A fun family evening of fastpitch softball will be held at the Moorefield Ball Park on June 26. A world class game starting at 8 pm will feature an exhibition mens game between the Hill United Chiefs and the South Perth All Stars.
A preliminary youth game with a 6:30pm start time will feature a battle of the genders between two U12 teams, the Palmerston Marlins Squirt Select girls and the Belmore Sting OASA boys.
“These two games will bring back that old time ball feeling to the Moorefield park as it showcases the newly installed playground equipment and many upgrades to the ball diamonds themselves and the overall appearance of the park,” organizers state.
Admission to the games will be by donation with proceeds to support Moorefield Park improvements. The Drayton Moorefield Giants Softball players will don their jerseys to man the gates.
An event similar to this was held last June to fundraise for the mural project in downtown Moorefield. Hundreds of ball enthusiast came to see New Zealand and Argentina battle it out. Many locals commented how it was like “old times” at the Moorefield Park. This year it was decided to add a competitive, grassroots youth game to the mix, as that is where it all starts for these world class players.
“Games like these just don’t come to towns like Moorefield. It is through the softball connections of our township’s director of public works Larry Lynch that we get these world class teams to come to showcase our great park facilities,” organizers note.
The Hill United Chiefs are two-time defending American Athletic Union National Champion and the number two ranked team in the International Softball Congress North American rankings. They feature two stars of the Australian Steelers men’s national team in Adam Folkard and Nick Shailes. Folkard is considered the best men’s pitcher in the game today. They are also very deep in Canadian talent, with eight members of Team Canada currently starting on their roster. The Canadian boys hail from Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Ontario. The Chiefs were finalists in both the ASA Nationals and the ISC World Championship in 2012.
The South Perth All-Stars will also feature the best in local men’s talent from the South Perth Fastball League and is expected to include Brandon Horn from Waterloo and Don Scott from Sebringville, both just back from representing Team Canada at the International Softball Federation World Championships, in New Zealand. The South Perth League is familiar to Moorefield fans, as the community fielded a team in the loop for many years. Expect lots of local fan favorites from a league that features teams from Elmira, Breslau, Kitchener, Mitchell, Sebringville ,Milverton, Shakespeare, and the 2012 league champion Wellington Sox.
The battle of the genders game will be sure to entertain with ball chants and rhymes from the girls that will drive the boys crazy. These two teams are both Select house league teams focused on their Provincial Grand Championships in August. Both teams participate in tournament play and exhibition games through the summer to hone their skills and they get together as a team once a week for practice.
The Belmore Sting are Grade 5 and 6 boys, selected from the Inter County Softball League and the WOAA league. Their season play so far has included a Silver Medal in the Mitchell Fastball tournament in early June.
The Palmerston Marlins Girls Squirt Select team is made up of four 10-year-olds, seven 11-year-olds and one 12-year-old. These 12 girls all play for their home traveling house league centres with two from Listowel Minor Ball, onefrom Arthur Minor ball, five from Mount Forest Minor ball and four from the Drayton Moorefield Giants Minor Softball. Their coaching staff are all from the Moorefield area. Their tournament play so far this season have seen them go win three and lose two in pool play in Waterloo in late May. This past weekend at the John Cross Memorial in Cambridge they defended their 2012 Gold medal placement with another Gold Medal finish, scoring 69 runs with only six runs against in four games.
The Township of Mapleton, Moorefield Athletic Association (MAA) and the Drayton Moorefield Giants Minor Softball Association are partnered in hosting this event, with hopes of filling the bleachers with hundreds of fastpitch enthusiasts.
The Moorefield Diner will be on site to feed spectators during the games from the park’s concession stand with choices like ice cream, burgers, fries and deep fried dill pickles.
submitted by Kelly Culp
