Welland Jackfish an IBL hit after move from Burlington

Welland Jackfish catcher Andrew Mercier was named the Intercounty Baseball League’s hitter of the week last week after going 6-for-12 with six RBI in three games. Photo: Welland Jackfish

July 24, 2019

By Danny Gallagher

Canadian Baseball Network

It's one of the biggest success stories in the Intercounty Baseball League this season.

The Welland Jackfish, that is. A new name, a new city and a new life that began in 2011 as the Burlington Twins, later known as the Bandits and Herd. No matter how hard the Burlington folks tried to make the Intercounty work in that city, it just didn't pan out.

To get a new life, Ryan Harrison, Jason McKay and Dan Pokoradi got approval to move the team from Burlington to Welland, located about one hour west for the 2019 season. It's the first time the IBL has had a team in that region of the province since the Niagara Falls Mariners folded some 30 years ago.

"Burlington wasn't a good fit for us financially,'' Harrison, the Jackfish president, admitted in an interview. "We heard about the stadium in Welland so we thought we'd come down and check it out.''

And the move has done wonders. Last season, the Herd finished dead last with a 12-24 record. When we last looked, the Jackfish were 16-13, holding down fourth place in the Intercounty Baseball League behind the perennial powerhouse Barrie Red Sox, the second-place Kitchener Panthers and the third-place Hamilton Cardinals, who won their seventh consecutive game July 23.

Initial interest by Harrison and his group in Welland began several years ago and Harrison said there was a "full-court press'' in August of 2018. Final plans were made early this year when approval was given swiftly by Intercounty commissioner John Kastner and other league officials.

Harrison was born and raised in Burlington so he was saddened when it was time to leave the city.

"We like everything about Welland. The city people have been very good,'' Harrison said. "It was an easy decision to make. They (league brass) knew Burlington wasn't feasible.

"To be honest, we should never have been in Burlington. It's a natural stadium in Welland. We have all the facilities and amenities we need. In Burlington, it was a glorified recreational diamond.''

Welland Stadium was built in the mid-1980s and was home to the minor-league Welland Pirates, whose alumni include former major leaguers Tim Wakefield, Jeff Banister and Tony Womack.

Harrison is in charge of what looks like a professionally run operation, if you look at the team's website. Pokoradi is the vice-president of finance and logistics, Mike Konderka is the VP, corporate partnerships and advertising, McKay is the VP, baseball operations and general manager, and Brent Coulombe is the VP, business development.

The field manager is Brian Essery and his coaches are Dustin Wiley and Rick Pilliteri. As for that nickname, jackfish are northern pike found in the Welland River.

"We have five, high-powered imports and a good mesh of local talent,'' Harrison said.

The imports are DeAndre Asbury-Heath of Columbia, S.C.,, who is batting .245 with four homers, 19 RBI and 13 stolen bases; Brandon Nicholson of Hamburg, N.Y., a .296 hitter with a homer and nine 9 RBI; Dominican Wilson Soriano, who is batting .256 with two homers, 19 ribbies and 19 steals; pitcher Euclides Leyer of the Dominican, who sports a nifty 5-1 record; and Vaughn Bryan of Sunrise, Fla., who is batting .229 with four ribbies.

Jackfish catcher Andrew Mercier was named the league's hitter of the week last week after going 6-for-12 with six RBI in three games.