Hockey tryouts are right around the corner, but first Evan Buehler and Adam Brubacher have one more crack at the good old baseball game.
The two 14-year-olds are off to St. John’s, Newfoundland next week to play in the Eastern Canadian Peewee Fastball Championship.
They were invited to join the Kitchener Kolts, who qualified for the tournament back in June. Eliminations were held in Stratford, with Kitchener coming out on top and Highgate finishing second, also qualifying for the trip. Both teams are allowed to pick up two extra players to bolster their squads in St. John’s.
Last weekend, the Elmira boys faced Kitchener in their year-end league tournament in Pickering, where Elmira ultimately finished third.
“They were opponents on the weekend and teammates as of [Tuesday],” joked Adam’s dad Eric.
Their first practice with the Kolts was Tuesday evening, and Tuesday afternoon they were out at the batting cage getting in some extra practice time. Even though they’re on opposite benches during the season, the boys have gotten to know most of the Kitchener team over the past four or five years they’ve been playing baseball.
Taking the bronze was a nice finish to a good season for the team. It was a good summer for Evan and Adam, too; Adam, who is a pitcher, threw two no-hitters this season, and Evan notched a grand slam in the first game of the season.
This will be their first time travelling outside Ontario for a tournament. While the boys plan to do some sightseeing with their families, what they’re most looking forward to is the baseball and seeing how their skills stack up.
“Just playing against all the other teams out there,” Adam said.
“And seeing how we compare against their best players,” Evan added.
The tournament starts Aug. 27 and wraps up Aug. 30. When they get back, they’ll have to switch over to thinking about school and hockey; both play triple-A hockey with the Waterloo Wolves, and they’re starting Grade 9 at EDSS this year.
It costs about $2,000 each to fly out to Newfoundland, so the boys have lined up a number of local sponsors. For more information on sponsoring them, contact Brian Blaxall of Elmira Minor Softball at 519-669-1377.
