Twice, Brandon Hunter has played in the World Baseball Challenge in his hometown park. He was a member of the Prince George Westcana Electric Axemen in 2009 and was part of Team Canada in 2011.
Participating in those tournaments was thrilling for Hunter. But, the 28-year-old outfielder is even more excited about being back at Citizen Field for this week's RE/MAX Centre City Baseball Canada Senior Championship. He's once again on the Axemen roster and can't wait to step onto the diamond in front of a Prince George crowd.
"In the WBC last year when I was playing, it was fun to be a part of Team Canada and playing against Cuba and all that stuff but it seems like a bigger deal when you're playing in P.G., playing in nationals, and playing to be the best team in the nation," Hunter said.
The eight-team tournament starts on Thursday and concludes on Sunday.
The first game for the Axemen is Thursday at 7 p.m. against the defending-champion Windsor Stars of Ontario. Without question, that will be a tough test. But, from an individual standpoint, Hunter always draws extra inspiration from playing in front of local fans.
"When I play centre field, it's just knowing that no ball's dropping," he said. "I'm confident when I lay out and make catches. It's fun to entertain the crowd and have them see the home boy."
Hunter's parents, Phil and Cheryl, will be in the seats. So too will his wife, Kristen, and their two-year-old son, Brady.
"My wife and my little boy, they never miss a game," said Hunter, an all-star in the local senior men's league with the Queensway Auto World Red Sox. "My son will be three in October and every day it's 'Dad, ball game? Dad, we going to a ball game?' So it's fun. He loves baseball."
Hunter will bring a ton of experience to the Axemen. As well as playing in those two WBC tournaments, he suited up for the Redcliffe Padres in an Australian semi-pro league and was a college-level player at Campbellsville University in Kentucky.
For Axemen manager Jim Swanson, it was a no-brainer to invite Hunter to play for the team at nationals.
"To use a hockey phrase, he's willing to bleed you a red line," Swanson said.
"He's just a quality individual and a guy you can trust. You can trust him on the field and you can trust him with the team aspect, and those guys are golden to a coach at any level.
"His experience is outstanding but the biggest thing for me is, I know how excited he is to play in front of a hometown crowd," Swanson added. "This really pumps him up. He's also a guy whose game fits perfectly with this field. He covers a lot of ground in the outfield and the close dimensions give an outfielder's arm even more value if he's got a strong and accurate arm. And every pitch he sees at the plate is an automatic opportunity for offence. He's a guy that we think is going to be an impact guy for us right through."
The Axemen will face the Fort Saskatchewan A's of Alberta on Friday (7 p.m., Citizen Field) and the Halifax Pelham Canadians on Saturday (noon, Citizen Field).
Other local players on the Axemen are catcher Jeremy Kral, second baseman Justin Fillion and outfielder Matt Stang. The rest of the team members hail from the Lower Mainland.
Team B.C., represented by the Victoria Mavericks, features Prince George players Jay Cook, Jon Bourassa and Jesse Dill. Cook is an infielder, while Bourassa and Dill are pitchers. Dill is originally from Victoria and helped the Mavericks win the 2011 provincials, the qualifier for these nationals.
See Tuesday's Citizen for more coverage of the Baseball Canada Senior Championship.
