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ORIGINAL STORYÂ Â by Christine Rivet
KITCHENER — Fans will get their first peek at the world's third-ranked men's fastball squad, one of the host teams for the world championships, this weekend.
The Kitchener Hallman Twins are among the 11 entries in this weekend's inaugural Peter Hallman Memorial fastball tournament.
The event, running Friday through Sunday at Peter Hallman Ball Yard, sets the table for the granddaddy of club team fastball championships, the International Softball Congress world tournament.
For the first time since 2007, the ISC worlds return to Kitchener on Aug. 8-16.
The latest incarnation of the Twins represents a merger of two teams, uniting the old three-time world champion Jarvis Travelers with the Kitchener squad.
Elite men's fastball has been prone to such marriages of convenience through the years as sponsorship money dries up faster than an August cornfield.
Even the old Jarvis team was a union between that Ontario outfit and the old Travelers from Broken Bow, Neb.
Today's Twins boast a constellation of international stars like: Danish outfielder Fred Terkelsen; Aussie utility players Zenon Winters and Jesse Taws; and Kiwi infielders Jerome Raemaki and Tyron Bartorillo.
The Kitchener squad also features all-star Canadians like infielder Ian Fehrman, pitcher Paul Koert and coaxed-out-of-retirement Ryan Wolfe in the outfield.
Throw into the mix local standouts like infielder Brandon Horn (Waterloo), outfielder Justin Krulicki, along with pitcher Ryan French (both of Kitchener) and team sponsor Jim Hallman can't help but be optimistic.
Especially since, of those current Twins, only longtime New Zealand national team pitcher, the injured Jeremy Manley, is expected to miss this weekend's action.
"Our goal with the Twins this season is to play Saturday (the final day) at the ISC worlds. This weekend is the first step," said Hallman, who has proudly carried on the family tradition of sponsoring local fastball.
This weekend's tournament, and its location, is named in honour of Jim's brother who died in a motorcycle accident back in 1999. Peter Hallman, a local builder and developer, was an avid fastball volunteer and sponsor.
The Twins take those first tentative strides toward greatness on Saturday at 9 a.m. when they tussle with the winner of the Kitchener Diamond Jaxx vs. the Scarborough Bat Men.
The world's fifth-ranked club team, the Scarborough Force, also see their first action at the Hallman Memorial Saturday at 9 a.m. vs. the winner of New York's CPI Classics and the Kitchener Bell Cartage Outlaws.
Other teams competing at the double-knockout Peter Hallman Memorial include: the Shakespeare Falcons, Sweaburg Crush, Wiarton Nationals, Wellington Sox and Kitchener Cubs.
Sunday's final is a 1 p.m. start. All games are at Peter Hallman Ball Yard.
For the complete schedule, go to alsfastball.com.
The Peter Hallman Memorial replaces the old Legends of Fastball tournament on the sporting calendar.
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