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THE OFFICIAL SITE OF THE KITCHENER SELECTS

Selects Finish 15-7 In Notable 2011 Season

Thursday, August 18, 2011

With the 2011 regular season officially in the books, it seems like a good time to evaluate the year to date - and it's been another good one for the boys in green. After stumbling out of the gate to a 6-6 record, the Selects righted the ship, winning nine of their last 10 to post a 15-7 record and claim their second division title in team history (the first came in 2009). They outscored opponents 139-71, and posted impressive tournament showings in both Woodstock (beating two strong opponents in the Hickson Reds and Springfield Brewers) and Brussels (outscoring their opponents 19-6 to win the entire tournament).

The 2011 season has also seen the Selects mature as a unit, welcoming two new players to the roster in Tim Coverdale and Jamie Ridley, and relying on returning players to grow into new roles. In the key battery positions of pitcher and catcher respectively, Scott Clark and Kevin Ryrie have logged more innings than ever before, while the ever-reliable Brad Cleasby migrated his stalwart defense to fill the gap at SS on many occasions and Brent Furtney handled second base duties gracefully. Clark proved there is more to the Selects' stable of arms than just their well-known ace Doug Hoffman, leading the team in starts for the first time and posting a very respectable 7-3 record with a 3.68 ERA. Hoffman, meanwhile, continued to mow down opponents, to the tune of 100 strikeouts in just nine games (64 2/3 innings), to go with a paltry 1.52 ERA.

Offensively, Kevin Ryrie had a career year, breaking a number of team records before, unfortunately, breaking his arm. His 28 hits bested his own team record of 26 set back in 2008, and his scorching 0.571 average erased one of the team's longest held marks, Glen Hall's 0.500 season in 2005. And, in just the third year the Selects have charted doubles, Ryrie legged out six, improving upon the previous mark of four that was shared by Dan Clark (2009) and Mike Welton (2010).

Ryrie was not the only Select to rewrite the team record books in 2011, however. Brad Cleasby has become the new standard-bearer for martyrdom, recording six sacrifices to break Trevor Botting's 2007 mark of five. And in a twist that is perhaps all-too-telling of the season's injury woes, Mike Brown, Glen Hall, and Reed Laughlin all got plunked twice, marking the first time multiple players have received more than one hit-by-pitch in a season (with Hall adding two more in tourney play and Brown picking up an additional three in non-league play).

Still, for all this season has already meant for the Kitchener Selects - good, bad, and downright quizzical - the boys in green remain focused on just one goal: returning to the KFL finals and, this time, emerging victorious. That quest continues as the playoffs get underway on Tuesday, August 23 at Budd Park.