CARP – West Carleton loves their fastball and the community is in for a treat as the best U19 players in the province are coming to Carp this weekend to earn a bid at Softball Canada’s U19 Men’s Championship.

The West Carleton Amateur Sports Club is hosting the U19 Ontario Amateur Softball Association Men’s Elimination Tournament that will take place on the fields on the Carp Fairgrounds.

Thirteen teams are headed to Carp and will be battling it out from Friday starting at 5:30 p.m. to Championship Sunday with the final game scheduled for 3 p.m.

“Both diamonds are in great shape,” tournament convener Shawn Williams told West Carleton Online yesterday (June 25). “We’re blessed to have such dedicated volunteers. I think we’re going to put on a really good show.”

The teams come from small communities and large urban areas, but all have one thing in common – they’re known for their fastball.

Napanee won the Softball Canada national championship last year. Williams calls Kitchener-Waterloo a “great organization.”

And dark horse Shallow Lake, a tiny community north of North Bay is expected to make some noise.

“They’re a small community and a young team,” Williams said. “They’re going to be a team to watch.”

The entire list of teams includes Ivanhoe, Belmore, Tavistock, Wellesley, Oshawa, Kitchener-Waterloo, Tara, Osgoode, Napanee, Jarvis, Innerkip, Glencoe and Shallow Lake.

And they’re playing for more than a bid at the national championship.

“They want to play on that national team,” Williams said. “They’re going to be scouted this weekend.”

Williams says there will be around 160 great athletes showing their skills and he says Carp will be the place to be all weekend.

“What’s really exciting for us is the admission,” he said. “It’s only $10 for the weekend. I joke that’s less than 40 cents a game.”

Kids 12 and under are free.

It’s a true double-elimination tournament meaning every game is a playoff game. The first game is Friday at 5 p.m. will opening ceremonies scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

For more information and the full tournament schedule, click here.