Sudbury Minor Baseball hosts provincial championship

Sudbury -

The Sudbury Minor Baseball Association is hosting the provincial 'mosquito' championship throughout the weekend at Terry Fox Sports Complex.

Seven teams from across Ontario are competing to win the championship.

Minor league baseball tournament at Terry Fox Sports Complex in Sudbury. Sept. 4/21 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern)

It has been 21 years since the last provincial championship was held in the city and officials with the association say it's a nice change being able to host the tournament.

"We travel quite frequently because we’ve always had to go to southern Ontario. So for teams to come up to Sudbury and experience playing at home in front of all of our own fans and family who wouldn’t be able to travel to these other cities, especially with COVID right now, and being able to host the provincial championships at this time is great for everybody," said Craig Thompson, president of the Sudbury baseball league. "They get to see our facilities, see our city, play our teams and just experience what it’s like to play baseball in Sudbury."

The young athletes said playing on fields they are familiar with makes them feel like they have an advantage, and say they are happy with how the games have gone so far.

Sudbury hosts provincial baseball championship for 10 and 11 year old players. Sept. 4/21 (Molly Frommer/CTV Northern Ontario)

"A lot of nice hits, a couple balls got past us -- which wasn’t the best --but we’ll learn from that," said Bradley Eady, a Sudbury Shamrocks Player. "We know the fields, know the bounces, and it’s nice to have other people look and see what Sudbury is like."

"It gives us a lot of confidence because it’s our own home fields and that’s pretty cool that we get to play at our own fields," said Ty Belanger, another Sudbury Shamrocks Player.

Dozens of people were in attendance throughout the day on Saturday, including Sudbury Mayor Brian Bigger.

"It’s huge for the baseball players and people across the province to be playing here in Sudbury. I was so proud to come out this morning and welcome all the families and spectators and the athletes into Sudbury," Bigger said.

The tournament will wrap up Sunday afternoon with the championship game beginning at 1:30 p.m.