Here's a little Quyon Flyers update for all you fastball fans out there:
Next week, the Flyers are heading to the ISC II Tournament of Champions in Kitchener. It is a huge honour for the young squad to have been invited to play in the ToC, which they accomplished after placing well in a local qualifying tournament a month ago.
Competition will be stiff in Kitchener, as the ToC is an elite tourney, but the Flyers have vastly improved since they played in the Junior Championships in St. Leonard last season. At that tournament, they finished 10th out of 12 teams, and I think most of the players considered it a huge disappointment, despite being a great experience. This year, they made the jump from the RA League to the GOFL, where they have played against far superior clubs with much better pitching, and finished in 4th place, only 2 points out of 1st.
Things won't be easy at the ToC for the Flyers, especially since they won't be able to bring one of their stars, Joran Graham, with them. Graham, a recruit this season from Micksburg, had already commited to playing with Napanee at the Midget Championships in Saskachewan next week. Also unable to play is the amazing first-baseman, Kenny Fleck, who has missed quite a bit of the season already due to injury. However, Kenny will be accompanying the team to Kitchener as their Field Manager, and I'm sure he'll do a fine job as "cheerleader" as well.
The Flyers have picked up some help in the form of three cagey vets, which should bolster their line-up and add some experience: Earl Kearns, Lenny Burger, and Gord Flannery. All three men are old enough to have fathered most of these boys, so they should be able to offer them some pearls of wisdom on the field, as well as prove that they're all still great ball players themselves. They will also surely be of great help in the absence of Coach Mark Kearns, who is also unable to make the trip.
The Flyers schedule is as follows:
Tuesday Aug. 14 - 1:30 PM - Wilkes-Barre, PA vs. Quyon Flyers
8:30 PM - Quyon Flyers vs. Shakespeare, ON
Wednesday Aug. 15 - 6:30 PM - Alvinston, ON, vs. Quyon Flyers
Thursday Aug 16 - 10:30 AM - Quyon Flyers vs. Oswego, NY
*This game will be broadcast online, for those of you who have highspeed and want to listen. The streaming signal for all of the games can be accessed through
https://w5.ottawa.ca/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.ballparkradio.com/ as well as through
http://www.iscfastpitch.com/.
Here is the Flyers roster for the ISC II ToC:
QUYON FLYERS
Quyon, QC
2 Jordan Kearns OF Quyon, QC
4 Earl Kearns 2B Quyon, QC
5 Gordie Flannery Utility Kazabazua, QC
6 Ben Younge OF Shawville, QC
7 Nick Armitage 2B/3B Quyon, QC
8 Luke Young SS Quyon, QC
9 Kenny Fleck Fld Mgr Quyon, QC
10 Steve McCord 1B/3B Shawville, QC
12 Lenny Burger Pit Micksburg, ON
15 Shawn Laframboise OF/1B Shawville, QC
19 Dennis McCleary OF Shawville, QC
22 Matt Greer Pit Shawville, QC
25 Joe McCleary Cat Shawville, QC
Other teams from the area who will travelling to Kitchener for this tournament include: the Blackburn Bombers, Carp I4C Victory, Ottawa Valley Raiders, and Ottawa Team Easton.
This weekend, the Flyers are warming up at the Fitzroy Fastball Tournament before leaving for Kitchener on Monday. I'll be sure to keep you all updated on how the team from Q-Town is doing next week.
Good Luck, Boys!!
