NT Norwest Thunder (Cecil Lake)
FSJ Fort St. John Paladin Black Sox
PR Peace River Stampeders
NPH North Peace Hurricanes
RR Rycroft Rage
GH Grimshaw Huskies
GAME# DATE VISITOR HOME DIAMOND TIME
1 Thurs, May 17 NT at FSJ Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
2 Thurs, May 17 PR at RR Rycroft 7:15 pm
3 Thurs, May 17 NPH at GH Grimshaw 7:15 pm
4 Tues, May 22 RR at NT Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
5 Tues, May 22 PR GH Grimshaw 7:15 pm
6 Thurs, May 24 NPH at RR Rycroft 7:15 pm
7 Sat, May 26 PR at FSJ Fort St. John 1:00 pm (PT)
8 Sat, May 26 PR at FSJ Fort St. John 4:00 pm (PT)
9 Sat, May 26 NT at GH Grimshaw 1:00 pm
10 Sat, May 26 NT at GH Grimshaw 4:00 pm
11 Tues, May 29 RR at FSJ Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
12 Tues, May 29 PR at GH Grimshaw 7:15 pm
13 Thurs, May 31 GH at RR Rycroft 7:15 pm
14 Sat, June 2 NT at NPH Dawson Creek 1:00 pm
15 Sat, June 2 FSJ at NPH Dawson Creek 4:00 pm
16 Tues, June 5 FSJ at NT Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
17 Tues, June 5 RR at GH Grimshaw 7:15 pm
18 Thurs, June 7 PR at NPH Peace River 7:15 pm
19 Sat, June 9 NT at RR Rycroft 1:00 pm
20 Sat, June 9 NT at RR Rycroft 4:00 pm
21 Sat, June 9 GH at FSJ Fort St. John 1:00 pm (PT)
22 Sat, June 9 GH at FSJ Fort St. John 4:00 pm (PT)
23 Tues, June 12 RR at PR Peace River 7:15 pm
24 Thurs, June 14 GH at NPH Peace River 7:15 pm
25 Sat, June 16 PR at NT Fort St. John 1:00 pm (PT)
26 Sat, June 16 PR at NT Fort St. John 4:00 pm (PT)
27 Sat, June 16 FSJ at GH Grimshaw 1:00 pm
28 Sat, June 16 FSJ at GH Grimshaw 4:00 pm
29 Tues, June 19 RR at FSJ Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
30 Tues, June 19 GH at PR Peace River 7:15 pm
31 Thurs, June 21 GH at RR Rycroft 7:15 pm
32 Sat, June 23 NPH at FSJ Fort St. John 1:00 pm (PT)
33 Sat, June 23 NPH at NT Fort St. John 4:00 pm (PT)
Sun, June 24 SKILLS CONTEST GRIMSHAW 1:00 pm
Sun, June 24 ALL- STAR GAME GRIMSHAW 3:00 pm
34 Tues, June 26 NT at FSJ Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
35 Tues, June 26 PR at RR Rycroft 7:15 pm
36 Thurs, June 28 RR at NPH Peace River 7:15 pm
37 Tues, July 3 RR at NT Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
38 Tues, July 3 GH at PR Peace River 7:15 pm
39 Thurs, July 5 NPH at PR Peace River 7:15 pm
40 Sat, July 7 FSJ at RR Rycroft 1:00 pm
41 Sat, July 7 FSJ at RR Rycroft 4:00 pm
42 Sat, July 7 NT at PR Peace River 1:00 pm
43 Sat, July 7 NT at PR Peace River 4:00 pm
44 Tues, July 10 FSJ at NT Fort St. John 7:00 pm (PT)
45 Tues, July 10 RR at GH Grimshaw 7:15 pm
46 Thurs, July 12 RR at PR Peace River 7:15 pm
47 Sat, July 14 GH at NT Fort St. John 1:00 pm (PT)
48 Sat, July 14 GH at NT Fort St. John 4:00 pm (PT)
49 Sat, July 14 FSJ at PR Peace River 1:00 pm
50 Sat, July 14 FSJ at PR Peace River 4:00 pm
July 17 - Playoffs begin (top 4 teams advance to the playoff round)
Semi-Finals (1 vs 4, 2 vs 3) TBA - Best of 5 Series
League Championship TBA - Best of 5 Series
2012 Wheatbelt Season Preview (05/15/12)
The anticipation continues to build as “Opening Day 2012” of the Wheatbelt Baseball season fast approaches.
This year’s campaign will feature a total of six teams competing in the league, including the Midget AA North Peace Hurricanes Rep team. The Northwest Thunder are calling this season another rebuilding year.
The Peace River Stampeders, Grimshaw Huskies, and Fort St. John Paladin Black Sox are all vying to dethrone defending champion Rycroft.
League Commissioner Dave Allen says this season is a little bit longer than previous years. “There are few more games this year than last year, this year we are up from 40 games to 50 games, having the North Peace Hurricanes in there has given us a few extra games and so more competition for the other clubs”. He said.
Allen also says that no date has been set for the grand opening of the Peace River Stampeders new ball park, but the league has been accommodating with the Stamps schedule.
“That is always going to be a good thing for the league and for them, I haven’t been given a firm date for when the field is going to be ready, but the early part of the season will feature several away games to allow the Stamps to play more home games in the later part of the season”. He said.
Parity is also at an all time high in the Wheatbelt, and despite a few series sweeps in last year’s postseason, many of the games were decided in extra innings by only a run or two.
Every game in the championship went down to the wire including the fifth and deciding game that had to go to extra innings.
Allen also says since the league moved to wooden bats, the home run totals have seen a steady decline. The switch from aluminum bats was made so that when the teams go to provincials, where only wooden bats are allowed they would not be at a competitive disadvantage.
The Wheatbelt season starts May 17th with a triple header, including a rematch of last season’s championship, as Rycroft hosts Peace River.
North Peace Hurricanes Season Preview (05/14/12)
The goal of every young baseball player is to make it to “The Show”. For members of the Midget AA North Peace Hurricanes they will get a chance to compete with the big boys in the Wheatbelt Baseball League this season.
Daryl Rafferty, Manager of the Hurricanes says it is important for his players to remain positive and treat this season as a learning experience.
“I think our approach is going to be to keep things positive, we are going to see some pitching that we don’t typically see in a Midget AA game, there are some really good pitchers in the Wheatbelt Baseball League, we are going to consider this a learning opportunity and a chance to see some better baseball and win or lose we are going to take positives out of our game”. He said.
The core of the Hurricanes baseball team will all be returning except for a few players that have moved on. The team has a good mix of younger and older kids that are really hungry to play baseball, and every game the kids play hard and take losing personally.
Rafferty also says having his team in the Wheatbelt League, is a great chance to develop and showcase his players.
“These kids are the future of the Wheatbelt Baseball League, I was involved with the Peace River Stampeders for 20 years in a management and playing role, and I think a lot of the problems in several communities that had teams over the years is because they didn’t develop their youth programs and kids quit playing after Bantam and Peewee”. He said.
In order to keep the pitchers and players fresh and cut down on the wear and tear on their arms, the Hurricanes are only going to play a total of 10 games this year in the Wheatbelt.
Northwest Thunder Season Preview (05/14/12)
Patience is the message that is being preached by the Northwest Thunder heading into yet another Wheatbelt Baseball League season.
Fresh off a winless 2011 season, Thunder Manager, Kevin Bell didn’t mince words, saying the 2012 season will be another rebuilding year for his club.
“We are going to be mostly new players again, we have lost most of our pitching, so we are in a rebuilding year again, we are also hoping that we can get a few experienced players to come out and give us a hand this year”. He said.
A few of the players of just moved on and decided to not play with the team anymore, and this has forced the team to play a defence first game.
As the season progresses, Kevin will start to focus more on the offensive side of the game with his players. Making sure the young players understand the defensive aspects of the game first is critical to developing long term success with the Thunder program.
Bell also says that being a young club, his club is on the lookout for some Wheatbelt veterans to help mentor his players.
“A good year for us would be to go 7 innings a few times this year and win a few games and get a few players this summer, and by winning some ball games, you build up the interest in local baseball, which can only help us in the long run.
The Northwest Thunder will take their first steps towards re-creating a winning culture, when they open the 2012 Wheatbelt Baseball Season on May 17th.
Fort St. John Paladin Black Sox Season Preview (05/10/12)
With each new Wheatbelt season comes a renewed sense of optimism for the teams competing. After being eliminated by the eventual league champion Rycroft Rage, the Fort St. John Paladin Black Sox have one thing on their minds, making some noise in the postseason.
The core of last year’s club is returning and manager Ryan Stickel is hopeful that his players can take the next step in their development.
“We have a quite a few guys coming back this season and the last couple years, we have been trying to build towards winning another championship, this year we should be able to make another strong push, and be competitive”. He said.
The Black Sox play an aggressive style of baseball, something that will not change this year according to their manager Ryan Stickel.
“A lot of guys are continuing to develop and are returning to baseball after a long time away from the game playing fast pitch, so we have to be patient”. He said.
Stickel also mentioned that having the Midget Rep team, the North Peace Hurricanes in the league this season will only benefit the league and the members of the Hurricanes because it will make the level of baseball that much better.
Grimshaw Huskies Season Preview (05/08/12)
For the Grimshaw Huskies, the 2011 Wheatbelt season was labeled a success after the club finished in fourth place and qualified for the playoffs.
The first round series didn’t go how the Huskies planned as they were swept in three straight games by the Peace River Stampeders. Fast forward to this season and there is an even larger sense of optimism among the club and their fans, which they hope they can continue to build off from last season.
Manager Paddy Larsen says for a lot of the players, last year was their first season playing Wheatbelt baseball.
“We had some new players last year, and the other team with their solid pitching affected our hitting and now that our players have a year under their belt, they kind of have an idea of what to expect going into this season”. He said.
One thing that makes the Huskies a dangerous team is their overall team speed, and if the younger players can get on base, they can create a lot of headaches for opposing pitchers.
Most of the team is made up of current and former members of the NWJHL’s North Peace Navigators Hockey Club.
Home run totals and power numbers have gone done in the last few years after the league decided to switch from aluminum bats to wooden bats. The drop in power numbers is something that can help even the playing field for the Huskies who rely on playing small ball and utilizing the hit and run.
Another thing fans should be excited about this year is the Game hanger App, the new application allows fans to get update scores and statistics right to their android phonesor Iphones.
Rycroft Rage Season Preview (05/05/12)
For the first time in their history, the Rycroft Rage enter a Wheatbelt Baseball League season, as the team everyone will be gunning for.
After winning their first ever league crown last season in a thrilling five game series with the defending champion Peace River Stampeders, the core of the championship team is returning.
Manager Terrance Bzowy is preparing for this season the same as any other year and says the high caliber of opposition pitchers only helps his players get better.
“We know it will not be any different from any other year, and when we face the good teams with strong pitching, that just makes our guys better having to face the top pitchers on the better teams”. He said.
Bzowy also says that this year’s club will have a nice mix of speed and power in the lineup, so depending on the situation the team can play small ball move to the base runners along, or they can swing for the fences if needed.
Rycroft is one of the few teams in the league with a designated manager, because Terrance used to try and play and coach and he said it was just too challenging to focus on both jobs, along with playing your position. Now he can just focus on putting his players in the best position to not only excel, but to win.
Peace River Stampeders Season Preview (05/02/12)
With a new season comes new hope and opportunity for the 6 clubs competing in the Wheatbelt Baseball League. For the Peace River Stampeders the 2012 campaign can be summed up in a single word, redemption.
Last season didn't go as planned for the boys from Peace River, who blew a 2-0 series lead in the finals, only to see the Rycroft Rage capture their first ever Wheatbelt League Title.
The Rage coming all the way back to take the series in 5 games, including a dramatic extra innings win in the 5th and deciding game.
Veteran pitcher and head coach Tim Clayton says that this year the goal is to make it to the Finals again, except this time his club wants to take home the league crown.
"We are ready to go this year, we have already held a few extra practices already this year, and we need to a little bit more dedication from some of the guys, we have the team to win the whole league, we just need to go out and execute".
Clayton also says being able to play games at a new field near the Ski Chalet at Misery Mountain will be a huge boost to his club.
"It is going to make a huge difference, we have been playing pretty much all road games for the past three seasons, and to have our own fans come out to the park will be awesome, and it will surely give our guys a big boost when we play that first game in Peace River". He said.
The Stamps will also try to get more of a backloaded schedule that will feature the bulk of their road games early on in the season, so that when the second half of the year begins, the club can play the rest of their games at their new park.
The Boys of Summer are Back (04/30/12)
Summer is almost here, which means another year of Wheatbelt Baseball League action is fast approaching.
The Rycroft Rage return to the fold with their eyes on capturing a second straight Wheatbelt title, while the Peace River Stampeders along with the rest of the league are sure to have a say in the matter.
This year the league will be featuring a total of 6 teams competing for the league championship. One of the teams making their debut this season is a Midget Rep team from Peace River called the North Peace Hurricanes.
The season will consist of 8 weeks and a total of 18 games, weather permitting as last year there was a record number of games cancelled due to rainouts. Commissioner Dave Allen says that the season is going to start a little earlier this year.
"This year's season is going to start on May 17th, and we will have a total of 6 teams competing in the league this season, and having a Midget Rep team will also only help to make the league even more competitive and I am looking forward to the season". He said.
Another change the league is making this season is to follow the lead of the MLB and have their all-star game featuring the home run derby take place mid-season, instead of at the end of the season.
Last year the event took place at the end of the year and the hope is by having it in the middle of the season that more of the players who are voted to the game will be able to participate in the events and the game.
2011 Wheatbelt Standings and Playoffs
Team W - L - T - Pts
Peace River 11 1 4 26
Rycroft Rage 6 4 6 18
Fort St. John 5 5 6 16
Grimshaw 5 8 3 13
Norwest 0 9 7 7
NOTE: RAINOUTS COUNTED AS TIES IN THE STANDINGS
WHEATBELT LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Semi-Finals - Best of 5 Series
Peace River defeated Grimshaw 3 games to 0
Rycroft defeated Fort St John 3 games to 1
Championship Finals - Best of 5 Series Rycroft defeated Peace River 3 games to 2
-Stampeders won first two games, before Rage won final three.
-first ever Wheatbelt Championship for Rycroft
Rycroft Rage - Champs!
Scott Talks Wheatbelt Baseball 2012
Which Summer Sport are you Most Looking Forward to?
