As provincial champions, the P.E.I. Selects come into the 2010 Eastern Canadian bantam girls fastpitch championship in Summerside on a roll.
So head coach Lance Jones will look for the good fortune to continue when it opens the four-day tournament today against the Saint John-Chaleur All-Stars from New Brunswick.
Game time is noon at Very Important Volunteer Field at Queen Elizabeth Park.
“I think we’re going to be fairly competitive. We’re hoping to reach the playoff round,” Jones said in an interview Wednesday evening.
Round-robin games continue Friday and Saturday and will use Gordie Arsenault Field and a venue in Slemon Park.
The championship game is Sunday at 2 p.m. at Queen Elizabeth Park.
P.E.I.’s other entry, the host and provincial runner-up Western Stingers, is an all-star team with players selected from Summerside, O’Leary and Tignish in the P.E.I. Bantam Girls Fast Pitch League.
The Stingers are coached by Kevin Cashin.
The Stingers open against Newfoundland and Labrador today at 2 p.m. at VIV Field.
Other entries in the 12-team tournament include Eastern Shore Goldiggers (Nova Scotia One), Cole Harbour Comets (Nova Scotia Two), Enniskillen Express (Ontario One), London Lightning (Ontario Two), Stratford Flames (Ontario Three), Laval Extreme (Quebec One), Lac-St-Louis Lions (Quebec Two) and Moncton Vitos (New Brunswick One).
The 14-member Selects is an all-star team drawn from Cardigan (four players), West Royalty (four) and Cornwall (six).
“Speed is a strength and defence. Our pitchers will have to be very good,” said Jones, a Charlottetown resident.
The Selects defeated the Stingers 2-1 in the best-of-three provincial final.
The Eastern Canadian champion continues play today at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The Selects will play Cole Harbour at 4 p.m. and the Stingers will play the Eastern Shore squad at 8 p.m.
The tournament website can be found at www.easterncanadian.com.
(creid@theguardian.pe.ca)
Schedule for the P.E.I. teams:
Today
12 p.m. - VIV Field: P.E.I. Selects vs. Saint John/Chaleur All-Stars (N.B. 2).
2 p.m. - VIV Field: Western Stingers vs. Newfoundland and Labrador.
4 p.m. Gordie Arsenault Field: P.E.I. Selects vs. Cole Harbour Comets (N.S. 2).
8 p.m. - VIV Field: Western Stingers vs. Eastern Shore Goldiggers (N.S. 1).
Friday
10 a.m. - VIV Field: P.E.I. Selects vs. London Lightning (Ont. 2).
12 noon - VIV Field: Western Stingers vs. Lac-St-Louis (Que. 2).
1 p.m. - Gordie Arsenault Field: P.E.I. Selects vs. Stratford Flames (Ont. 3).
6 p.m. - VIV Field: Western Stingers vs. Enniskillen Express (Ont. 1).
Saturday
10:30 a.m. - VIV Field: P.E.I. Selects vs. Laval Extreme (Que. 1).
12:30 p.m. - VIV Field: Western Stingers vs. Moncton Vitos (N.B. 1).
Sunday
Playoff games
