Kitchener, Ont. – The Canadian Men’s and Women’s Slo-Pitch Teams are ready to compete at the 2018 Slo-Pitch Border Battle, which will consist of a series of games in Kitchener, Ont. from July 27 to 29 leading up to the two Border Battle games. This will mark the second edition of the Women’s Slo-Pitch Border Battle, with Team Canada scheduled to take on the United States at 4:00pm EDT on July 29. The tenth Men’s Slo-Pitch Border Battle will follow at 6:00pm EDT.
A total of seven Men’s teams and four Women’s teams will compete in a series of exhibition games preceding the annual Border Battle. In addition to Team Canada and Team USA, other teams competing on the Men’s side will be the USA Futures and three other teams – Kahunaverse East, Kahunaverse West and OC. The Women’s event will include Kahunaverse and OC teams.
Canada is coming off a pair of big wins at the previous Border Battle held last year, as the Men’s team defeated the United States 31-28 and the Women’s team won the inaugural event against the United States by a 12-8 score.
A total of seven Men’s teams and four Women’s teams will compete in a series of exhibition games preceding the annual Border Battle. In addition to Team Canada and Team USA, other teams competing on the Men’s side will be the USA Futures and three other teams – Kahunaverse East, Kahunaverse West and OC. The Women’s event will include Kahunaverse and OC teams.
Canada is coming off a pair of big wins at the previous Border Battle held last year, as the Men’s team defeated the United States 31-28 and the Women’s team won the inaugural event against the United States by a 12-8 score.
Both the Canadian Men's and Women's Slo-Pitch teams will be adding up to three athletes from the other Canadian teams competing throughout the weekend.
The following athletes will represent Team Canada at the 2018 Slo-Pitch Border Battle:
The following athletes will represent Team Canada at the 2018 Slo-Pitch Border Battle:
MEN'S TEAM
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Colin | Andrews | Hanover, Ont. |
| Jeff | Andrews | St. Albert, Alta. |
| Dave | Goulet | Sherbrooke, Que. |
| Kyle | Knechtel | Ayr, Ont. |
| Dany | Laprise | Sherbrooke, Que. |
| Steele | Lewis | Windsor, Ont. |
| Dustin | McLoughlin | Maple Ridge, B.C. |
| Ron | Nadalin | Woodstock, Ont. |
| Curtis | Neabel | Woodstock, Ont. |
| Chris | Parr | Chilliwack, B.C. |
| Justin | Pennell | Toronto, Ont. |
| Hunter | Platten | Edmonton, Alta. |
| Jeff | Zanolli | Taber, Alta. |
| Josh | Zanolli | Drayton Valley, Alta. |
MEN'S COACHING STAFF
| POSITION | NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Head Coach | Grant Garrett | Georgetown, Ont. |
| Assistant Coach | Mike Hrynenko | Winnipeg, Man. |
| Team Leader | Ryan DeBelser | Prince George, B.C, |
| Manager | Mike Branchaud | Ottawa, Ont. |
WOMEN'S TEAM
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Jackie | Bates | Langley, B.C. |
| Ericka | Burns | West Lorne, Ont. |
| Tina | Gulbrandsen | Langley, B.C. |
| Tonya | Gulbrandsen | Langley, B.C. |
| Kait | Kloet | Simcoe, Ont. |
| Ashley | Klunder | Brantford, Ont. |
| Kiera | Lyons | Ryley, Alta. |
| Michelle | Lorenz | Toronto, Ont. |
| Jacqueline | O'Quinn | Toronto, Ont. |
| Jessica | O'Quinn | Toronto, Ont. |
| Patti | Simon | Big Horn, Alta. |
| Paige | Smith | Gretna, Man. |
| Kearstin | Solberg | Ryley Alta. |
| Lenny | Stoddart | Bolton, Ont. |
| Charity (Fez) | Verboom | Shannonville, Ont. |
WOMEN'S COACHING STAFF
| POSITION | NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Head Coach | Tony Carnelos | Georgetown, Ont. |
| Assistant Coach | Kelly Hryniw | Ardrossan, Alta. |
| Team Leader | Ryan DeBelser | Prince George, B.C. |
| Manager | Mike Branchaud | Ottawa, Ont. |
UMPIRES
| FIRST NAME | LAST NAME | HOMETOWN |
| Gary | Barnes | Leduc, Alta. |
| Stuart | Bowden | Ottawa, Ont. |
| Sandra | Forand | Welland, Ont. |
| Mark | Gough | Moncton, N.B. |
| David | Jones | Grimsby, Ont. |
| Bob | Smith | Ajax, Ont. |
CANADA SCHEDULE
| DATE | GAME | TIME |
| July 27 | Canada (M) vs. Kahunaverse West | 2:30pm EDT |
| Canada (W) vs. OC | 6:00pm EDT | |
| Canada (M) vs. USA Futures | 9:00pm EDT | |
| July 28 | Canada (W) vs. OC | 11:00am EDT |
| Canada (M) vs. Kahunaverse East | 12:30pm EDT | |
| Canada (W) vs. Kahunaverse | 5:00pm EDT | |
| Canada (M) vs. OC | 8:30pm EDT | |
| July 29 | Canada (W) vs. Kahunaverse | 12:30pm EDT |
| Canada (M) vs. Recrupharm | 2:00pm EDT | |
| Women's Border Battle: Canada vs. United States | 4:00pm EDT | |
| Men's Border Battle: Canada vs. United States | 6:00pm EDT |
Live GameChanger scoring and live streaming (archived games will be available here) are available through the tournament website at https://softball.ca/borderbattle.
