Glebe Little League summer season 2018

by Christina Flavell

This summer’s competitive baseball season wrapped up at the end of August after two months of excellent baseball fun and competition. This year, Glebe Little League (GLL) fielded summer teams at three levels: Minor (9-10 years), Major (11-12) and Junior (13-14).

At the Minor league level, 2018 was the first year that the preceding spring house league was tiered. The new approach was a great success in helping newcomers to baseball develop their skills and giving more experienced players the chance to prepare for more competitive play in the summer season.

The summer GLL Allstar Minors were a young team compared to those of the competition, with five 9-year-olds on the roster. While they struggled to pull out many wins, they were always competitive with their opponents, particularly at the Scott Tokessy tournament where Wade Eldridge provided some serious excitement with a base-clearing, walk-off triple to beat Carleton Russell.

At the Major level, the GLL All-Stars enjoyed an exciting and competitive season. Like the Minors, they also participated in the Tokessy tournament, making it to the semi-finals, having opened the tournament with an impressive 3-0 record.

Finally, at the Junior level, the GLL Junior Nationals enjoyed a 7-4 regular season record, coming in third in the regular season and making the A-side playoffs. In the playoffs, they were competitive to the end, making it all the way to the finals before losing to a strong Orleans team.

After a winning spring interlock season in which they were champions, the GLL Junior All-Stars were unfortunately unable to defend their 2017 title in the District Tournament. Nonetheless, the GLL Canadian team enjoyed a strong summer season overall with a 7-4 record, like their National counterparts. In the playoffs, they came up just shy of making the finals, losing 4-2 to the provincial champions from East Nepean.

For those unfamiliar with Glebe Little League, it is an entirely volunteer-run organization that serves not just the Glebe, but also central Ottawa, Vanier and Gloucester. The generosity of the league’s coaches, convenors, managers and many other volunteers has made it possible for hundreds of young people in Ottawa to enjoy the game of baseball.

And that’s a wrap for the 2018 summer season! Now it’s time for some Fall Ball. Information about GLL baseball programs and ways to get involved can be found at www.glebelittleleague.ca.

Christna Flavell is a marketing specialist and vice president of communications for the Glebe Little League.