Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Entering their 15th season in the Kitchener Fastball League, the Kitchener Selects made a couple roster moves in the offseason. After putting up a 0.500 batting average and a 3.82 ERA in his first season as a Select, Ty Sebastian has decided he will not have time to don Selects' green in 2013. Both his arm and bat will be missed, but we wish him the best with his other squads, the Wellington Sox, Brussels Tigers, and Wiarton Red Devils. In addition, veteran infielder Jamie Hickling will be taking 2013 off for career reasons. Hickling is one of the team's founding members and has been with the team off and on since 1999.
On a happier note, the Selects are excited to welcome back the club's all-time leader in games played, Glen Hall, after taking 2012 off for health reasons. The team also has two entirely new faces, Mike Boshart and Shayne Riepert. Boshart is an outfielder from Stratford who is happy to return to the sport after a couple years away. He will be making his KFL debut. Riepert has pitched in the KFL for a few years, with the Breslau Black Sox, New Dundee Dodgers, and, most recently, the Tri-City Jays. In 2012, he hit 0.280 and went 9-0 with a 1.09 ERA for the Jays, before picking up three wins in their run to the 2012 KFL Finals. Riepert will join Scott Clark and Chad Fink to shore up the pitching rotation.
The Selects will be competing against the Bulldogs, Classics, Diamond Jaxx, Kings, Phillies, and Thunder in the KFL's Black Division. They have two televised games on Rogers TV (Cable 20): June 13 against the Razorbacks, the KFL's newest squad, which includes former Selects pitcher Rod Fevreau, and July 25 against the Classics, who the Selects beat 1-0 in a classic pitching duel in their 2012 season opener on Rogers. The team has also confirmed its entries for tournaments in Woodstock (May 17-20) and Brussels (July 26-28). For the Selects' full schedule, check out the link at the top of the site.
It should be another exciting year of Selects fastball. Check back regularly for all the latest and follow us on Twitter, @selectsfastball.