By Alexis Brudnicki

In its inaugural season, the Canadian Premier Baseball League welcomed teams from seven programs and at five different age groups, with winners crowned at the three youngest divisions to end the month of June.

The Tri-City Giants finished as champions at both the 12U and 13U levels, with the Fieldhouse Pirates winning the 14U division in the circuit’s first year. Playoffs at the two highest age groups will finish their seasons at the end of July.

After finishing second in the regular season with an 11-6-2 record to a tough Great Lake Canadians squad that went undefeated and racked up 21 wins, the Fieldhouse Pirates completed their post-season run in Kitchener to come out victorious in their age bracket, reaping the benefits of the CPBL competition throughout the entire year.

“The competition our 14U team played at home, week in and week out, was incredible,” said Jimmy Richardson, director of player development for the Pirates program. “Having the opportunity to have our players compete against the best in the province at their age level has been a huge bonus to their overall development.  

“The playoff tournament was intense. Every inning and every at-bat is magnified in a double-elimination tournament, and our guys were able to pull off a couple wins in one-run ball games against some good teams. The whole organization is proud of the way our 14s played and competed over the weekend, and it bodes well for our future.”

The 13U Giants held their reign atop the CPBL after going 16-1 in the regular season to finish in first place, and the 12U squad from the Tri-City area came out on top after finishing second in the regular season to the Ontario Blue Jays Naylor team.

“Our 12U team had a number of great matchups that enabled them to improve every weekend throughout the season,” said Jeff Young, the president of the executive board for the Giants. “This served them well as they headed into the championship weekend.

“Our 13U team, for the most part, cruised through the regular season. However, once the playoffs hit the intensity level increased and the games became much closer. Our 13s have a solid core, and came together as a unit after losing their opening game to run the table, capturing the championship.

“Both teams enjoyed being able to play a high level of baseball in front of their local family and friends to wrap up their CPBL seasons.”

Both organizations have been extremely proud of their squads and excited about the first year of the new league, and are looking forward to what more will come as both the circuit and their own programs progress, for all involved.

“The Giants are extremely proud of our championship 12U and 13U teams,” Young said. “Throughout the off-season we knew we had something special with these kids and they came together both on and off the field, which was a joy to watch throughout the season.”

Programs that participated in the inaugural CPBL season included not only the Giants, Pirates, Canadians and Ontario Blue Jays, but also the Toronto Mets, Ontario Nationals and Team Ontario.