Canadian officials named to 2019 international baseball events

Lisa Turbitt (Burlington, Ont.) has been selected to serve as the umpire director, of the U-12 Baseball World Cup (Tainan, Taiwan).

By Adam Morissette

Baseball Canada

OTTAWA - Baseball Canada is pleased to announce the following individuals who have been selected as officials by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) for various Baseball World Cup events in 2019:

Shari Reiniger (Edmonton, Alberta)

-Technical Commissioner, U-18 Baseball World Cup (Gijang, South Korea)

-Technical Commissioner, Premier12 Pool A (Zapopan, Mexico)

Jim Baba (Ottawa, Ontario)

-Technical Director, U-18 Baseball World Cup (Gijang, South Korea)

-Technical Director, Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier (Parma/Bologna, Italy)

Technical Director, Premier12 Super Round and Finals (Tokyo, Japan)

Stephen Gomes (Windsor, ON)

-Umpire, U-18 Baseball World Cup (Gijang, South Korea)

André Lachance (Gatineau, QC)

-Technical Commissioner, Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier (Parma/Bologna, Italy)

Lisa Turbitt (Burlington, Ontario)

-Umpire Director, U-12 Baseball World Cup (Tainan, Taiwan)

Keith McKonkey (St. Catharines, Ontario)

-Umpire, Pan American Games (Lima, Peru)

Scorekeepers Don Darling (Edmonton, Alberta) and Jason Buitenhuis will work the U-18 Baseball World Cup and U-12 Baseball World Cup, respectively.

Reiniger will perform Technical Commissioner duties at two events in 2019 including the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup and the Europe/African Continental Olympic Qualifier. She recently performed the role of Technical Director at the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup in 2018 and was Technical Commissioner at the 2017 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay, Ontario.

Baba, Baseball Canada’s Executive Director, has numerous international baseball events on his resume as a Coach, Technical Commissioner and Technical Director. He will fulfill the Technical Director’s role at three major international baseball events in 2019 including the U-18 Baseball World Cup, the Europe/Africa Olympic Qualifier and Pemier12 Super Round and Finals.

Gomes got his first international umpiring assignment in 2018 for the WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup and will work his second event in 2019 at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup. Gomes was the home plate umpire for the gold medal contest at the Canada Games in Winnipeg in 2017.

Lachance will return to the role of Technical Commissioner for the Europe/Africa Continental Olympic Qualifier event in September. Lachance managed Canada’s Women’s National Team at the last eight WBSC Women’s Baseball World Cup tournaments and was Technical Commissioner at the 2015 Pan Am Games Women’s Baseball Qualifier and the 2007 Pan Am Games in Brazil.

A former minor league umpire, McKonkey worked the 2017 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Thunder Bay and will head to Lima, Peru in July to umpire the Pan Am Games baseball competition.

Turbitt has an impressive umpiring resume including the home plate assignment for the first-ever Women’s Baseball World Cup gold medal game back in 2004 and was Umpire Director last year at the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup in Panama. She is a former recipient of the Dick Willis Award for Baseball Canada’s Umpire of the Year.