: Snapper News: History of the Snapper Shootout

The Niagara Snappers Fastball Club has been hosting the Snapper Shootout since 2004.  The objective in hosting this tournament was to establish a team fundraising event and to hopefully add another quality tournament to the Fastball landscape in Ontario.  The tournament has evolved exponentially over its short history and 2009 will be no exception.  Here is a look back at the four previous events.

2004 

The inaugural Shootout was held in St. Catharines, ON at beautiful Lancaster Park over the August long weekend.  Having never planned a tournament before, the committee was already working at a disadvantage and Mother Nature was not too forgiving.  On the eve of the Shootout, Lancaster Park got hit hard with severe downpours and steady rain that washed out all but two games on the Saturday.  The committee was able to modify the schedule and all games excluding the semis and final were shortened to 5 inning affairs.  A modest 8 teams were on hand in 2004 and we would not be here today if those teams did not take a chance on a newly formed tournament over a busy summer long weekend.  A thank you goes out to the seven other participants:  Central Collision (now Niagara Falls Fury), Mick & Angelo’s (merged with Fury), St. Catharines Red Hot Chili Pepper, Ottawa Valley Raiders, New York Bombers and Niagara Falls Cool Hand Lukes.  In the final, the host Niagara Snappers defeated the St. Catharines RHCP by a 10-3 score.

2005 

The Shootout moved to its current home, Centennial Sports Park in Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON.  This years Shootout witnessed 12 ISC II caliber teams battle it out over 2 days.  The Shootout moved to the first weekend in June and the weather over this weekend was fantastic.  The caliber of the event increased dramatically with several quality US teams trekking north in addition to some of the top ISC II teams from Ontario making their Shootout debuts.  The Shootout final was a CAN/AM challenge between the Ashland Merchants and the host Snappers, with Niagara repeating as Champion with a 4-0 win.

2006

The Shootout increased in size to 16 ISC II calibre teams and added a title sponsor in Mick & Angelo’s Eatery & Bar.  This year’s event was stretched over three days as opposed to two and the weather on the Saturday was not too kind as the teams played under a steady rain for the majority of the day.  Competition was fierce as most of the games were tight contests and all 8 teams that moved on to the single elimination Sunday had aspirations of a tournament win.  When the dust settled, the final was set and for the first time ever, an All-American contest would decide the Shootout champion with the Rise of Perkasie, PA taking on CPI Fastpitch out of Oswego, NY.  The game was a close one but The Rise edged CPI by a 6-5 score to take home their first Shootout title.    

2007

Mick & Angelo’s Eatery and Bar along with Molsons acted as title sponsor of the 2007 Shootout.  16 high caliber teams were once again on hand and for the first time ever, two Ontario junior clubs added the Shootout to their schedules.  The Shootout house band also made their debut.  “Razorbax” rocked the beer garden on the Saturday night and the weather was great up until mid way through the championship game on Sunday.   With Niagara leading 3-2 in the 4th inning, the final had to be called due to heavy rains that made the diamond unplayable.  The Wellington Brewers and the Niagara Snappers were declared Co-winners.  

2008 

The 5th Annual Snapper Shootout capped off a great four days of fastball for a team that travelled further than any other that weekend.  The California Lumberkings arrived a few days early to participate in the Melissa Brodeau fundraiser game and GHFL All Star game.  That series of exhibitions was followed up with 5-1 Shootout record as the Lumberkings captured the $2500 top prize and the Shootout tournament title.  ISC classified players made their debut in this years tournament as each team could carry two per team.  In the end it was the west coast Kings edging out Ontario's Palermo Athletics by a 3-1 score.