: Snapper News: 2009 Snapper Shootout Update

Just over 1 week away from the 2009 Snapper Shootout and everything is set to go, with 16 of the top Junior and ISC II teams in the field, it looks like it will be a very competitive weekend of fastball.  The action gets underway on Friday June 5th with 6 games schedule including The Ohsweken Redmen led by the legend Darren Zack taking on the host Niagara Snappers at 9pm. Saturday will see 18 games being played, with the top 8 teams advancing to Sunday’s single elimination round.

Full results will be sent on a daily basis to Al’s Fastball as well as being posted on the GHFL forum (www.ghfl.com/forum).  We will also be sending updates throughout the day by Blackberry to Al’s Fastball.  With Al being in Woodstock that same weekend at the Legend’s tournament, he will be updating his site periodically throughout the day.

The St. Catharine’s Storm Bantam Girl’s Softball team will be volunteering at the Shootout this year and will be selling 50/50 tickets to help fundraise for their team’s expenses in 2009.  The Snappers have developed a partnership with the Storm and have been running clinics throughout the winter and spring with the team.

The Razorbax will be performing in the Beer Garden on Saturday night as games for the day come to an end.  Always entertaining, the Razorbax are back for their 3rd straight appearance and make Saturday night at the Shootout a memorable one.  Especially when the Bridgeport Braves are there!

Divisions and Schedule can be found on the Niagara Snapper’s website at www.niagarasnappers.com, on the left hand side of the home page click on DOWNLOADS.

A look at the teams in this year’s field.  ISC II pre-season rankings are brackets (N/R denotes NOT RANKED)

Ashland Stockpack (#1)
Ashland returns to the Shootout for the 5th consecutive year. The Stockpack are coming off 2nd straight a tied for 5th place finish at the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions and will be looking to improve on a 2-0-1 record in the Shootout where they were ousted by the Hamilton Hawks and pitcher Greg Garrity in the quarterfinals by a 1-0 score..  The Stockpacks best Shootout finish was in 2005, when they finished in 2nd place, having knocked off Keating Fitness to get to the final.

Bridgeport Braves (#2)
The Braves are coming back for the 2nd year in a row.  Bridgeport finished a disappointing 0-3 at the 2008 Shootout and are looking to exact some revenge in 2009.  Recently reclassified pitcher Jeremy DeBelleval leads a team laden with veterans that are no strangers to playing on Sunday.  Bridgeport finished tied for 9th at the 2008 ISC Tournament of Champions.  The team plays out of the South Perth Men’s Fastball League.

Elmira Expos (#10)
The Elmira Erb Electric Expos return for year three and really were the talk of the Shootout in 2008 finishing round robin play with a 1-1-1 record before making a run in the elimination round.  Although falling to the Palermo Athletics in the semi-finals, the young team from Elmira showed everyone that they belong amongst the top intermediate teams in the country.  Elmira also competed in the 2008 Junior Men’s National Championships were they earned a silver.  The team plays out of the South Perth Men’s Fastball League.

Hamilton Hawks (N/R)
The Hawks return to the Shootout for the 3rd consecutive year (4 of 5) and are eager improve upon their amazing run to the semi-finals of the Shootout in 2008.  Greg Garrity paced Hamilton on the mound and at the dish to help the team finish 2-1 in the round robin before eventually losing to the tournament champion California Lumberkings in the semi-finals on Sunday.  Hamilton has a history of being one of the top teams in the Golden Horseshoe Fastball League.

Linwood Chiefs (N/R)
This will be Linwood first year playing in the Snapper Shootout.  They play out of Linwood and compete in the South Perth Men’s league.  Last year five members were on the Elmira Junior squad that lost in the finals of the junior Canadians.  Two years ago this squad won a berth in the Midget Canadians in Saskatoon.  They are a closely knit group of local guys that have played together since peewee in small town Ontario. 

Napanee North Key Junior Express (N/R)
Napanee is another top junior team in Ontario and will be making their 3rd consecutive trip to the Shootout.  The Junior squad comes to us from the LFL and after a successful 2007 Shootout where they made it to the quarterfinals, were disappointed at the 2008 Shootout finishing with a 1-2 record and failing to make it to Sunday.  With another year of experience under their belts, they look forward to improving upon their results this year.

Newmarket Jr. Mens Team (N/R)
The Newmarket Jr. Mens team is excited about participating in the Shootout for the first time. Newmarket was bronze medalists in Ontario “B” provincial play last year in their first year of junior play. In 2007 they were Ontario Provincial “A” Champions going undefeated and ISC U19 Central North American Champions in Frankenmuth, Michigan. In 2006 they were Ontario Provincial “B” Champions. The team plays in the Oshawa & District Men’s Fastball League

New York Gremlins (ISC #13)
The Gremlins are making their first appearance at the Shootout in 2009.  Last year the Gremlins lost in the semi-finals at the ISC Tournament of Champions and have decided to move up and participate in the ISC World Tournament in 2009.  An impressive pitching staff of Bill Hillhouse, Bryan Newton and Jeremy Tracey anchors this team, with an offense led by 2007 ISC TofC MVP Jay Herr along with a great mixture of former modified and ISC players. 

Niagara Falls Fury (N/R)
The Fury are making are back in the Shootout after a 1 year absence.  The Fury is a talented team out of the Golden Horseshoe Fastball League where they are perennial contenders to the GHFL title.  With the addition of Tom Berube for the Shootout, the Fury are poised to make a run at coming out of their division with either the #1 or #2 seed in order to make it to Sunday.  Phil John, Rob Greatrix and Mark Korten are the core of the Fury offense along with Berube.

Niagara Falls Dawgs (N/R)
The Dawgs are a new entry to the Shootout in 2009.  The team was founded only a few short years ago and has grown by leaps and bounds since that time, losing to the Niagara Snappers in the GHFL finals last year.  The Dawgs are a very young, quick, athletic team that will capitalize on another team’s mistakes and make them pay.  The Dawgs play out of the Golden Horseshoe Fastball League.

Niagara Snappers (N/R)
The host team is looking to improve upon and 0-3 finish at the 2008 Shootout that saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in the tournaments 6 year history.   The Snappers competed at their first ever ISC World Tournament last year and hope that experience will help them regain their winning ways at the Shootout.  Much of the team is back for 2009 along with newcomers Ryan Rothwell and Glen Crocker.  The Snappers will be playing an Intermediate schedule as well as competing in the Golden Horseshoe Fastball League where they won the league title last year.

Ohsweken Redmen (#16)
The Redmen will be making their 2nd straight appearance at the Shootout.  Re-classified pitcher Darren Zack, who is a legend in the sport, will be leading the way for the Redmen.  With a powerful batting lineup and strong defense, the Redmen will look to make some noise after a disappointing 0-3 record in 2008.  The Redmen play out of the Erie Fastball League where they are a perennial powerhouse.

Port Elgin Blue Devils (#11)
The Blue Devils are back for the 2nd consecutive year at the Shootout and are looking to avenge their 1-2 record from 2008 where they failed to advance to Sunday.  Pitching, hitting and defense, are all there for this young, talented team.  the Blue Devils failed to qualify for the 2008 ISC Tournament of Champions after finishing tied for 9th at the 2007 ISC TofC.  Port Elgin plays out of the Blue Water Fastball League and is a powerhouse within the league.  The team will also be competing in the ISC Travel League this year.

Shakespeare Falcons (#26)
The Falcons return to the Shootout for the 2nd consecutive year (3 of 4).  Shakespeare surprised many last year with their 2-0-1 record to finish 1st in their pool, but were knocked off in the quarterfinals by the eventual tournament champions California Lumberkings in a 1-0 thriller.  Pitcher Fred Follings is the cornerstone of this team and will be a huge factor in how far they can advance.    Shakespeare failed to qualify for the 2008 ISC Tournament of Champions after finishing tied for 9th at the 2008 ISC II TofC.  The team plays out of the South Perth Men’s Fastball League.

Team Quebec Combat (#36)
Team Quebec is making their first trip to the Snapper Shootout in 2009.  A very young, talented team led on the mound by Andrew Hathway and Francois LeClaire.  Team Quebec will be looking to make some noise at this year’s Shootout and may surprise some teams.

Wyevale Tribe (#25)
The Tribe return to the Shootout for their 3rd consecutive year will hope to improve on their 1-2 record from 2008.  The Tribe is lead by young fireballer Jason Giffen and is a young but very experienced team.  Wyevale will be playing in two leagues in 2008, the SRFL as well as the ISC Travel League of Eastern Canada.  The Tribe tied for 17th at last year’s ISC II TofC.