The provincial baseball championships ended Sunday with an impressive run for the NDG Lynx. In five age categories, the amateur baseball teams managed to pick up four Quebec titles.
They’d like to remain a powerhouse, said NDG Lynx executive director Steve Glazer.
“We would like to maintain this. As I teach my kids, with every pitch, every inning, we want to get better, better, better,” he said. “The same goes for the organization. We are all volunteers. We all care about our children. We all care about the beautiful game of baseball.”
The seniors head to the Canada’s national Little League tournamentin Edmontonlooking to repeat as champions; they won last year with the youngest team ever. With nine returnees, they’re hoping to experience again a uniquely Canadian moment at the 2012 Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
“They play each national anthem, and it is when you see your child standing there with their hand over their heart and everyone looking at that Canadian flag, it takes your breath away,” said NDG Lynx president Mary Catherine Carmel “It was the most unexpected part of everything. That was where the tears were shed. It was amazing.”
The 13- and 14-year-old juniors also rolled through their competition towards a title. Valleyfield typically puts up a strong fight, but were not to be seen this year.
“We went in there and we knew we had our best pitcher, Jason,” said right fielder Isaac Harris. “He did a very good job for us and put the ball in play. We did a good job defensively and the energy just kept rolling. We won 13-3.”
Perhaps the best chance to win a national championship comes from the 11- and 12-year-olds -- the little league Lynx. In the provincial tournament, they went 4 and 0, with an aggregate score of 8-0, including a 12-0 win in the final over Victoriaville.
“The third game they played in their tournament in Val d’Or, I was texting one of the coaches and it was 21-0 in the second inning and I said, ‘Please stop running,’ because we didn't want to run up a score but there was nothing they could do,” said Glazer. “The game ended up 28-0.”
The major Lynx have been in the finals, but never won a national title. They cappedoff a perfect tournament with a 15-0 victory over Valleyfield.
The national championships take place in Edmonton from August 4 to 11.