The landscape for local fastball could be altered in a big way in very short order.
Both an Owen Sound Men's team and the Port Elgin Blue Devils are expected to pursue admission into the ISC Eastern Canada Travel League.
Last year, the Owen Sound Brick Brothers Volkswagen Junior Selects competed in the ISC League as a primer for their season which was highlighted by hosting and finishing third at the Canadian Junior Championships in Owen Sound.
The Volkswagen Junior Selects confirm they will be returning to the ISC League for 2009.
A handful of members of the Volkswagen Juniors are graduating based on their age, and Manager Lee Jacques confirms he's spearheading an effort to use those players as the nucleus for a Senior Men's team, also based at Duncan McLellan Park.
Jacques says a meeting tonight will determine whether the sponsorship of the club is in place, but he says barring something unexpected, he's " 99 percent sure " that Owen Sound will have a men's team in the ISC League for the first time since 2003 when the Selects won the Canadian Championship.
Meanwhile in Saugeen Shores, Port Elgin Blue Devils Manager Jim MacKinnon also acknowledges that his club is aiming to join the ISC Eastern Canada League for 2009.
The Blue Devils have a been a dominant team for this decade in the Bluewater League.
However, the club feels their dominance may have hindered them when it came to significant tournaments outside of Bluewater.
MacKinnon relates the players raised the initiative of moving to their ISC League in order to face a greater challenge in the sport.
The Blue Devils have kept their intentions very quiet, electing to proceed in a measured fashion before announcing their plans formally.
Both the Owen Sound Senior entry and the Blue Devils are expected to attend the ISC Eastern Canada Travel League meetings next month (Nov 2) to make their intentions known.
Fred Wallace
fredww5@hotmail.com
