The BID Group Grays are set to swing for a title on home turf.
The Grays are the host team for the B.C. Senior Baseball Championship, which starts tonight at Citizen Field. They are one of eight clubs that will vie for the provincial crown and a berth in the 2013 Baseball Canada Senior Championship.
The Grays play in the tournament-opening game at 6 p.m. against the Kamloops Sun Devils.
"We're really looking forward to it," said Grays slugger Adam Norn. "We've put in a lot of time this year practicing. We've made trips to Maple Ridge and Red Deer, trying to get to see that good level of pitching that we're going to see at provincials, just trying to prepare ourselves. We're really hoping to win a couple games and get into that playoff round and make some noise in this tournament."
In round-robin play, the Grays will also bat against the Burnaby Bulldogs at 6 p.m. on Saturday and will take on the defending-champion Victoria Mavericks at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
The other pool features the Langley Blaze, Kelowna Jays, Nanaimo Coalminers and Trail Orioles. Playoffs will start at 6 p.m. on Sunday and the championship game will be on the diamond Monday, likely around 1 p.m.
The Grays ran the basepaths at the Twin Cities Invitational in May in Maple Ridge and won two of three games. At the Red Deer Riggers tournament in late July, they went 0-3 against much tougher competition but were right with their opponents in every contest. The Grays -- who were short on players because of work and other commitments -- lost 7-4 to the Fort Saskatchewan A's, 12-8 to the Red Deer Stags and 4-3 in an extra inning to the St. Albert Tigers.
For provincials, the Grays will have their full lineup. Pitching is always of critical importance in any tournament and the hosts appear to have a strong staff, one that includes P.G. newcomer Jesse Dill.
"He was with Victoria last year when they won provincials," said Grays player/coach Jay Cook. "He's a quality guy that knows how to win."
Other starters are the hard-throwing Jon Bourassa, Mike Tomlinson, Graham Allard and Curtis Sawchuk. Scott Atherton and a host of others will fill relief roles when necessary.
Sawchuk has returned home specifically for provincials. The six-foot-two, 230-pound lefty has been throwing for the Kelowna Falcons of the West Coast League, a summer collegiate loop. Back in 2009, he suited up for the Prince George Westcana Electric Axemen at the World Baseball Challenge.
Another impact player for the Grays during provincials will be Brandon Hunter. His schedule didn't allow him to play in the tournament last year, when the team went 0-3 in Kelowna, but he's in the mix this year and may have the most well-rounded skill-set on the club. Hunter has played semi-professionally and appeared in the 2009 WBC with the Axemen and the 2011 WBC with Team Canada. He's typically an outfielder but can play almost anywhere on the diamond and is deadly with the bat.
"He's a big part of the team," Cook said. "He's one of the better hitters on the team and is going to be in key spots. We're going to need him to drive in a lot of runs and do his thing."
When Hunter and the Grays take to the field tonight against Kamloops, they'll be in for a good test.
"They'll be very good," Cook said of the Sun Devils. "They've got that college program there [at Thompson Rivers University] so most of their guys are coming out of college, still playing college or recently played. Ray Chadwick runs a really tight team there."
The Sun Devils will have Prince George catcher Jeremy Kral in their lineup and will also be bolstered by infielder Kyle Dhanani, a 2009 draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers.
Tournament sponsors are the BID Group and Pacific Western Brewing.
