From the Summerside Journal Pioneer
(click link for original news story)
Photo by Summerside Journal Pioneer: Jeff Ellsworth
ERIC MCCARTHY
The Journal Pioneer
ALBERTON – Jeff Ellsworth, a resident of Brooklyn, P.E.I., was named tournament most valuable player at the recent Amateur Athletic Union’s international softball tournament at Walt Disney World in Florida.
Ellsworth was the designated hitter for the Chicago-New York Dominicans, and had hits in nine of his first 10 at-bats.” It was one of those weeks,” said Ellsworth, who had a tournament batting average around .700. “Everything was falling in place.” If luck was on his side in the batter’s box, it flowed over to the whole team by the end of the tournament. The [Chicago/New York] Dominicans went on to win the gold medal after both of the finalist teams withdrew. The [Chicago/New York] Dominicans, after winning their first six games of the tournament, were supposedly sidelined with a 6-0 semifinal loss to the Italian club. That team, however, withdrew because of scheduling issues and players having prior commitments. When the tournament organizers gave the Dominicans the green light to play in the final, their opponents, the Dominican national team, balked, Ellsworth related. When they refused to play, the championship was awarded to Chicago-New York.
Hardy pitches
One other West Prince resident played in the tournament, Alberton pitcher Mitchell Hardy.
It’s a bit of an adjustment leaving P.E.I. in January to pitch in an international softball tournament in Florida, he admits.
Hardy pitched in three of the Minnesota Angels’ five games. “Our first game was against the No. 1 pitcher in the world,” Hardy recounted. “It was a good experience just to see him play.”
Hardy pitched two innings in relief against Adam Folkard in that game, surrendering one hit.
Hardy pitched a total of 12 innings. His team finished the tournament with a record of three wins and two losses, bowing out in the quarter-finals to an Ontario team that was led by the world’s top pitcher from the ’90s, Darren Zack.
The tournament was the start of what both Ellsworth and Hardy are hoping will be a busy summer of ball. Ellsworth will be playing with the Broken Bow Patsies this summer and is hoping to retain his spot on Softball Canada’s national team.
Hardy is still deciding who he will be pitching for this summer, having invitations from the Angels, a team from Pennsylvania and the Kegel Knights, the squad he pitched for last year. Both Ellsworth and Hardy will also be playing in the Canadian senior men’s fast pitch championship with the Charlottetown Fawcetts in late August.
Editor’s note:
The above article was edited to correct the name of the tournament host as the Amateur Athletic Union, rather than the “American United Amateur Association” as it was described in the original news story. We also added “[Chicago/New York]” to clarify which Dominican team was referenced, distinguishing the Chicago/New York Dominicans mentioned in the story from the Dominican National team that they were to play in the finals. “Kiegel” was also corrected to “Kegel”.