Eastern Ontario Fastball Blog

A blog dedicated to news about the Greater Ottawa Fastball League and other happenings in the world of fastball / fastpitch softball in eastern Ontario and western Quebec, with occasional stories featuring Mrs Fitzroy Fastball, Fitzroy Fastball Junior and the Caveman. If you have info to send on, send me an email at fastball[at]fitzroyharbour.com. Follow @fitzroyfastball on Twitter.

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Friday, November 17, 2006

Paul Ceppi to Join I4C Victory for 2007 Season

Neil Cooke, 14C Victory sponsor and Shawn Williams, Head Coach and General Manager are pleased to announce that Paul Ceppi will join the club for the 2007 season as a member of the Victory’s pitching rotation.

The 32-year-old, 6’0”, 185 pound right-hander is a native of Kent Bridge, Ontario, a small town 10 kilometres from Chatham. Growing up, Ceppi played minor ball in Kent Bridge. He participated in the 1993 Ontario Midget Eliminations in Waterford for Ontario Rural Softball Association (ORSA) representative, Darrell, a small village that Ceppi says, “…consists of a ball diamond, a church and a barn!” A teammate on his Darrell club that year was Canadian Senior Men’s National Team outfielder, Ryan Wolfe. Another well known teammate from that area was pitcher, Ben Blonde. Ceppi played shortstop and left field on that team and the club won the 1993 ORSA Midget A Championship.

From 1999-2002, Ceppi pitched at the Intermediate level in the now defunct Sun Parlor League and occasionally played the middle infield. During that time he also played for the Highgate Rock in 2000 during its inaugural season in the St. Thomas and District Fastball League (STDFL).

From 2003-2006, Ceppi played for Blenheim Home Run Restaurant of the STDFL where he was voted team MVP in 2004 and 2005.

Ceppi was picked up by the Highgate Rock to play in the 2005 ISC II Qualifier in Innerkip where he pitched against a strong Niagara Snappers team as well as the Elora Rage. He pitched at the 2006 Ontario Men’s Eliminations where he faced an Aurora Shoeless Joe’s team that featured no fewer than five former Senior Men’s players and was lead on the mound by former Canadian Senior Men’s National Team pitcher, Todd Martin. He also participated at the 2003 NAFA Tournament in Eau Claire, WI and has pitched in several regional Intermediate Men’s Tournaments in southern Ontario.

Over the years, Ceppi has faced or played with Senior Men’s players such as Wolfe, Martin, Chris Payne, Tyler “Tex” Lessard, Gary Cooke and Dale Levy. He looks forward to helping the I4C Victory become a stronger Intermediate Men’s team in eastern Ontario.

Said Williams, “We’re really pleased to have an experienced player of Paul’s caliber join us for the 2007 season. He’s played against some of the best players in southern Ontario and we’re confident that he will be an excellent addition to our club. Added I4C sponsor, Cooke, “Paul gives us more depth at the pitching position and takes some of the load off of me. That should really help us as we compete and try to win the tournaments that we are going to enter in 2007.”

Ceppi will wear number nine for the team. I4C Victory Player/Coach Eric Rosenquist will relinquish his number to Ceppi and will wear another number in 2007.

The I4C Victory plays in the six-team, Greater Ottawa Fastball League (GOFL) in eastern Ontario and finished 5th in the league in its inaugural season with a record of 5-9-1.

Thursday, November 16, 2006

Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League Fundraiser Nov 24th

from Eric Rosenquist:

Here are the details on the GCMFL fundraising evening with indoor golf & Texas hold 'em poker. We’ll also be accepting registration forms & cheques ($150) that evening, so please do the league a big favour and register for 2007 on Nov 24th rather than waiting until next spring.

We’ll need at least 25 guys to register for 2007 in order to pay the city – they’re asking for payment in full by December. The 2007 registration form is up on the web site now – you can download it, fill it out, and then either print it or email the data to us. If you email us your data, simply bring your (non post-dated!) cheque with you to Bent Grass and give it to one of the executive members.

What: An evening of indoor golf and Texas hold-‘em poker.

When: Friday November 24th, 7PM-closing.

Where: Bent Grass Golf, 150 Robertson Road, Bells Corners, Nepean

Why: To help the Glen Cairn Mens Fastball League raise funds to pay its debt of over $11,000. Due to unforeseen circumstances the league has found itself in financial difficulty and we’re doing everything we can to keep it afloat.

Cost: $5 cover charge. $20 for one poker tournament and unlimited golf. If time permits and there’s sufficient interest, a second poker tournament will be held once the first completes (additional cost). Entry into the poker tournament will be on a first-come, first-served basis – Bent Grass can accommodate approximately 48 players at one time. A golf tournament will be run throughout the evening.

Prizes: Several great prizes have been donated to the cause, including items from CARHA, Ballistik, some club-level Ottawa Senators tickets, gift certificates, and more. There will be door prizes handed out as well as prizes and cash for the tournament winners.

ISC announces location for 2008 World tourney

from Al's page:

The Kimberly Recreation Association (KRA) and the International Softball Congress (ISC) announce that the 2008 ISC World Fastpitch Softball Tournament will be held at Sunset Park in Kimberly, Wisconsin from August 10 -16, 2008.

The tournament will be hosted by the Kimberly Recreation Association for a record 11th time, and feature 32 of the top men’s fastpitch softball teams from throughout the world.

Kimberly is home to the ISC Hall of Fame, and activities to be conducted in conjunction with the World Tournament include: the 2008 Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Bridge to the Future Youth Softball Clinic, and the Boys Under19 Tournament.

As additional Tournament details become available, they will be posted on the KRA Website at http://www.1kra.com.

Negotiations to have the 2008 ISC II Tournament of Champions at Memorial Park in Appleton, Wisconsin are ongoing.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Blackburn league new executive and possible expansion

from Shannon Borho / Tyler Cox:

Blackburn Men's Fastball League - New Executive Announced

At the November AGM, the league announced its executive for the 2007 season. It includes a new league president and three new members. Wayne Hunter takes over for Rene Steenbergen as league president and John Tremblay, Gilles Roy and Derek Bergeron join the board. The 2007 executive includes:

President - Wayne Hunter
Vice-President - John Tremblay
Executive Vice-President - Steve Bovey
Treasurer - Gilles Roy
Secretary - Derek Bergeron
Equipment - Steve Walman
Scheduler - Gary Larocque
Webmaster - Shannon Borho

Also at the AGM, several motions were brought forth as ammendments to the league constitution. The most noteworthy is the inclusion of a mercy rule. For all 2007 regular season games, a game will be considered complete if a team leads by 10 or more runs after 5 or 6 complete innings. The updated constitution will be available on the website within the next week or so.

The next league meeting will take place Monday, December 4th, 7:00pm at Stan's Diner which just off Innes road near the 417. The main topic of concern for the new league executive is the possibility of an 8th or even 9th team entering the league. The Rogues and Alfred (both of which entered the previous league tournament) have expressed interest in joining the BMFL and whether the league can support 9 teams is up for discussion along with the details of full teams entering the league.

Friday, November 10, 2006

GOFL League Trophy

A photo of the GOFL playoff trophy sponsored by Neil Cooke and the fine folks of I4C Consulting.

Photo courtesy of Kevin Chevrier of Team Easton (note the Lafarge trucks in the background).


Thursday, November 09, 2006

ISC Qualifiers for 2007 Determined

The ISC has announced locations for the ISC World and ISC II Tournament of Champions qualifiers for next season. Visit Al's Fastball at http://www.alsfastball.com for more info.

Our regional qualifier for eastern Ontario will be in Sydenham, near Kingston:

June 22-24 - Sydenham, Ontario
Berths: ISC II ToC
Double elimination
In region teams only
Tournament Director - Bob McGowan 519-941-6767
Local Contact - Adam Lake 613-484-1313 paullake@kingston.net
UIC - Bruce Bierman bierhawk@earthlink.net


The 2007 World tourney and Tournament of Champions are being held once again in Kitchener.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Banned bats list

courtesy Gary Callaghan

The Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), the National Governing Body of Softball in the United States, announced that under a resolution adopted by the ASA Board of Directors, bats submitted by manufacturers that were previously allowed a 2 mph variance in the ASA’s test standards are no longer authorized for use effective January 1, 2008.

Softball Ontario uses the ASA standard, making these bats illegal as of the 2008 season:

Easton Synergy2
Miken Freak
Louisville Slugger SB304
Louisville Slugger SB404
Worth XGOLD-Fastpitch
Worth XRED-Fastpitch
Worth XPST4
Worth WWSCA
Worth SBWKA

Other non-approved bats here: http://www.asasoftball.com/about/build_batlist.asp

Friday, November 03, 2006

2006 Honour Roll

A list of all teams in the area that won their respective leagues championship. Any other leagues out there I should be aware of?:

Greater Ottawa Fastball League: Kanata Team Easton
Upper Ottawa Valley Men's Fastball League: Micksburg Twins
Ottawa RA Fastball League: Ottawa Valley Raiders
Loughborough Fastball League: North Fred Kings
North Leeds Fastball League: Newboro 56ers
Blackburn Men's Fastball League: Blackburn Good Ol' Boys
Glen Cairn Men's Fastball League: Murray's Refrigeration
McNab/Braeside Junior Men's Fastball League: Shawville Snappers

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Photo Title Contest

Some of the best captions sent in:

"Looks like the switch to light beer is paying off"

"World's largest coaster"

"The Bubble Makers"

"Got the six pack now it's off to the tanning salon"

"And Pugger thought it would take years of training at the gym to get a six-pack."

"What happens in the hot tub, stays in the hot tub!"

"I forsee a game plan brewing" (Get it? I4C....)

Thanks to the guys that sent in their suggestions. And thanks to Pugger for being a great supporter of ball in the area and sending in all kinds of articles all season long!

Ball diamond facts in Ottawa

I was at a presentation today from the sports allocation guy at the City of Ottawa and thought I would pass on some interesting statistics and info.

In the entire city, there are:
357 sportsfields (primarily soccer fields, some football fields, Ultimate frisbee fields)
323 ball diamonds

Some other facts:
  • In 2006, 14 ball diamonds were converted to soccer fields.
  • In 2007 approximately 16 more will be converted.
  • Conversion costs about $20,000.
  • Due to demand from soccer groups, they are looking to convert about 10 to 12 every year!
  • Currently no lit diamonds have been converted, since apparently there is sufficient demand for lit fields. (Wonder how long that will last?)
  • Most of these converting diamonds are in the central region of the city.
  • The guy also commented that back before city amalgamation, various former municipalities lined the diamonds, put the bases on etc. However, once the city amalgamated, the decision was made that all groups are on their own to line, put bases on etc.
  • Former West Carleton doesn't go through central city booking process, neither does former Rideau. You have to book ball diamonds will local groups. However, all other city owned ball diamonds are booked centrally by the city. For info call 613-580-2595 - best to contact them by December if you are looking for prime time in the 2007 ball season and are not a 'repeat' client.