hastings major all stars represented canada at the 2009...
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Hastings Major All Stars
Represented Canada at the 2009 Little League World Series
The Hastings Major All-Star team won the Canadian Little League Championship in 2009 and went on to
represent Canada in the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. The following are some
newspaper stories highlighting their memorable journey to Williamsport in the summer of 2009.
Hastings beats long odds to win national title
East Vancouver squad off to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Richard J. Dalton Jr., Vancouver Sun, August 17, 2009
The Hastings Community Little League team celebrates winning the Canadian championship in Val d’Or, Que., on Saturday. The Hastings Community Little League hasn‘t had it easy. Twenty-two teams play on one diamond. And fundraising is tough in east Vancouver. Now some of the baseball players are headed south, but that‘s a good thing. The All-Star Major team of 11-and 12year-olds will travel to Williamsport, Pa., this week for the Little League World Series after clinching the Canadian championship in Val d‘Or, Que., with a 9-2 win over Windsor, Ont., on Saturday.
No Canadian team has ever won the tournament. Hastings‘ first game, on Aug. 22 against Mexico,
will be televised on ESPN. ―It‘s an unbelievable feeling because . . . no one in district 6, which is the east side of Vancouver, has ever gone this far before,‖ said team manager Vito Bordignon. ―The word I use is magical, pretty magical,‖ said Richard Saunders, who was the league president until last year. ―We‘re kind of over the moon, you might say, never figuring we‘d ever be able to go to Williamsport and actually watch a Hastings Little League team play there.‖
The Hastings League‘s nine-and 10year-olds won the provincial title this year, too. But it hasn‘t been
easy. More than 20 teams share one diamond in Hastings Community Park, across from the PNE, so it‘s full all the time, forcing the kids to play on school fields instead, Bordignon said.
Only three teams are in the major league, so there wasn‘t a big roster of players from which to
choose the nine major league teams, Saunders said. ―So, traditionally they‘ve been the powerhouses in B.C.,‖ he said. ―We‘ve come from a pretty small stock, but our stock has been rising over the years.‖
While backstops usually have an overhang to block foul balls, the Hastings diamond has a makeshift setup of four pipes wired to the top of the backstop, with fishnets thrown over to catch the foul balls, he said. ―I don‘t think I‘ve seen a backstop in the city of Vancouver that‘s built that way.‖ But ground crews keep the diamond in immaculate condition, Bordignon said.
Saunders said fundraising is more difficult in east Vancouver than in more affluent areas. At least
three dozen parents can‘t afford to pay the little league fee, but their children still play because the fee is covered by KidSport, an organization that helps pay costs for low-income athletes, Saunders said. Dave Jenkins, who took over as president of the league this year, said the league will subsidize the trip to Williamsport, and every child will have at least one parent there. ―This is pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I think a lot of families are just digging deep and finding ways to put the funds together,‖ he said.
Saunders said the players‘ working class roots have helped them. ―Their stamina seems to be unbelievable, and I think that‘s because primarily they come from a working-class community,‖ he said. ―Things aren‘t handed to them on a silver platter. You want something? You‘ve got to work for it.‖ The team has a diverse line-up, including Katie Reyes, the only girl in the provincial and national games. She hit a home run in the final game of the provincials. ―She earned her way,‖ Saunders said.
Every child of Carol and Jim Creamore has played in the league, including their youngest son, Ian.
―Every little boy wants to go to the World Series,‖ Carol Creamore said. ―So it‘s just been a dream. Now it‘s a reality Jenkins said, ―I know they‘re pretty excited, and everybody‘s still walking about three feet off the ground right now.‖
Hastings' Historic Feat Vancouver Sun August 18, 2009
Vancouver Hastings Little League's win over Ontario's team at the Canadian Little League baseball championships in Val D'Or, Que., is a sports feat of significant historical note. Hastings, from Vancouver's east side, is the first Vancouver team to make it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn., since Little Mountain Little League (then called Jaycee Nationals) achieved this honour in 1953.
Over the last five decades, B.C. has been a perennial power in Canadian Little League baseball, but the B.C. teams that have made it to Williamsport were all from outside Vancouver proper, with the most dominant ones being from Whalley (Surrey) and Trail, each with five trips to the world series.
It is a long and difficult road for a team to win all the challenging tournaments - districts, provincials and Canadians -- on the way to the world stage at Williamsport. Bravo, Hastings Little League for your terrific and historic accomplishment, and good luck at the Little League World Series, starting this weekend.
Kit Fortune, Historian, Little Mountain Baseball, Vancouver
Movin’ on up from the east side of Vancouver
ELIZABETH CHURCH
From the Globe and Mail
The hardscrabble streets of Vancouver's east side are a far cry from a field of dreams, but 11 boys - and a girl - from the traditionally working-class neighbourhood are changing that, sweeping the Canadian championships on the weekend and sending them to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., next week.
The national win by Vancouver's Hastings Little Leaguers was a first for a team that plays ball on a diamond beside a highway and an amusement park, with rickety wooden bleachers and graffiti on the welcome sign. While British Columbia is a powerhouse for Canadian little league, clinching a string of five national titles, the teams that have dominated in the past have come from leafier locations.
The mostly 12-year-olds who make up Hastings's all-star roster took the title with a 9-2 win over Ontario's LaSalle Turtle Club on Saturday in Val-d'Or, Que. That come-from-behind victory gave club organizers goose bumps and set the stage for a whirlwind week of media attention and high-calibre competition. The team will get on a bus this morning and head south to join seven other international entries and U.S. regional finalists at the Little League World Series. No Canadian team has ever won the tournament.
Hastings players celebrate after winning the national championship on the weekend. They will go to the World Series in Williamsport, Pa., next week.
"I think it's going to be a really nice field," said 12-year-old catcher and fielder Christian Cullen in an interview yesterday from the Ottawa hotel where the players spent last night, playing in the pool and
enjoying a team dinner of Mexican food. Christian said he was nervous before Saturday's championship game but is eager to play in next week's tournament.
Team manager Vito Bordignon was elated. "This is an unbelievable feeling. This is a once-in-a-lifetime feeling for the kids and the coaches and the parents included," he said. "This team is unbelievable. They just find a way to win" said Mr. Bordignon, a volunteer with the organization for 25 years who grew up playing Hastings Little League.
Besides their 5-0 championship sweep, the Hastings team is also set apart by their player at first base. Katie Reyes is one of only about a dozen girls to make the trip to Williamsport since officials opened up little league to female players in 1974.
―It doesn't get any bigger than this for little league‖
Girls were banned by the league in 1951. Kathryn Johnston, who hid her gender by adopting the nickname Tubby and tucking her hair under her cap, played in 1950 for the King's Dairy team in Corning N.Y., is believed to be the first girl to play little league.
Katie, a member of the starting line-up who hit one out of the park in the provincial championships, is described by the team manager as an all-round player.
"She is quite a player," Mr. Bordignon said. "It's not unheard of to have a girl player, it does happen, but it is rare that you have one of her calibre."
Dave Jenkins, president of the Hastings Community Little League, said Katie joins a short list of girls who have competed at the national and international level and has handled the pressure well. "She is there based on her ability and she has handled herself admirably."
Hastings's first game in Williamsport next week is against Mexico Saturday morning.
"It doesn't get any bigger than this for little league. There is no greater event," said Mr. Jenkins from his Vancouver home, where he watched his all-star team take the national title streamed over the Internet. Next weekend, he can catch the action on a bigger screen with cable sports networks broadcasting the championship.
The Hastings team will start the official lead up to the World Series with a media day tomorrow and fittings for uniforms. They will practise on Wednesday and Thursday in preparation for the competition.
Mr. Bordignon said it has been hard to get information on the teams they will face, but coaches have been scouring the Internet for tournament results to gauge hitting and pitching strengths.
Mr. Jenkins says there is no doubt this weekend's victory has put his players on the map. The team's 9-to-10-year-olds also took the provincial title this year. He credits the success to a push by volunteers to draw in players to new development camps. The Hastings Little Leaguers come from a mixed neighbourhood and a variety of backgrounds, and that he said is part of their strength. "People come from all walks of life, but everybody is equal at the park."
With a report from Rod Mickleburgh
Hastings players are one big family
East Vancouver team has bonded well in common cause to win the
Little League World Series Yvonne Zacharias, Vancouver Sun, Aug 19
When 12-year-old Matteo Vincelli was two years old, ―Papa Dale‖ gave him his first baseball glove, a gift that lit a spark in the toddler‘s heart.
It hasn‘t always been smooth sailing for Matteo, who pitches and plays third base for the Hastings Little League all-stars, the amazing little team that could.
Because he was born with twisted and bowed shin bones, Matteo has had to have several major surgeries to cut his bones and reposition them. Still, Matteo played. Now Papa Dale, his grandfather whose full name is Dale Weisbrod, is with Matteo as an assistant coach with his team in Williamsport, Pa., where the little leaguers from east Vancouver could become the first Canadian team to win the Little League World Series.
Vancouver’s Hastings all-stars are aiming to become the first
Canadian team to win the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa.
They‘ll be cheered on by a whole contingent of parents, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles and friends.
Matteo‘s mother, Terry Vincelli, arrived Monday evening with her mom, dad, daughter and husband as part of the vanguard. Most of the families will be arriving Thursday or Friday.
She said Matteo isn‘t the only one with extended families that have dug deeply into their pockets to travel first to Quebec — where the team won the Canadian championship on Saturday — and now down to Williamsport to experience this once-in-a-lifetime chance.
Terry said she is lucky enough to be a stay-at-home mom, so getting time off work for all this traveling wasn‘t an issue. Others have had to struggle to get there. Fortunately, each child will have at
least one parent with him or her. Fortunately, too, the Vancouver league and sponsors have helped families foot some of the bills.
The last time Terry saw the players was when they all had breakfast together Monday at a Tim Hortons just before crossing the U.S.-Canadian border. The 11-and 12-year-old boys — and one girl — then piled on the bus and went their own way to a players‘ compound so they could focus on their game. Teams and families are now firmly separated.
―It‘s a real special bonding experience,‖ Terry said from her cellphone while standing in the muggy Pennsylvania heat, adding that most of the kids have played with or against each other since they were five years old. ―This is a very tight team in the sense that the families have grown together over the years.‖
Terry has watched members of the team mature over the past weeks. Many had never been away from their families before, but at the Canadian tournament in Val d‘Or, they were billeted, in some cases with families who spoke little English. Everything seemed to turn out well.
―I think it has been a bit of a growing up experience for most of the kids.‖ Now, far removed from practices on cramped school playing fields on Vancouver‘s east side, the
kids will get to play in Williamsport‘s famed Lamade Stadium, which is like a major league ballpark. Williamsport will be flooded with young sluggers and their families from places like Taipei, Venezuela
and Saudi Arabia over the next 12 days. In all, there are 16 teams competing, with half of those coming from the U.S. The Vancouver cheering contingent will number almost 60 by the time everyone arrives.
Head coach Jeff Matsuda said the players have just been outfitted with two bats each, cleats, batting gloves and helmets. ―It was like Christmas today.‖ The team had a 2-1/2-hour practice, which was interrupted by a thunderstorm. Then they headed off for a dinner of spaghetti and meatballs.
As he spoke by cellphone, you could hear the kids in the background. Yes, they are incredibly excited, said Matsuda, but they are also ―really loose,‖ not too nervous.
Matsuda hasn‘t had a chance to watch other teams practice, so he won‘t know what his team is up against before game time. But he sounded confident, saying Hastings is strong in all areas — offensively, defensively, and with their pitching.
As with every winning team, this one has its own special magic. Terry defined it this way: ―We have 11 incredible boys and one girl on this team that have been able to come together and see each other as equals and play as a team. They have jelled very well. They all have the same purpose. They all want to win and play ball.‖
She admitted that the parents are a little nervous, but very positive. Win or lose, she wants the kids to savour the moment.
Hastings opens the World Series Saturday against Mexico at 8 a.m. Pacific. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Steve Ewen - The Province - Aug. 7th
Hastings tears way to national finals
Coach: ‘We knocked off quite a giant’ in W.R.-S. Surrey
The Hastings Little League All-Stars team didn‘t have to look far to see what winning the
provincial championship meant to their association.
Vito Bordignon, who suited up for Hastings as a youngster and is in his 25th year of coaching,
admitted he was a little teary-eyed after his club beat White Rock-South Surrey 13 – 2 last Sunday at
Coquitlam‘s Mackin Park to capture the B.C. title for 11-12 year olds. He wasn‘t alone.
―You saw a lot of grown men with tears in their eyes, and a lot of those guys had been with
association before I was here,‖ said Bordignon, 43, before leaving for Val D‘Or, Que., where his team,
beginning Saturday, will play for the Canadian title and a berth in the Little League World Series at
Williamsport, Penn.
Hastings is the first team in 30 years from District 6 (Vancouver East Side) to claim the 11-12
crown. Victoria Drive won it all in 1979.
District 3 (Fraser Valley) has been the dominant loop. Prior to Sunday, they had won 17 of the
last 26 championships. White Rock-South Surrey had captured the last two titles and three of the past six.
―We knocked off quite a giant‖ said Bordignon. ―It doesn‘t happen a lot for our district. Sometimes,
you don‘t think it‘s ever going to happen. For whatever reason, this team got it together and played its
best at the right time and really shone.‖
Hastings opens up the Canadian tournament on Saturday against the Maritimes champion.
The final goes Aug. 15.
Aug. 12 – The Province
Little Leaguers from Hastings run tournament record to 4-
0
VAL D‘ OR, Que. — Vancouver‘s Hastings Little League team is still perfect at the Canadian Little
League Championship, with four wins in four starts, the most recent a 12-6 victory Tuesday over the
Prairie team from North Regina.
Matteo Vincelli hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to put the B.C. representatives in front. Taz
Burman also drove in two runs.
But Ryan Matsuda‘s perfect run at the plate ended at 13 when he was retired for the first time in the
tournament in the fourth inning.
B.C. plays its last game of the round robin today against the host team, Val d‘Or.
Elliot Pap – Vancouver Sun - Aug. 12
Hastings remains perfect at Canadian Little
League tourney
Team hopes to extend B.C. supremacy to five straight titles
Four years ago, the Hastings Community Little League gathered together a promising group of eight-
year-old players — and their parents — and told them they had the makings of a champion.
HASTINGS LITTLE LEAGUE
Ryan Matsuda bats for Hastings of Vancouver, which defeated North
Regina 12-6 Tuesday to run its record to 4-0 in the preliminary round of
the Canadian Little League Championship in Val-d’Or, Que.
It was easier said than done, of course. Families move. Injuries happen. Kids discover other sports
and other interests. But this group stuck together and is now reaping the rewards at the Canadian Little
League championships in Val-d‘Or, Que.
Hastings, which shocked two time defending champion White Rock 13-2 to win the B.C. title, is
running roughshod over the competition from across Canada. The Vancouver east-side squad won its
fourth straight Tuesday, thumping Prairie representative North Regina 12-6. It was their closest game so
far.
In their first three outings, they trounced Nova Scotia 11-3, Ontario 19-2 and Valleyfield, Que., 23-2.
With one game remaining in the round-robin, today against host Val-d‘Or, they have already clinched
first place and a berth in Friday‘s semi-finals. They have out-scored their opponents 55-13.
The final goes Saturday with the victors getting an all-expenses paid trip to the Little League World
Series in Williamsport, Pa.
―This was a long time coming,‖ Hastings head coach Jeff Matsuda explained Tuesday from Val-d‘Or.
―As eight-year-olds, the kids won our district handily and were, like, mercy-ing everybody. I mean, they
were just mopping up teams. So our president at the time called all the parents together after that season
and said: ‗Look, I see something special here and if you guys take this seriously, this team can go far.‘
―We‘ve been knocking on the door ever since. We finished third in the provincials with this group for
the last three years. So it‘s been a four-year wait.‖
B.C. has produced the last four Canadian Little League champions with Whalley capturing the title in
2005 and ‘06, followed by White Rock in ‘07 and ‘08. Whalley and White Rock are both from District 3.
Hastings is the first B.C. champ from District 6 in 30 years.
― I think the kids are pretty confident but this is still new territory for us,‖ said Matsuda, whose son
Ryan is one of his ace pitchers. ―We‘d heard rumours that once you win the B.C. provincials, it gets easier
but we can‘t feel over-confident. Anybody can beat anybody on any given day, right? You still have to
play the games.‖
Hastings is in excellent position, however.
Today‘s round-robin finale means nothing to their seeding so Matsuda can save his top arms for the
playoff round. Thursday is a day off.
―We are set up well for the playoffs,‖ conceded the Hastings coach. ―We have a really good
schedule.‖
In Tuesday‘s game against North Regina, Hastings fell behind 4-0 in the first before breaking the
game open in the final two innings. Matteo Vincelli stroked a two-run homer for Hastings while Taz
Burman added two RBIs.
August 13 – Vancouver Sun
Hastings Perfect at Little League Tourney
VAL D‘OR, Quebec – The Hastings Community All Stars completed round-robin play at the Canadian
Little League Championships with a perfect 5 – 0 record Wednesday as they crushed host Val D‘Or 17 –
2. Nicholas Carusi stroked a grand slam homer in the third inning to lead the Hastings offense while
Anthony Cusati added four RBIs. The Vancouver east-side squad outscored its opponents 82 – 15 in
the round robin. Semifinal play begins Friday. Hastings will meet Nova Scotia at 1 p.m. in one semifinal,
with Ontario and North Regina meeting in the other.
Hastings advances to Canadian Little League final Vancouver Sun August 14, 2009
Starting pitcher Matteo Vincelli went five and two-third innings for the Hastings Community all-stars in Friday's semi-final win at the Canadian Little League championships.
Photograph by: Hastings Little League, Vancouver Sun files Ian Creamore and Ryan Matsuda hit solo home runs Friday to power the Hastings Community all-stars to a 4-2 victory over Nova Scotia in semi-final action at the Canadian Little League championships in Val D'Or, Que. Matteo Vincelli started for Hastings and went five and two-third innings with Antony Cusati picking up the save. Hastings, which had reached double digits in all five of its round-robin wins, was held in check by the strong pitching of Nova Scotia starter Logan Aker. Hastings will meet the winner of the other semi-final between Ontario and North Regina in Saturday's championship final. The Canadian champ will then travel to Williamsport, Pa., for the Little League World Series. © Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
Vancouver's Hastings All Stars claim Little League crown, head to World Series
By David Karp, Vancouver Sun August 15, 200
The Hastings Community All Stars are crowned Canadian Little League champions. Photograph by: Little League Canada, Little League Canada It was their first time on the Canadian stage, and next weekend, they'll debut on the world stage.
The Hastings Community Little League all-stars are headed to the Little League World Series after steamrolling over the competition at the Canadian Little League Championships in Val d'Or, Que. It was Hastings' first trip to the national tournament for 11- and 12-year-olds.
"It was totally electric. Everyone's over the moon right now," said coach Jeff Matsuda, on the phone Friday evening from Val-d'Or where the team was celebrating with a pizza party.
Hastings, from Vancouver, scored nine straight runs to erase a 2-0 deficit against the LaSalle Turtle Club from Ontario, winning 9-2 in the championship game on Saturday afternoon.
After Turtle Club scored two runs to take an early lead, Ian Creamore hit a three-run homer for Hastings in the third inning to put his team on top.
From there, Hastings didn't look back. Creamore added an RBI in the fifth inning and another in the sixth, and Antony Cusati had a three-run homer of his own in the sixth inning. He also had an RBI off a double.
In total, Hastings scored five runs in the sixth and final inning. Unlike major league baseball, which has nine innings, Little League baseball has six innings.
"Anybody on this team can hit a home run. We're confident with our bats," said Matsuda. "We just tried to stay patient and stay focused."
Hastings starting pitcher Ryan Matsuda threw more than five full innings for Hastings before being pulled part way through the sixth after throwing the maximum number of pitches allowed in Little League baseball.
Hastings was undefeated throughout the competition, obliterating its opponents by a combined score of 82-15 over five round robin games. They dispatched of the Ramblers, from Sydney Mines, N.S. by a score of 4-2 in Friday's semi-final.
LaSalle, meanwhile, went 4-1 during the round robin competition, with their only loss coming at the hands of Hastings.
Hastings' victory marks the fifth-straight Canadian Little League title for a B.C. team. White Rock-South Surrey won the competition in 2006 and 2007, and Whalley won it in 2004 and 2005.
Hastings doesn't get much rest after its win. The team boards a bus for Williamsport, Pa. at 9
a.m. on Saturday for the Little League World Series, which opens Aug. 21. Hastings' first game
will be on Aug. 22 against Mexico and will be televised on ESPN.
No Canadian team has every won the tournament.
"The Canadian championships was the big goal, no question about it. Williamsport is the cherry
on top," Matsuda said.
Hastings Little Leaguers on hallowed ground
They've taken the big stage now as Team Canada
By Terry Bell, The ProvinceAugust 21, 2009
Williamsport has some famous alumni, including Jason Bay (pictured with the Bosox), former
NFLer Brian Sipe, Gary Sheffield and former NHLer Ray Ferraro.
Photograph by: Lucy Nicholson file, Reuters
- - - - - -
Like thousands of kids who've gone before them, the Hastings Community all-stars are finding
Williamsport, Pa., a jaw-dropping experience.
The Hastings team, which powered its way to the Canadian championship last week in Val d'Or,
Que., faces Mexico in its 2009 Little League World Series opener Saturday (8 a.m., TSN2).
And so far the trip to baseball's version of Disneyland has been a blast.
"This is a dream come true for all of these kids," team manager Vito Bordignon said in a
telephone interview Thursday morning.
"They're having the time of their lives meeting a bunch of kids from different parts of the world.
"When they first got here you could see that they were just a little overwhelmed. They were in
awe. The stadium is magnificent," he said of 10,000-seat Howard J. Lamade Stadium.
"It was breathtaking, watching these kids and seeing the looks on their faces as they looked
around."
The Canadian champs were one of the first teams to arrive in Williamsport. They arrived on
Sunday after outscoring opponents 82-15 en route to earning B.C. a fifth consecutive national
championship. They beat Windsor, Ont., 9-2 in the final.
Now they hope they won't be one of the first teams to leave.
The competition will be stiff. Canada has never won this tournament and Mexico made it all the
way to the final last year before losing to a team from Hawaii in the championship game.
But the 11-, 12- and 13-year-old battlers from Hastings are a pretty impressive group. They have
four quality starting pitchers, including ace Ryan Matsuda, who won the championship games at
provincials and nationals. His dad, Jeff Matsuda, is head coach of the team.
They also have a number of power bats, one of which belongs to first baseman/outfielder Katie
Reyes, one of just a handful of girls ever to play in the tournament.
"Hitting has been a big asset of our game and our pitching has been very good, too," said
Bordignon, who is in his 25th season running the Hastings team.
"The only thing we weren't sure of was our defence, but through these tournaments (District,
B.C. and Canadians), our defence has been rock solid."
This is Bordignon's first trip to Williamsport. The 2009 Canadian title is a first for Hastings,
which has been knocking on the door for the past few seasons.
"It's been a long time coming," said Dave Jenkins, who's in his first year as the Hastings
Community Little League president.
"To see them there is incredible. The real test now comes when you're playing the best players
from all over the world, but I honestly believe that they're up for it and they're looking forward to
the challenge."
The Hastings zone is north of Lougheed Highway, starting at Main St. and running west to
Sperling in Burnaby. The kids' home park is on Hastings, just across from the PNE.
The Hastings Community league has almost 400 kids from ages 4 to 12. The area is home to a
wide number of income groups.
Some of the players require help from Kidsport for registration fees and equipment.
Most parents have made the trip to Val d'Or and Williamsport and the HCLL is trying to raise
some money to help with the costs.
Anyone interested in helping can check their website at hcll.ca
Canadian 'girl that delivers' takes on the World Series
Matthew Sekeres
VANCOUVER — From Saturday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 02:51PM EDT
This morning at a ballpark in northern Pennsylvania, east Vancouver's Katie Reyes will revel in a rare
field of dreams as she takes on the boys in the Little League World Series.
Katie is one of just 15 girls in history to advance to the global baseball showcase for players 11 to 13
years old. Both Katie, as a girl in a game dominated by young boys of summer, and her Canadian
championship team are decided underdogs at the Williamsport, Pa., tournament.
Rachel Reyes, who immigrated to Canada from the Philippines in 1986, says her daughter is no
ordinary girl, and coaches say she isn't afraid to put the boys in their place.
"She's pretty confident in what she does," Ms. Reyes said. "At one time, I thought she would be left
out. As a mother of a girl, you think that way, because girls are underdogs. But in her case, the boys
and coaches, the way they treat her, she's not the girl to put on the sidelines.
"She's the girl that delivers."
Indeed, Katie and the Hastings Community Little League team went undefeated at the Canadian
championships in Val-d'Or, Que.
They earned a berth to the 63rd Little League World Series this week. Canada begins play against
Mexico at Howard J. Lamade Stadium today, and is in an international pool with teams from Germany
and Chinese Taipei.
Only one Canadian team, a 1965 squad from Stoney Creek, Ont., has advanced out of the
international bracket and into the tournament final against the U.S. champions.
"I want to keep going into the semis and if we're lucky, maybe the finals," Katie said yesterday. "I'm
speechless, to tell you the truth. This has been amazing and it has been very entertaining."
Katie is a right-handed-hitting first basewoman and, at 5 feet 6 inches and 138 pounds., one of the
sturdiest kids on the 12-player team. She is fast enough to bunt for a base hit and powerful enough
that she belted a game-winning home run at the B.C. provincial championships in Coquitlam earlier
this month.
She began playing baseball about six years ago, after watching her younger brother, Matthew, in
Vancouver's Little Mountain league. When the family moved in 2007, Katie was encouraged by a friend
to join the Hastings league, where she fit right in with a blossoming group of all-star players who had
been winning since they were 7 and 8 years old in rookie ball.
"You could see her potential and the athleticism right away," Hastings coach Frank Cusati said. "No
one has a bigger heart, and she's one of the toughest kids on the team."
Though baseball doesn't run in the family, resiliency does.
Rachel and Hercules Reyes were college sweethearts in Tarlac City, in the northern Philippines. After
school, he became a marine engineer and she voyaged to Canada, where she spent her first two years
as a nanny before launching a career working with disabled children.
They reunited after 16 years when his ship pulled into Vancouver's port and were married six months
later, in April, 1993. They spent two more years apart as his immigration papers were processed, then
began their family.
Hercules Reyes is now an industrial mechanic, while his wife works with the Vancouver School Board.
They live near the Hastings Park diamond where the team plays, roughly four kilometres from the
epicentre of Vancouver's notorious Downtown Eastside.
The diamond is the only field in the district, and services 20 teams that play only eight home games a
season. They play another 12 road games against neighbouring districts thanks to an interlocking
schedule, and must practice on gravel diamonds at area schools.
"We take care of our main diamond because that's all we got," league president Dave Jenkins said.
"[And] without the interlock, there wouldn't be much playing time."
This week, the league has organized online donations to cover more than $60,000 in unexpected
expenses for a travelling party of about 60 family members and friends. Ultimately, it will bid for the
2016 Canadian championships in hopes of landing government funding for a new $200,000 park.
Though the league shares a name with Hastings Street, a handle loaded with grim images, parents
scoff at the perception that their children are dodging syringes in the outfield, and say team families
are mostly middle class.
"We'll manage," Ms. Reyes said. "When you're away from work, every dollar counts, but what can you
do? We have to see her play."
Ms. Reyes said that Katie seemed to play baseball "naturally," and had no trouble competing against
boys and moving up the ranks.