Oakville Newspaper Story on Emily Baxter 8-21-15
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2 5 | F r i d a y , A u g u s t 2 1 , 2 0 1 5 | O A K V I L L E B E A V E R | w w w . i s i d e H A L T O N . c o m Sports “Connected to your Community” Jon Kuipe rij Sports Editor [email protected] Troy Cordingley has won two National Lacrosse League championships as a player and two more as a head coach. So you might think guiding the Oakville Hawks to a provincial bantam box lacrosse title Sunday wouldn’t rank too highly on the local resident’s per- sonal highlight reel. Think again. “I’m still celebrating,” Cordingley, who has co- coached the Hawks’ core group with Bob Sykes for the past eight years, said Tuesday afternoon. “I’ve been a very fortunate person to have won and to be able to coach where I coach during the winter. But this is the one I wanted so bad, I guess because of the relationships I have with these kids,” he said, his voice beginning to crack. “It tugged on heart strings. It was really cool.” The bantam A Hawks locked up their first Ontario title, and the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association’s second in two years, with a decisive 5-1 victory over the Whitby Warriors at Oakville’s Toronto Rock Ath- letic Centre (TRAC). The game was sandwiched be- tween two other provincial finals involving Hawks unior League World Series organizer Greg Bzura has a special appreciation for how difficult it can be for girls to play baseball against boys. “I’ve got a high school-aged grand- daughter who is very athletic, and I saw what experiences she went through. She was on an all- star team every year she played, playing with boys all the way through,” says Bzura, who found- ed the annual Little League inter- national 14-under championship 34 years ago in Taylor, Mi. “She was a pitcher and an in- fielder. When she struck kids out, I felt sorry for the boys.” However, Bzura quickly con- cedes that his own granddaugh- ter wasn’t capable of playing at the Little League World Series level. Eventually, the pitchers throw the ball too fast, the hitters hit the ball too hard. It takes a “special”, as he puts it, female to compete internationally in Little League base- ball, particularly at the older ages. Oakville’s Emily Baxter is one of those rare special players. The 15-year-old Holy Trinity high school student became just the sixth fe- male in Junior League World Series history to participate in the tournament when she suited up for the Oakville Whitecaps Sunday against Puerto Rico’s Villa Blanca Boys and Girls Base- ball League. Baxter, who has been in the Whitecaps all- star program since she was nine, plays second base, catcher and left field. She occasionally even pitches. “I just want to play the highest caliber, and I feel boys will be more competition,” says Baxter , who also played boys’ hockey in the Minor Oaks Hockey Association for years before recently switching to the Oakville Hornets girls’ program. “And I prefer playing baseball.” She certainly holds her own. At the recent national championships in Lethbridge, Alta., where the Whitecaps won seven of eight games to qualify for the World Series, Baxter hit .286 with seven runs scored, four runs batted in, four steals and a team-high five walks. Her on- base percentage (.500) ranked sixth on Oakville’s 13-player roster, and she also played error- free defence. Though the Whitecaps lost their first three games at the Wor ld Ser ies , Baxter con tin - ued to contribute. She walked twice and scored a run in Oakville’s second game Mon- day against the Czech Repub- lic, and she recorded one of the Whitecaps’ two extra-base hits — a double — Wednesday versus Panama. “I just think she’s an underestimated player. People look at her because she’s a female and think she won’t be as strong as they are, but it’s the exact opposite,” Oakville Little League presi- dent John Sweeney says. “She’s earned the right to be there. She had to go through the whole tryout process. She’s earned it, based on skills and abilities.” Baxter’s success competing with and against teenaged boys has also been helped by the sup- port of her teammates, according to her coach, Nick Rigato. “It’s almost as if they don’t see her as a girl. They see Emily as a teammate, and I don’t think there are any different expectations,” says Rigato. “I think the fact that she’s allowed to perform and play as one of the regular players makes it easy for her. She’s an extremely athletic girl… and the one thing about Emily is that everything that is expected of any player at this level, she does.” Baxter admits that she’s noticed it is becoming more dif ficult to keep up. “The guys, once they hit puberty, they get stronger and faster,” she says. Eventually, she might switch to girls’ softball — which she got a taste of this past spring at Holy Trinity, when she helped the Titans to the Halton championship — in hopes of landing a university scholarship. She’ s also i ntrigued by the possibility of some- day representing Canada in international wom- en’ s baseball, a sport which made its Pan Ameri- can Games debut last month in Ajax. But for now, Baxter’s happy playing baseball with the boys. “I feel like I’m representing the girls who want to play baseball with the guys,” she says. “And trying to be a role model to the younger girls who want to do it.” Bantam provincial title extra sweet for Hawks Competing with the boys Emily Baxter warms up in the bullpen during the Oakville Whitecaps’ game against Puerto Rico Sunday at the Junior League World Ser ies in Ta ylor, Mi. | photo courtesy of Dave Gorgon — Junior Le ague Worl d Series communications director by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Oakville teen sixth girl to play in Junior League World Series J People... think she won’t be as strong as they are, but it’s the exact opposite. John Sweene y Oakville Little League president see OMLA on p.26
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| F r i d a y ,A u g u s t 2 1 ,2 0 1 5 | O
A K V I L L E
B E A V E R
| www.i n si d eH A L T O N . c om
Sports “Connected to your Community” Jon KuiperijSports Editor [email protected]
Troy Cordingley has won two National LacrosseLeague championships as a player and two more asa head coach.
So you might think guiding the Oakville Hawksto a provincial bantam box lacrosse title Sundaywouldn’t rank too highly on the local resident’s per-sonal highlight reel.
Think again.“I’m still celebrating,” Cordingley, who has co-
coached the Hawks’ core group with Bob Sykes for
the past eight years, said Tuesday afternoon.“I’ve been a very fortunate person to have won and
to be able to coach where I coach during the winter.But this is the one I wanted so bad, I guess because ofthe relationships I have with these kids,” he said, hisvoice beginning to crack.
“It tugged on heart strings. It was really cool.”The bantam A Hawks locked up their first Ontario
title, and the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association’ssecond in two years, with a decisive 5-1 victory overthe Whitby Warriors at Oakville’s Toronto Rock Ath-letic Centre (TRAC). The game was sandwiched be-
tween two other provincial finals involving Hawks
unior League World Series organizerGreg Bzura has a special appreciationfor how difficult it can be for girls toplay baseball against boys.
“I’ve got a high school-aged grand-daughter who is very athletic,and I saw what experiences shewent through. She was on an all-star team every year she played,playing with boys all the waythrough,” says Bzura, who found-ed the annual Little League inter-national 14-under championship34 years ago in Taylor, Mi.
“She was a pitcher and an in-fielder. When she struck kids out,I felt sorry for the boys.”
However, Bzura quickly con-cedes that his own granddaugh-ter wasn’t capable of playing at theLittle League World Series level.Eventually, the pitchers throw theball too fast, the hitters hit the balltoo hard. It takes a “special”, as he puts it, femaleto compete internationally in Little League base-ball, particularly at the older ages.
Oakville’s Emily Baxter is one of those rarespecial players. The 15-year-old Holy Trinityhigh school student became just the sixth fe-
male in Junior League World Series history toparticipate in the tournament when she suitedup for the Oakville Whitecaps Sunday againstPuerto Rico’s Villa Blanca Boys and Girls Base-ball League.
Baxter, who has been in the Whitecaps all-star program since she was nine, plays secondbase, catcher and left field. She occasionally evenpitches.
“I just want to play the highest caliber, and I
feel boys will be more competition,” says Baxter,who also played boys’ hockey in the Minor OaksHockey Association for years before recentlyswitching to the Oakville Hornets girls’ program.
“And I prefer playing baseball.”She certainly holds her own. At the recent
national championships in Lethbridge, Alta.,where the Whitecaps won seven of eight games
to qualify for the World Series, Baxter hit .286with seven runs scored, fourruns batted in, four steals anda team-high five walks. Her on-base percentage (.500) rankedsixth on Oakville’s 13-playerroster, and she also played error-free defence.
Though the Whitecaps losttheir first three games at the World Series, Baxter contin-ued to contribute. She walkedtwice and scored a run inOakville’s second game Mon-day against the Czech Repub-lic, and she recorded one ofthe Whitecaps’ two extra-basehits — a double — Wednesdayversus Panama.
“I just think she’s an underestimated player.People look at her because she’s a female andthink she won’t be as strong as they are, but it’sthe exact opposite,” Oakville Little League presi-dent John Sweeney says.
“She’s earned the right to be there. She had
to go through the whole tryout process. She’searned it, based on skills and abilities.”
Baxter’s success competing with and againstteenaged boys has also been helped by the sup-port of her teammates, according to her coach,Nick Rigato.
“It’s almost as if they don’t see her as a girl.They see Emily as a teammate, and I don’t thinkthere are any different expectations,” says Rigato.
“I think the fact that she’s allowed to perform
and play as one of the regular players makes iteasy for her. She’s an extremely athletic girl…
and the one thing about Emily is that everythingthat is expected of any player at this level, shedoes.”
Baxter admits that she’s noticed it is becomingmore difficult to keep up.
“The guys, once they hit puberty, they getstronger and faster,” she says.
Eventually, she might switch to girls’ softball— which she got a taste of this past spring atHoly Trinity, when she helped the Titans to the
Halton championship — in hopes of landing auniversity scholarship.
She’s also intrigued by the possibility of some-day representing Canada in international wom-en’s baseball, a sport which made its Pan Ameri-can Games debut last month in Ajax.
But for now, Baxter’s happy playing baseballwith the boys.
“I feel like I’m representing the girls who wantto play baseball with the guys,” she says.
“And trying to be a role model to the youngergirls who want to do it.”
Bantam provincial title extra sweet for Hawks
Competing with the boys
Emily Baxter warms up in the bullpen during the Oakville Whitecaps’ game against Puerto Rico Sunday at the Junior
League World Ser ies in Taylor, Mi.| photo courtesy of Dave Gorgon —
Junior League World Series communications director
by Jon KuiperijBeaver Sports Editor
Oakville teen sixth girl to play in Junior League World Series
J
People... think
she won’t be as
strong as they
are, but it’s the
exact opposite.
John Sweeney Oakville Little League president
see OMLA on p.26
