The Alpines, led by manager David Pender and assistant coaches Mathew Mitchell and Jason McCarthy, finished with a 14-7 regular season record, tops in the New Brunswick Junior Baseball League. They begin play Thursday as New Brunswick’s representative in Dartmouth, N.S.
The team earned the right to represent the province after being crowned N.B. Junior League champions in 2023. They open the tournament against Newfoundland and Labrador.
General manager Terre Hunter said the Alpines head into the tournament with a well-balanced, experienced roster, led by team captain and shortstop Connor Hill.
“He’s our team leader and a real character guy, who also anchors our infield,” Hunter said. “He’s just a great kid.”
Hill is backed by a veteran pitching staff, including Cam Stewart, Ben Cairns and Ryan Galbraith. Those three pitchers join position players Hill, catcher Alex Maloney and outfielders Matt Beach, Jacob McCarthy, Jack Bennett and Matt Peacock as junior Alpines who also see playing time with the senior club as affiliates.
“There wasn’t a game where three or four of those players weren’t playing for the seniors,” said Hunter, who is also the president of the Saint John AJ’s Alpines of the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League. ”Due to injuries on the senior team, we’ve had to rely a lot on the junior players, and they’ve come through for us.
“A couple of those guys could probably be playing senior now. We just didn’t want to raid the junior team, knowing they were going to the nationals.”
The road to the nationals began with a dramatic win in last season’s league championship series. Down 2-0 in a best-of-five final, the Alpines rallied to win the title at home in Game 5.
“Winning that series gave us a very positive attitude that has led to the nationals. They carried the momentum into the regular season and now into Dartmouth,” Hunter said.
“The nationals were originally set for Manitoba before being moved to Dartmouth. Quite frankly, (if the tournament had been in Winnipeg), we weren’t going to be able to get there. It would have cost way too much money with not enough time to arrange it.
“Fortunately, it got moved to Nova Scotia. So that means a lot to these guys. Who knows if you’re ever going to get another chance to play in a nationals?”
The Saint John Alpines celebrate during the final game of the NB Junior Baseball League final last year in Saint John. Photo by Kevin Barrett/Brunswick News
To fortify an already strong lineup, the Alpines have added infielder Max Grant of the Fredericton Junior Royals, fresh off a season with the NCAA’s Alabama Crimson Tide.
He is joined by pitcher/infielder Shane Sullivan, also from Fredericton, pitcher/outfielder Nick St. Pierre, who plays his junior ball with Metro Mudcats out of Moncton, and fellow Mudcat Matthew Donnison, a pitcher who also took the mound this year as a member of the NCAA’s Illinois State Redbirds.
“I would say pitching and a winning attitude, based on the strong showing this season, are definite strengths,” Hunter said.
“Plus all our pickups and several of our own players have seen significant playing time as affiliates of their respective senior teams in the New Brunswick Senior Baseball League.”
Following Thursday morning’s game against Newfoundland, New Brunswick plays host Nova Scotia in an afternoon contest. On Friday, they take on Ontario 1 before concluding the round-robin portion of the tournament on Saturday morning against Manitoba.
Elimination and medal games are scheduled for later on Saturday and into Sunday, with the gold medal game slated for 7:30 p.m. on Sunday. Access the full schedule and results on the Baseball Canada website (baseball.ca).
Design, Hosting, Online Registration & Administration Tools By:Powered By:
