By JAMIE ROSS, THE DAILY GLEANER
But the 18-year-old catcher is optimistic the Fredericton Dental Centre Twins can improve on their 0-7 record from last year’s national U19 fastpitch tournament in Stratford and make a serious run at the championship this weekend when the city hosts 16 teams playing a whopping 69 game schedule over seven days, beginning Monday.
“Last year, we were the youngest team in the tournament,” said Whipple, who played made the switch to softball from baseball at age 16. “The nerves were there, whereas this year, we’ll have that experience.”
The Twins were out scored 63-9 at the championships last year, but if the regular season was any indication, the second-place Twins, who lost out 2-1 in a best of three in the provincial finals to the Nelson Miramichi Vics, should fare just fine.
“Everyone brings something different to the table,” said Whipple of the Twins’ roster. “Our starting nine is as solid as it gets, and on the bench we have a bit of everything. Bats, some speed, some fielding.”
Eighteen-year-old catcher Matt Whipple believes the Fredericton Dental Center Twins, the host team at next week’s Canadian Pepsi U19 Fast Pitch championship tournament, will benefit from the experience of attending last year’s tournament in Stratford, Ont. Tournament play begins Monday. Click link below for pic of Matt.