs Win 2006 Midget Westerns
The Calgary Cubs defeated Team Saskatchewan (Saskatoon Giants) 4–2 yesterday in the Western Canada Midget AAA Baseball Championship in Regina, SK.

The Cubs qualified for the Championship game by finishing the round robin portion of the tournament 3-1, having beat Team BC (Victoria Capitals) 5-0, Team Manitoba (Brandon Heating and Plumbing) 5-1 and the Host Regina White Sox 5-4. The Cubs’ only loss of the Championship was at the hands of the Giants – an 8-0 game on Saturday morning.

Pitching was a big key on the weekend, with LHP Matt Lucas recording a win against Team BC on Thursday night and then returning to pitch a complete game win in the Gold Medal game on Sunday. Jason Luce threw a three-hitter to beat Manitoba on Friday and LHP Josh Edwards (picked up from Spruce Grove White Sox) recorded the win against Regina with a two-hit performance on Saturday afternoon. Jaret Chatwood (Red Deer Carstar Braves pick-up) came into the Saturday morning game in relief down 8-0 and threw a strong five shutout innings, but the Cubs were unable to get anything going at the plate.

The Gold Medal game started with the visiting Cubs scoring a first inning run off a triple by David Reiniger followed by a RBI double by Junior Nicholls. The Cubs then gave up two runs to Saskatoon in the 2^nd inning after recording two quick outs. Matt Lucas fielded a hard line shot right back to the mound to close out the inning then gave up only one more hit the remainder of the game. The Cubs cashed in two runs in the 4^th inning, scoring Dan Jackson (Red Deer pick-up) and Zane Anderson, and one more in the 6^th, scoring Dale Anderson, on RBI singles by Tristan Sikora. The Cubs stranded six runners in scoring position and had another three runners thrown out at the plate, keeping the game tight right to the end. Cubs catcher, Junior Nicholls, went 3 for 3 with 1 RBI and an intentional walk to lead the Cubs at the plate followed by Sikora’s 2 for 3, 3 RBI, SB performance. Other Cubs contributing to the offense: Reiniger (3B, walk, SB), D. Anderson (1B, SB), Brendon Sutherland (1B, SB), Jason Luce (1B), and Jackson (1B).

                                      R  H   E   LOB

Calgary Cubs               4  10  3     9

Saskatoon Giants         2    5   0    7

Much of the Cubs roster is moving onto other programs in the fall. Two Cubs are moving into college baseball programs – Aaron Dunsmore was recruited to Colby Community College in Kansas and Matt Lucas will compete for a spot on the U of C Dinos roster coached by Cubs Coach AJ Fystro. Acme pick-up, Jesse Visser will also compete for a spot on the Dinos squad. Four Cubs – Dale Anderson, Zane Anderson, Jason Luce and David Reiniger – report today to Vauxhall Academy of Baseball’s inaugural program led by Junior National Team Pitching Coach, Les McTavish. Three other Cubs – Junior Nicholls, Tristan Sikora and Brendon Sutherland – leave later this week to join ex-Cub Ryan Kennedy in the Langley Blaze BC Premier Baseball League program. Four of the current Cubs (Luce, Nicholls, Reiniger and Sutherland) have played together since Baseball Calgary’s inaugural 2002 Pee Wee AAA season winning 5 straight Provincial Titles and leading the Cubs to the 2004 Bantam AAA National Championship, joined by Z. Anderson in 2003, D. Anderson and Sikora in 2004.

August 9, 2006

Calgary Cubs Win Midget Performance Baseball Title!!!

The Calgary Cubs earned a Championship Game berth today with a come from behind victory against the Edmonton Cardinals (National Qualifier Winner), scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth to beat the Cards 4-3 in the Noon game at Optimist Athletic Park. The Cubs then took on the Spruce Grove White Sox, the team that beat them in the semi-final of the National Qualifier, playing for the Provincial and NorWest Midget League Championship. The Cubs were seeded 2^nd coming into the weekend while the deep-pitching White Sox were ranked 4^th after the regular season league schedule.

The Calgary Cubs were up 3-1 in the 2^nd inning of the Final, but couldn’t hold the lead after a miscue led to two Spruce Grove runs in the 4^th. The Cubs battled back to add the go ahead run in the 5^th and were looking to shut the door in the 7^th, but instead gave up four runs in the top of seven to trail 7-4. With two outs and no runners in the bottom of seven, the Cubs did what they did all weekend long – they scored enough runs to come back to win the Provincial and League Championship trophies and a trip to the Western Canada Baseball Championship in Regina, SK, August 24 – 27.

For four Calgary Cubs, this Championship is their 5^th consecutive Provincial Championship title. Eight of the 2006 Midget Performance Cubs won the Baseball Canada Bantam AAA National Championship in 2004 and six of this year’s group will first play for Team Alberta at the Canada Cup before rejoining their team for the trip to Regina. One of the current Cubs players has played in eight consecutive Provincial Championship Games – with three seasons played in the Edmonton area before moving to Calgary. The Cubs will lose one of their players before heading to Westerns as he is moving on to play college baseball in the US and reports in two weeks.

Sunday’s Scores (All Games at Optimist):

Semi-Final 1 – Rocky Mountain House Sun Devils 3  Spruce Grove White Sox 4

Semi-Final 2 – Edmonton Cardinals (Team 1) 3  Calgary Cubs 4

Championship Game – Spruce Grove White Sox 7  Calgary Cubs 8

July 28, 2006
Baseball Calgary Midget Performance Cubs to Host Provincial Championship

Calgary, AB –

Baseball Calgary has been granted the host site for the 2006 Baseball Alberta Midget Performance Provincial Championship to be held August 4 – 6, 2006. The Championship will determine the Provincial Champion, the NorWest Midget League Champion as well as Alberta’s representative to the Western Canada Midget AAA Baseball Championship in Regina, Saskatchewan to be held August 24 – 27, 2006. The Provincial Championship will be hosted at both Optimist and Glenmore Athletic Parks in Calgary, Alberta.

The Championship will consist of eight teams who will travel from St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park, Edmonton, Red Deer and Rocky Mountain House for the final Provincial event of the season. Pools A and B will be determined by final NorWest Midget League standings with each team playing a round robin to determine the Sunday semi-finalists. Pool A will include teams ranked #1, #4, #5 and #8 and will be played at Glenmore Athletic Park. Pool B includes teams ranked #2, #3, #6 and #7 with games at Optimist.

Games will be played at both diamonds on Friday, August 4^th at 3pm and 6pm then on Saturday, August 5^th at 9am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm. Crossover semi-finals are scheduled for 10am and 1pm with the Championship game schedule for 5pm. Sunday’s schedule is subject to change if tiebreakers are necessary.

The Calgary Cubs will enter the Provincial Championship weekend as the #2 seed based on their current 16-6 NorWest League record. The Calgary Cubs lost 4-0 to the Spruce Grove White Sox in the semi-final of the National Qualifier Championship hosted in Edmonton on July 14 – 16, 2006 after beating St. Albert 12-2 and Rocky Mountain House 11-0 to advance to the playoff round. The Cubs faced tough pitching and were unable to score runners throughout the game. The Cubs now have another opportunity to extend their season through to the Western Canada Midget AAA Baseball Championship by winning the Provincial Championship.

The Edmonton Cardinals will enter the Provincial weekend as the #1 team with a 20-3 League record. The Cardinals won the National Qualifier, beating the Spruce Grove White Sox 4-0 in the Championship game, and will advance to Summerside, PEI for the Baseball Canada Midget AAA National Championship. If the Cardinals also take the Provincial Championship, the Runner-Up will advance to the Western Canada Baseball Championship. For NorWest Midget League Information, go to www.norwestbaseball.ab.ca.

The Championship will feature 12 of 18 2006 Team Alberta Canada Cup selections plus two alternate selections as well as Junior Team Canada pitcher, Sheldon McDonald, who plays for the Spruce Grove White Sox. McDonald will be attending Northeastern University (NCAA Division I) in the fall on a full tuition athletic scholarship. He heads to Cuba with the Junior National Team for their final camp in early September where the top players will stay to compete at the Junior World Championship. For more Junior National Team information, go to www.baseball.ca.

Kirk Reiniger,

Championship Hosting Coordinator

Calgary, AB – The Calgary Midget Performance Cubs have a lot of talent as proven by 2006 Provincial NorWest Midget League All-Star Game, Team Alberta Canada Cup and Vauxhall Baseball Academy selections.

The Calgary Cubs had eight invitees at the Final Tryout Camp for the Team Alberta’s Canada Cup squad held in Red Deer on Tuesday, July 25^th and Wednesday, July 26^th – the most final camp selections of any program in the Province. Six of the Cubs invited are second year Midgets (born in 1989): Zane Anderson, Matt Diteljan, Jason Luce, Junior Nicholls, David Reiniger and Brendon Sutherland. Two first-year (born in 1990) Midgets, Dale Anderson (played with Midget Cubs as underaged player in 2005) and Jamie Mitchell, round out the invitees. Long time Calgary Cub, Ryan Kennedy, who is now playing with the Langley Blaze in the BC Premier Baseball League, was also invited to the final camp.

Six of the current Cubs received Team Alberta Canada Cup selections on Wednesday, July 27^th: Zane Anderson (Outfield), Matt Diteljan (Pitcher), Junior Nicholls (Catcher), David Reiniger (Outfield), Brendon Sutherland (Infield), and Jason Luce. Left-hand pitcher, Ryan Kennedy, who played with all invited players except for Diteljan when the Cubs won the 2004 Baseball Canada Bantam National Championship in Windsor, Ontario, will pitch for the Canada Cup Team for the third consecutive year. Kennedy also played on Alberta’s Canada Summer Games Team last summer. Junior Nicholls is the returning starting catcher for Team Alberta and will then attend Southeastern Community College in Burlington, Iowa on a baseball scholarship in the fall. For more information on the Baseball Canada Cup, please go to www.baseball.ca. 

Dale Anderson was selected as Team Alberta’s alternate and could get a call if a player becomes injured or is unable to play.

Six Cubs players and two coaches were included on Team South’s All-Star roster at the NorWest Midget League All-Star game that was played July 20^th at Great Chief Park in Red Deer. Players include graduating player Aaron Dunsmore (attending Colby Community College in Kansas in the fall on a baseball scholarship) and second year players Matt Diteljan, Jason Luce, Junior Nicholls, David Reiniger and Brendon Sutherland. Head Coach, AJ Fystro, was named as the skipper of the South with Steve Sullivan also being invited as a coach. Team South dropped the annual 9-inning game 13-10, but still leads the annual series by one game according to NorWest League President, Duane Wade of Spruce Grove. For more information on the NorWest All-Star game, go to www.norwestbaseball.ab.ca. Nicholls, Reiniger and Dunsmore were all listed in the top five in NorWest League Batting Leaders throughout the entire 2006 season.

The Calgary Cubs also had four players recruited and selected to attend the Vauxhall Baseball Academy’s inaugural season in the fall. Dale Anderson, Zane Anderson, Jason Luce and David Reiniger will all take their game to Vauxhall to play with other committed athletes from across Canada. Les McTavish (Junior National Team Pitching Coach) will head up the Vauxhall program with Jim Kotkas (Lethbridge Elks American Legion Coach and ex-Team Canada player) assisting. Jeff Krushell, ex-Toronto Blue Jay and current Team Canada Strength Conditioning Coach, will oversee Vauxhall’s off-field training program. The players report on August 28^th and play a 30+ game fall schedule against Canadian college teams, Montana/Washington Area Code Teams (high school aged all-star teams) and Team Alberta’s 16U Prospects Team. See www.vauxhallbaseball.com for more information.

Congratulations to Baseball Calgary Midget Competitive Cubs - Tier III Provincial Champions



We also want to Congratulate Dan Lucas & Kevin McCartney for taking this team to this level.
Dan & Kevin have put in many hours, over many years developing players, with 2006 being their first ever Provincial Medal
 

Congratulations to Tyler Dunsmore, for being selected as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, for the Calgary Cubs.

February 19, 2006 
The National Sport Academy is introducing High School baseball in Calgary.  Please click http://www.eshootsescores.com/baseball.htm for more information.  

February 3, 2006
Coach of the Year
Baseball Calgary is proud to announce that Kirk Reiniger has won the AABC Coach of the Year Award as announced last weekend at the AABC AGM. Congratulations Kirk! 

For more information, please contact us at baseball@baseballcalgary.com

Baseball Calgary elects new President for 2006
Jim Lawson is the new president for Baseball Calgary. Please click here for his biography. 


More success for Calgary Cub ball players
Congratulations to Aaron Dunsmore and Connor Hodgins for being picked up by the Red Deer Team (Team Alberta) and going to the Westerns in Winnipeg. Team Alberta brought home the Silver Medal. Team Alberta fell short in the Gold Medal Game falling 8-7 to Team BC.

Aaron Dunsmore  had a grand slam against Team Manitoba to lead Team Alberta to an 11-1 Victory and 2 RBI's against Team Saskatchewan to help lead Alberta to a thrilling 12th inning victory. 

Congratulations to all of Team Alberta and their efforts in bringing Alberta the silver @ the Western Canadian Championships.

Also congratulations to the following Calgary Cubs for making the 16 and under Prospects team. They are Jason Luce, Zane Anderson, JR Nicholls, Brendon Sutherland, and David Reiniger.

Western Canada pee wee baseball championship info
For more information, please click here. 


2006 Raffle ticket winners
Congratulations To The Baseball Calgary Raffle Winners

$1000 KAREN RANDLE             # 1764
$500 TJ CAMPBELL                  # 4267
$250 DAN LUCAS                      # 0443
$250 RUDY GELDERBLOM       #1650

Thanks to all those who purchased tickets. This was another successful fundraiser for the association. A total of $2000 in prizes were awarded, and over $2400 were given back to teams to help pay for Tournament Fees. 

Thank-you for participating in this raffle.  

AJ Fystro Profile 
Please click here for AJ Fystro's recent profile in the Calgary Herald. 
Baseball Calgary would also like to congratulate AJ for recently accepting
the position as head coach of the University of Calgary Dinos for the 2006-07 season.


Baseball Calgary names midget performance head coach
Baseball Calgary is extremely excited to announce AJ Fystro as the Head
Coach for the 2006 Midget Performance Team.  AJ brings a wealth of experience
as a player and a coach.  For more information on AJ playing and coaching
experience, please click here. 

Baseball Calgary names bantam coach
Baseball Calgary is pleased to announce Pablo Forno as Bantam Perfomance Head Coach.  We are excited to have Pablo returning as a coach for a 3rd season.  His PeeWee team captured a Silver medal in the National Championship Qualifier in 2005.  He is a NCCP certified Level 2 coach.  He continues his playing career with the Calgary Redbirds Senior AAA team.  Pablo played is High School baseball in Dallas, Texas and was an All-District shortstop.  Welcome back Pablo.

Baseball Calgary names pee wee performance coach
Baseball Calgary is pleased to announce that Terry Frehlich  has been awarded the Head Coaching position for our Pee Wee Performance team.  Terry has coached Baseball, Football and Hockey, and also is the current President of the Springbank Minor Hockey Association.  Terry is a certified NCCP Level 2 coach and has a wealth of knowledge to offer to our players.  Congratulations Terry – Welcome to Baseball Calgary.