Rhett Rooney tosses the ball in batting practice to Jacob Mansfield, at the St. Thomas Tomcats' final practice, at Cardinal Field before Baseball Canada 21U National championship. (photo / Rob Ross)
Shooting for a
National Junior title
Bronze medalists a year ago, the St. Thomas Tomcats aim to win gold an home field
at Baseball Canada's 21U men's championship, August 16-19
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - The St. Thomas Tomcats are ready to take on the rest of the country.
The local junior team is hosting Baseball Canada's 2018 21U men's championship, with games starting Thursday, at both Emslie and Cardinal Fields.
Opening ceremonies go at 630 p.m., at Emslie, before the Tomcats open against Quebec, at 8 p.m.
A home run contest kicks off the five day event, Wednesday, 6 p.m at Emslie, with Tomcats' Travis Keys and Kevin Bowden aiming for the fences.
"It's going to be awesome," St. Thomas Tomcats manager Bob Lofgren said. "St. Thomas is a great baseball city. First time being here (St. Thomas hosting tournament) and we're the guys playing, so it's pretty cool. The boys are really pumped."
Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Quebec, Manitoba and Saskatchewan will be represented, along with Ontario teams, Oshawa, Mississauga North and Windsor.
Oshawa won the Ontario title, edging Mississauga North, 10-9, in extra innings, in the final. Windsor defeated Burlington, 8-6, in the third place game.
A year ago, the Tomcats won the bronze medal, winning a thriller over Saskatchewan, at the tournament, held in Gatineau, Quebec. This year, the Tomcats are looking to move up on the podium.
"We're shooting for gold obviously. It's a tougher tournament this year with four Ontario teams," said Lofgren. "Our first two games, we have Quebec and then Windsor. That's two tough teams right off the top."
Quebec is the reigning National champions.
"We have a lot of experience with guys who have been there before and know what to expect," Lofgren said. "We have to pitch well and we have to play defence. If we hit, that's a bonus. If you can stay in the game with your pitchers and play good defence, you're always going to have a chance to win."
The Tomcats feature 12 returning players from last year's team, including catcher Troy Lofgren, infielder Daniel Lichty, infielder Lawson Burnett, outfielder Jacob Mansfield, infielder-pitcher Kevin Bowden and pitcher Michael Mommersteeg. First year juniors, outfielder Tyler D'Alessandro and pitcher Zack Banks, both played for the London Badgers, the 2017 midget National champions.
Zack Banks is one of six St. Thomas natives playing for the host Tomcats, at the Baseball Canada 21U men's National championship. (photo / Rob Ross)
"I feel honoured to play with the Tomcats this year. I wanted to play with them since I was younger and was coming to watch them," said Banks. "Last year I was with the Badgers and we hosted Nationals. We won too and it was a blast. Hopefully it will be the same outcome this year."
Then there is Keys, a 20-year old ace hurler, who had an unforgettable outing, striking out 12 batters, in last year's quarterfinals, carrying the Tomcats over the host team for an extra inning win. In the bronze medal game, it was Keys who delivered the game winning hit, a two-out double, scoring Troy Lofgren, for a 3-2 win over Saskatchewan, in 10 innings.
Most recently, at the Baseball Ontario senior eliminations, August 3-6, Keys helped Ilderton qualify for Nationals.
"It was a great tune-up and opportunity for me," Keys said. "It was a great atmosphere. I had the adrenaline going."
Now Keys will be on the hill for the Tomcats' opener against Quebec.
"We're tying to go better than (bronze) this year, but that was a great year last year. A lot of fun," said Keys. "We have a good defence. It's easy to pitch when you know you have the guys behind you."
Mommersteeg gets the nod for game two against Windsor, 1 p.m. Friday, at Emslie.
Manager Lofgren has names in mind to start games three (Friday, 7 p.m. vs. Saskatchewan) and four (Saturday, 11 a.m. vs. Nova Scotia), but his choices may change pending the results of their first two prelim games.
"We need to win one of the first two games. That's important," the skip said.
Mommersteeg, Banks, outfielder Josh Hare, catcher Matt Brooks, pitcher Justin McDonald and pitcher Matt Thomson, are home grown players. Coach Matt Gooding is a former Tomcats' player.
The Tomcats added three players to their roster for Nationals.
Pitcher Austin Hassani, comes from Newmarket and attends Laurier University. Six-foot five pitcher Jackson Jones hails from Toronto Hyde Park and attends Niagara University.
Outfielder-pitcher Austin Oulds is from Chatham and just helped Tecumseh win the Baseball Ontario senior title. Oulds attends Lourdes University, in Ohio and is an alumni of the Great Lakes Canadians program.
St. Thomas finished sixth with an 8-9 record, in the Southern Senior Baseball League. But injuries crippled the pitching staff and the Tomcats didn't have Mommersteeg, who spent much of the season with Moose Jaw, in the Western Major League.
Related articles:
2017 21U Nationals - Tomcats win bronze
2017 21U Nationals - Keys turns in 'gutsiest' performance
rob@hometownplay.ca