From the Simcoe Reformer
Hill United Chiefs won an ISC tournament in Fort Myers, Florida, earlier this year. This weekend the team will hold the Chiefs Challenge in Simcoe, a tournament featuring the top-four teams in the world rankings.
The world’s best fastball teams will be in Simcoe this weekend for the Chiefs Challenge.
Hosted by the 2021 International Softball Congress world champion Hill United Chiefs, the tournament at Lions Park that runs Friday through Sunday will feature eight teams and four of them are currently at the top of the world rankings.
“This is a world-class tournament,” said Chiefs coach Jeff Ellsworth.
“Last year’s world champion Kitchener Twins folded so all those players are on the Niagara Stompers.
“So the No. 1 ranked team in the world, the New York Gremlins, are here. The No. 2 ranked team in the world is the Niagara Stompers and they’re here and No. 3 Bear Creek is here.
“The Hill United Chiefs are ranked No. 4. The four top teams in the world in the ISC loop are all here.”
The tournament’s format is a bit different than in past years.
There will be two pools of four teams and each team will play the four teams in the opposite division during preliminary play. The top-four teams overall then move into semifinals on Sunday at 10 a.m. with the final to follow at noon.
The Chiefs are hoping to build toward the world championship later this summer.
Formed in 2012, the Chiefs are based out of Ohsweken and have won several world championships, including their last in 2021.
Ellsworth was a player with the team from 2012-19 and then when Hill United returned from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, he became its coach.
Following a somewhat disappointing 2022 season, the Chiefs made a couple of changes and the team’s roster feature players from seven different countries – Mexico, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Czech Republic, United States and Canada.
“There were a couple of new additions,” Ellsworth said. “One player retired and a couple of player movements but not a lot.”
The Chiefs won an ISC tournament in Fort Myers, Florida, earlier this season and they’ll be looking for their second title of the season this weekend.
“This one is huge,” said Ellsworth, noting that aside from world-ranking points, there’s something special about playing close to their home base.
“It’s our own tournament and the very first game we’re playing is against the Stompers. We just played them on the weekend and lost 3-1. It’s an amazing first game to have.
“And then we get Bear Creek Express on Saturday night and they’re ranked third in the world.
“Two out of our four round-robin games are against higher ranked teams so obviously if we want to move up the rankings, these are the teams we’re going to have to compete against and beat.”
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