Canada opens Pan Am Games vs. Dominicans

TORONTO — The Canadian men’s baseball team will begin defence of its Pan Am Games title on July 11 against the Dominican Republic at President’s Choice Ajax Pan Am Ballpark.

Cuba won 10 straight Pan Am gold medals before Canada ended the streak at the 2011 Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Canada defeated the United States 2-1 in the championship game.

“I still think about it and I still get chills,” said Canada manager Ernie Whitt, who will handle the skipper duties again this summer. “It was a great feeling. For so many years, it seemed like we had always come behind Cuba or the United States. In 2011, we were able to put everything together. The breaks fell our way and the kids, they played hard as they always do.

“It was just a tremendous feeling to see it all come together.”

Canada, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and the U.S., will be joined by Colombia, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico in the seven-team round robin this year. The top four teams will advance to the semifinals July 18, a day before the medal games.

All Major League Baseball-affiliated players who aren’t protected on 40-man rosters will be eligible to play. Whitt said he expects to have the roster set by the second week of June.

“We’ll definitely try to get the best players that are available to us, but we definitely want some that have had international experience before,” Whitt said. “These tournaments (are) totally different from playing in a regular season. It’s almost a playoff atmosphere where every game is important.”

The team plans to hold a camp in Cary, N.C., and play three exhibition games there before heading north to Toronto.

Women’s baseball will make its Pan Am debut at the 2015 Games.