Playing on national stage
Cape Breton Ramblers quest for senior little league title begins Sunday
Ethan Conrad is no stranger of playing on the national stage.
In fact, the New Waterford native has appeared in four national tournaments to date – first as a member of the Glace Bay Colonels, twice with the Glace Bay Jr. Miners and once with Cape Breton Cubs.
Conrad’s leadership and experience will be leaned upon when the Cape Breton Ramblers take to the field for the 2018 Canadian Senior Little League Championship in Edmonton, Alta., next week.
“I don’t think I’ve been this confident heading into a national tournament,” said Conrad.
The Ramblers enter the tournament as the representative for the Atlantic region. The team rebranded from the Cape Breton Cubs to the Ramblers earlier this year.
Conrad was among the Cubs’ team that competed in the tournament last year in Calgary, a club that missed advancing to the semifinals by a tie-breaker.
The Cape Breton squad will have eight returning players from last year’s team and Conrad believes that experience can only benefit the club.
“I think we’re very good at all three phases of the game including hitting, fielding and pitching,” said Conrad, who will
see time at the shortstop and pitching positions in the tournament.
“It’s such a long tournament – some of the guys on the team haven’t played in a tournament that long before – but I think the guys who are coming back know what the competition is like and they know what to expect and it can only help us.”
In preparation for the tournament, the Ramblers played 17 games including contests against Midget tripleA teams from mainland Nova Scotia.
“We’re confident going into nationals, we have had a lot of ball (this summer) and a lot of practice time, so we’re well prepared,” said Ramblers head coach Josh Spooney, who shares the coaching duties with Dave MacMullin, Keith Stanley and Tyler Spooney.
Cape Breton will be joined in the seven-team tournament by the host Edmonton Cubs as well as teams from Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, the Prairies and Quebec.
“I know what we have, and I can focus on what we’re able to bring to the table,” said Spooney when asked if he knew much about the other teams. “As long as we’re able to focus on things that we’re able to do than we should do well.”
Along with Conrad, the team will also lean on Corson O’Rourke, who Spooney believes will be the best catcher in the national event.
“He’s a veteran catcher, he blocks the ball really well and he’s also good at hitting – he’s one of our prime leaders,” said Spooney.
“Conrad, I think has some of the best hands that I’ve ever seen at this age for quite some time, he makes routine plays and even makes the tough plays look very easy.”
The Ramblers will open the tournament on Sunday when they play the Quebec representative at 6 p.m. Atlantic time, before facing the host Cubs Monday afternoon.
Cape Breton will continue the tournament on Tuesday against the Prairies, followed by a meeting with Alberta on Wednesday. The club will wrap up the round robin with contests against British Columbia on Thursday and Ontario on Friday.
“It would be unreal to win,” said Conrad of the national tournament. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about ever since my first nationals in 2013 – it’s something I’ve always wanted from baseball.”
“We have the experience, we have everything we need to get the job done, we just have to go out there and play our game, hope for the best, and maybe catch a couple of breaks here and there.”
The tournament semifinals will be held on July 21, with the championship game slated for July 22. All games will be streamed live by visiting the Canadian Senior Championship 2018 Facebook page.
The winner of the tournament will advance to the 2018 Senior Little League World Series in Easley, South Carolina, July 28-Aug. 4.