WHAT ARE SELECT TEAMS?

Select Teams offer players a more competitive environment through tournament play against teams from across the province. Players get the opportunity to travel to participate in tournaments in other regions. Teams are selected by tryouts and the top performers are selected. If there is a Select Team in an age division the tryout will be advertised on the site inviting eligible players. All select players must also be registered to play house league to be eligible to play. There are additional fees which are determined by the coaching staff to cover some of the select team expenses.  Teams may participate in fundraising events to help offset these expenses.   Team will practice once or more each week depending on the coach. Teams may travel to two or more tournaments including provincial championships.  Coaches for the Select Teams are selected by the executive. If you are interested in coaching a Select Team complete the coach's application form available on the main page of this site. If you have any questions about our Select Teams please refer to the NBMGSA Select Policy under the Forms and Documents Menu tab or feel free to contact the President or the Select Executive Member 

 Front Row:

Mya Lamorea, Addyson Bussch, Melodie Johnston, Faith Michauville, Katie Sawyer

Back Row:

Assistant Coach Chris Gouthro, Assistant Coach Valerie Valenti, Abby Morgan,  Madison Gouthro, Megan Bouffard, Stephanie Hatch, Marina Valenti, Lauren Lacelle, Head Coach Richard Michauville

Bantam Select Bring Home Bronze

On July 27th our Bantam Blaze Select team traveled to St. Catharines to compete in a their second tournament. 
Game 1 vs. St. Catharines: Tied 5-5
Game 2 vs. London: Win 14-7
Game 3 vs. Mount Forest: Win 12-11
Game 4 vs. St. George: Win 9-6 with extra innings

The Select Blaze Open team competed in their first tournament of the season on the weekend of June 22 &23 in Sudbury.

There were five teams competing in the Orica Spring Classic. The Blaze earned second place in the round robin on Saturday, securing a spot in the finals Sunday morning. They defeated a Sudbury team in the Semi-Finals with a score of 13-1. In the final game the Blaze successfully shut- out another Sudbury team, winning the GOLD medal 11-0.

It was an amazing weekend for the NBMGSA Intermediate team who competed in Brampton in a PWSA Tier II tournament.

They finished 3rd, competing over two days against teams comprised of college and university students. Our Association was well represented by 5 decades of experience on our roster!

Congratulations to our Squirt Select Blaze team who traveled to Niagara to play in their first tournament on July 5th, 2019. They played in rain and blazing heat and represented North Bay well against some tough competition. MVP’s were Kemora Guidry, Amberly Auger and Gabbie Dufresne-Nappert.

Thank you VGL Group Ltd North Bay Ontario for your sponsorship and support!

On June 22, 2019 the Novice Select Blaze team traveled to Unionville to compete in their first tournament of the season.  There were 11 other teams from the GTA competing in four pools of 3 teams.  Our team went undefeated in round robin play, earning a spot in the playoffs where they won the semi-final against Unionville and then defeated Barrie in the final game.   The Blaze exhibited a very strong defensive team for the entire day with MVP’s for the round robin going to Marina Valenti, Maddison Gouthro and Stephanie Hatch.

Congratulations Novice Blaze!

Squirt Select Team 

The Squirt Select team playing only their second tournament in Etobicoke a couple weekends ago placed 6th out of 12 teams. Winning 2 of their 3 games (15-1 & 13-0) Just missing out of the wild card for the semi finals!! Congratulations to all the girls, they were awesome!! Congrats to our three MVP's : Addison Bush, Abby Morgan and Chloe Chemery.

Blaze Win Gold

On Saturday, August 4 the North Bay Novice Girls Select Fast Pitch team traveled to Whitby to compete in their second tournament of the season. In scorching heat, our girls met the U-14 teams from Forest Glades (Windsor), Barrie(Red), Mallory Town and Whitby (white). They faced some strong competition in the field from all of these and maintained their composure, stamina and energetic spirit. With two wins and a loss in round robin play, our Blaze earned a spot in the championship game at 7:00pm against the host team Whitby White. With a narrow win of 3-2 in this final game the North Bay Blaze were elated to bring home the gold medals. Congratulations.

Front Row: Mya Lamorea, Melodie Johnston, Faith Michauville, Marina Valenti, Ashlyn Auger, Katie Sawyer

Back Row: Lauren Lacelle, Madison Gouthro, Sahara Arnold, Hailee Steeves, Kathrine Loder

Coaches: Richard Michauville, Valerie Valenti, Chris Gouthro and Paul Auger

An amazing defensive effort from our 11& 12 year olds in their second tournament this season!

They played the top teams in the province and came out with a SILVER medal losing a tough match to the #1 seed in the final game.  Heading to Provincials Aug 19/20 in Unionville.

(top row l-r): coach Kirk Brown, Madison Gouthro, Belinda Periard-Hamilton, Sara Truchon Pearce, Hayley Manitowabi, Lauren Lacelle, coachs Valerie Valenti & Richard Michauville  (middle row l-r): Addyson Busch, Caitlyn Sloan, Marina Valenti, Faith Michauville, Maggie Parker  (bottom row l-r): Mya Lamorea, Katie Sawyer

The Midget Select team brought home a bronze medal from the Unionville tournament July 14, 2018.  A great effort playing back to back games all day.  Losing a player to injury in the middle of the first game had the remaining 9 players busy for the remaining games, alternating positions when necessary.  Special thanks to Katie Sawyer for coming with the team to catch all day! 

Congrats to our Squirt Select team who travelled to Vaughn to compete in their first tournament of the season!

An excellent start for the team consisting of many new-to-select players.  We look forward to their upcoming tournaments in Whitby and Unionville.

(back row l-r) Kirk Brown (coach), Valerie Valenti (coach), Belinda Periard-Hamilton, Haley Manitowabi, Addison Busch, Richard Michauville (coach)

(middle row l-r) Caitlyn Sloan, Madison Gouthro, Sara Truchon Pearce, Faith Michauville, Marina Valenti

(front row l-r) Katie Sawyer, Maggie Parker, Mya Lamorea

Congratulations to the Midget Select team who came home with GOLD from Waterloo over the weekend

With 9 players strong, the girls had an impressive batting weekend with a team average of +.750 OBP and solid defense.  Using all 4 pitchers, the girls were able to keep the other teams guessing at the plate.  They beat Brantford (10-0), Unionville (19-3), Brampton (13-12) and Waterloo (11-5) in round robin play.  Finals against Waterloo had them come up strong after a long day in the sun and heat to win 8-5.  Looking forward to their next tournament in Brampton and then Provincials in Whitby.

Back row (L-R): Rod Goode (coach), Hannah Michauville, Taylor Hughes, Daniella Northrup, Kyrsten Beaudoin, Richard Michauville (coach)

Front row (l-r): Stephanie Fischer, Kyrsten Palfrey, Christina Goode, Isabella Fischer, Katie Steeves

Another successful tournament for the Midget Selects as they travelled to Brampton last weekend. 

They finished round robin play 3-0 beating an undefeated Martingrove team in game one 6-2, Stittsville 7-5 and mercy against Topham Park 12-2. 

Semi finals against Whitby left them wishing for more time as the game was called due to time limit as the girls were starting to hit their stride. 

They came up big in the Bronze medal game against the Lynn team 13-7 ending a very hot day in southern Ontario. We look forward to provincials on the August 19th weekend. 

 Top row (l-r): Jayde Thompson, Taylor Hughes, Daniella Northrup, Hannah Michauville, Kyrsten Beaudoin, Grace Michauville, coach Richard Michaville

Bottow row (l-r): coach Rod Goode, Isabella Fischer, Kyrsten Palfrey, Christina Goode, Katie Steeves, Hailee North

 The Midget Select team finished the season at the Provincial tournament in Whitby losing out in the quarter final game against the eventual winners of the tournament.  The ladies played strong with each player adding their strengths to each game - pitching, batting, running or defense.  The bats come out to surprise many teams with our top-to-bottom line-up of hitters.  Team members include:  Christina Goode, Grace Michauville, Kyrsten Beaudoin, Lauren Beatty, Jayde Thompson, Katie Steeves, Hannah Michauville, Shawna Armstrong, Heather Nakanishi, Annik Barry, Taylor Hughes and Kyrsten Palfrey. 

In the 11 & 12 year old division, North Bay sent their best fastball players to compete against southern Ontario teams in a one-day tournament this past weekend.  The girls brought a touch of the North to the Whitby tournament with their aggressive batting, outstanding pitching and solid defence.  Many were exposed to tournament action for the first time but that didn't stop them from winning both their round-robin games sending them directly to the Championship round.  A hard fought game against some seasoned pitchers had them come up short in the final, bringing home a silver medal.

Team members include:  (front row l-r) Ashlyn Auger, Caitlyn Sloan, Marina Valenti, Faith Michauville, Isabelle Haddow, Sydney McCormack, (back row l-r) Katie Sawyer, Katherine Loder, Sahara Arnold, Hailee Steeves, Genevieve Dunn.  Coaches Richard Michauville, Valerie Valenti, Tara Michauville and Paul Auger.

The Midget Select Team went 4-0 to advance to the championship game in an open ladies division at the Bracebridge mixed fastball tournament over the weekend.  As their 5th game of the 2-day competition, the ladies handily smashed the ball, ran the bags, and out-pitched their opponents in a solid performance to capture the tournament championship.

Team members (top l-r):  Katie Steeves, Christina Goode, Kyrsten Palfrey, Shawna Armstrong, Hannah Michauville, Kyrsten Beaudoin.  (bottom l-r):  Heather Nakanishi, Annik Barry, Jade Thompson, Taylor Hughes, Lauren Beatty, Grace Michauville. 

The North Bay Midget Blaze Team Gives Tribute to Lost Friends

Click here for the full story from The Nugget.

Honouring Brienne Longpre, Kurtis Schoen

Midget Blaze gives tribute to lost friends

BRAMPTON - The North Bay Midget Blaze girls team gave tribute to the memory of two local teens while playing at their provincial softball championships in Brampton this weekend.

Blaze players wore ribbons with initials for Brienne Longpre and Kurtis Schoen, both 17 years old when they died in separate single-vehicle collisions this summer.

Schoen, a hockey and football player who graduated from West Ferris Secondary School in June, died Aug. 1 after his motorcycle left Groulx Road near his Astorville home.

Longpre, also a multi-sport athlete who attended ecole secondaire catholique Algonquin student, died 10 days later while riding an ATV while vacationing in Port Hope, B.C. Her funeral service was held Friday.

Longpre was a North Bay Girls Softball Association player, figure skater and pianist, but most of the Blaze team members also knew Schoen.

"The coach (Micheline Demers) did an incredible job reminding the girls to enjoy every moment and be thankful for what we have. Every moment is precious. Do it for those who can't and were taken from us to early," said parent Penny Gillespie, adding that they kept their focus on the tribute's meaning despite a tough semifinal loss.

"The girls played three games on Saturday. The first game they won against Orangeville 19-9. The second game was a loss to Kitchener with a score of 11-1. Final game of the day was a win against Etobicoke 13-5," Gillespie said, noting it left them in second place in the pool and setting up a playoff game against Topham Park on Sunday morning.

"The majority of the game was 0-0 ... unfortunately losing with a score of 9-2," she said, noting the team's attitude remained positive. "Not once did the girls get down on themselves or each other. Always reminding each other that they where playing for the memory of their friends..

One of Schoen's favourite sayings, she said, was about living for the moment and 'do it for the story.'"

Team members included Becca Fournier, Katrina Twaddle, Kyrsten Beaudoin, Taylor Hughes, Whisper Gillespie, Molly Demers, Kaylee Beaudoin, Lauren Beatty, Jayden Thompson and Morgan Hughes, with coaches Katie Kropf, Amanda Demers, head coach Micheline Demers and Janice Yates.

"Any time a play didn't go as well as the hoped, the coach told them to reset, which to the girls meant, touch your ribbon and point to the sky. Learn from it, move on and live for the story."

Novice Blaze earn silver at provincials

 

North Bay Bantam Blaze girls selects win B championship

Monday, June 17, 2013   by: Chris Dawson

The North Bay Bantam girls select team travelled down to participate in a tournament in Fenelon Falls on Saturday, June 15th.

The North Bay squad started off the tournament against a tough Stittsville team which included two very strong pitchers and could not muster any offence losing 15-0.

The second and third games however saw the girls getting their bats going and ended up beating the Host team Kawartha Krush.

The 2-1 record moved the Blaze on to the B championship game versus Etobicoke who also moved on thanks to their win over Vaughan.

The championship game was a back and forth affair all game and was tied 8-8 heading into the final inning.

The Blaze allowed 3 runs in the final inning but showed resiliency to come from behind and win 13-11 to claim the Bronze medal and B division championship.

Team members include: Allie Armstrong, Annik Barry, Kyrsten Beaudoin, Kaylee Beaudoin, Grace Williams, Payton Sparling, Kyrsten Palfrey, Kerry Smith, Nia Morris, Hailee North, Taylor Hughes and Kayla Hawkins.

Coaching staff include: Rich Beaudoin, Andy Palfrey, Floyd Hughes and Greg Smith along with assistance from Brian Barry.

Thanks to Blaze sponsor Griffith Brothers Service Centre from South River and to Monica Palfrey for keeping score all day.

The teams next tournament will be at the Erindale association in Mississauga on July 13th.

Submitted to BayToday.ca

MIDGET SELECT - PROVINCIAL CHAMPIONS!!!! 

By Chris Dawson
BayToday.ca

The North Bay Minor Girls Peewee Selects Softball Fastpitch team made it to the quarter-finals in the 19-team Provincial Women’s Softball Association Grand Championships held in Guelph this past weekend.

This is the third year the team has attended the provincials and this is the best they’ve showed. After leading their 1st game 4-1 at the top of the 5th, the team lost focus in the 5th inning losing the game to Brampton 7-12 but coming back with a needed win over Erindale (Mississauga) 7-5 and then another win Sunday morning over Orleans (Ottawa) 8-6. Pitcher Kyrsten Palfrey came to play. She found the strike zone and struck out 8 girls in games one and three, and struck out 13 girls against Erindale en route to the quarterfinals.

Pitcher Nia Morris took the mound during the 2nd game giving Kyrsten Palfrey a much needed break. Laura Nuna, an under-aged player on the team, put the successful slide down for some needed base advancement putting her into scoring position. During the initial slide Laura essentially made her knee’s skin look like shredded wheat. Some quick TLC attention, and holding back tears, kept Laura in the game and onto further aggressive needed base stealing and points on the scoreboard. Team members Taylor Hughes and Kerry Smith put the power to the bats and the homeruns on the scoreboard.

Prior to the start of a quarter-final game on Sunday afternoon a torrential downpour complete with hail pre-empted further play and sent the team to the local laundry mat to throw uniforms and cleats in the dryers and then back to the fields for further game play. Back at the ballpark the team hit the field for the 1st inning of the quarterfinals against Martingrove (Toronto) and were on there way to getting their 3rd out in as many batters against Martingrove when the skies opened again and further play was suspended.

The players and parents have put a lot of effort into the practices and have showed tremendous team bonding and will to succeed. The girls are setting the bar high for North Bay’s future Select teams and are determined and anxious to continue play and bringing back some recognition to North Bay’s girl’s fast-pitch when the tournament wraps up on the coming weekends.

Team Members include Allie Armstrong (1B), Tabitha Lafleur (2B), Laura Nuna (OF/2B), Kerry Smith (S/S), Kayla Hawkins (3B), Taylor Hughes (BC), Amy Etmanski (OF), Annik Barry (OF), Stephanie Pigeau (OF/2B), Nia Morris (OF/Pitch), Kyrsten Palfrey (Pitch), Julia Gushue (OF), Greg Smith (coach) Andy Palfrey (coach), Floyd Hughes (coach) and Brian Barry (coach).

Submitted to BayToday.ca

The North Bay Selects Midget Girls Fastball Team played in their first  tournament 
action of the season this past weekend when they travelled  south and participated 
in the Oakville Angels House Select Tournament.  

The girls had some nerves going into the first game and had a slow  start but were 
able to turn things around and beat Whitby 8 to 4.  With little time between games 
the Selects jumped right into their next game against a team from Pickering, the girls 
continued their  strong play and built up a four run lead heading into the final  inning, 
but Pickering never gave up and rallied to post a 10 to 8 win.  The Selects had 
20 minutes to put the game behind them and were on  the field again to 
play the undefeated Mississauga North team. The  game was back and forth with 
both sides hitting and making great fielding plays. The end result was a 7 to 6 loss. 

With only the top  two teams advancing the Selects Tournament was over as they 
finished third in their pool. Amanda Allard, Melissa McLaughlin and Emily  Gorda, 
all pitched great games that allowed the team to be competitive  in every game. The 
coaching staff was pleased with the effort and  great team chemistry that showed 
throughout the tournament. 

Next  action will see the Selects travel to Whitby at the end of July. The  Midget Selects 
roster includes Mary Beth Uetz, Taylor Clayton,  Samantha Duquette, Michelle Blais, 
Bryce Smith, Julie Walpole, Lindsay  Haddow, Ashley Duquette, Emily Gorda, 
Amanda Allard, Morgan Hughes, Melissa McLaughlin and coaches Pam Duquette, 
Bryan Smith and Tim Duquette.