Seniors men’s baseball is returning to Wallaceburg for the first time in six years.
The Wallaceburg Warriors will be manning the diamond at Andy Johnston Field once again this summer and will be competing in the Western Counties Baseball Association senior men’s baseball league.
“I think it’s going to be a great thing for the community,” Joe Foster, the head coach of the team, told the Sydenham Current.
A senior team has not played in Wallaceburg since the team moved to Port Lambton and became the Pirates before the 2009 season.
Foster said he hopes having a senior team back in Wallaceburg will spark some interest around town about baseball.
“Right now we don’t have a team above Bantam level. There is no bantam travel teams, there is no midget travel team this year. We don’t have any teams at the older ranks. Them seeing the senior team back involved, maybe that will push them to get some more players involved. I know they have been low on numbers. Hopefully it will help get some people interested in baseball again.”
Foster added: “With lacrosse, and the numbers they are drawing now that is a big take away from baseball, but it is still a good thing for the community.”
Foster said a group of players, led by Josh Slaney, contacted him to see if he was interested in coaching.
“A lot of guys his age didn’t have a team to play on anymore. They came through junior and still wanted to play some ball. They said they had players ready to go, and I said I wouldn’t mind coaching again. They got the players together and we have been fundraising ever since, running some high school type dances. The Moose Lodge has been kind enough to put up the hall as a sponsor. We’ve had good luck with that so far, that has covered most of our league fees.”
Foster added: “We’re a pretty young team, we’ve got a few midgets, a few juniors. The rest are young seniors, with the exception of one guy from Sarnia who is 35-36. Most of the guys are 26 and younger.”
Foster said their team pays their insurance through the Wallaceburg Minor Baseball Association, but other than that, they are a separate entity.
Foster said the team has been out playing and practicing three or four times already this spring.
Their first home game is scheduled for May 5.
“We’ve dropped in numbers, a few of the guys got different jobs and it took away from being able to play. We went down from about 20, and now we’re at the 13 mark. It might be a bit of a struggle, but we’re trying to add some more bodies,” Foster said.
Anyone interested in playing can contact Foster at 519-350-2480.
