Golden era for ball in the area

Talk about a golden era for ball in this area.

For a long time, people have thought Norfolk was known for its hockey. And who can blame them when Rob Blake, Nelson Emerson, Rick Wamsley, Jassen Culimore, Ryan Vandenbussche and Dwayne Roloson were all playing in the NHL, while the likes of Rick Kowalsky, Geordie Kinnear and John Stevens were leading their respective teams in the minors.

But over the last few weeks, Norfolk, and nearby Townsend, have been placed on the baseball map thanks to five local athletes, who will get the opportunity to wear the Canadian maple leaf on their chest this summer.

On Wednesday, Delhi’s Courtney Gilbert got the ultimate Canada Day surprise, when she was named the national junior women’s softball team.

While this is Gilbert’s first crack at playing for Team Canada, she’s no stranger to big time softball, slugging her way to a scholarship at the University of Buffalo while playing for the powerhouse Brantford Bobcats.

Gilbert joins a unique group of infielders. Not only will Renton’s Sean Jamieson, Port Dover’s Megan Timpf and Townsend’s Ian Fehrman be wearing the Maple leaf during the Pan Am Games, all three are the projected starters at shortstop.

Pretty impressive don’t you think?

While Gilbert is a rookie to Team Canada, Timpf is one of the veterans on the women’s national team, and is one of the captains. Her international resume is a huge one, which includes appearances in the Olympics and a silver medal at the 2011 Pan Am Games. A medal at these Pan Am Games would put a huge exclamation mark on a fantastic career.

Fehrman is also a Team Canada veteran and is currently a key cog on the men’s national softball team at the International Softball Federation World Championships in Saskatchewan.

Fehrman has been a member of the Men’s National Team since 2006. He won silver at the 2006 Pan American Championships, and bronze at the 2009 ISF World Championships.

At the 2009 event, he was among the top hitters in the tournament with a .517 batting average,15 hits, four homeruns and 13 runs batted in.

When the Pan Am Games begin, Jamieson will be on his second tour of duty with Canada’s national team, having competed at the World Baseball Classic in Germany.

“We had a lot of fun together,’ he said. “To be back on the team and play in Canada is even better. A lot of those guys that were on the team in Germany were together for years. They’re a close group of guys and it was an honour being one of the new guys. This time around it’ll be even more fun, because things aren’t as new. I wasn’t part of the stories they talked about, but now I am. We’re hoping that togetherness will help carry us.”

Finally, but certainly not least, Logan Kloet will play for the Team Canada Selects for the seventh annual Border Battle, which will take place in Midland, MI, August 17 to 19.  

The Border Battle weekend is the premier international event for slo-pitch.

“It’s an honour to be able to represent your country,” Kloet said. “It’s also an honour just to have your name on the same list as these guys. They’re the best players in Canada, and some of them have been doing it for a long time.”

The Border Battle is a series of games that pits Team Canada, the Canada Selects and Team USA and finishes with Team Canada taking on Team USA on national television.

dsmart@norfolknews.ca

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