The Ottawa 13s recently returned from the World Masters Games in Torino Italy, compiling a 5-1-1 round-robin record against teams from around the world, and then winning the gold medal game against the previously undefeated Krushers team from New Zealand.

Despite the team name, players on the Ottawa 13s came from all over. Neil Cooke, Bobby Jack Hart, Kevin McGuire, Mike Money, Cory Morrison, and Eric Rosenquist all live in the Ottawa region and play in the Greater Ottawa Fastball League. Darryl Beck, Dan Loney, and Jason Woodside call Cornwall, Ontario home. Patrice Leclerc and Luc Thibault hail from Quebec and play for the Donnacona Blue Sox. PEI's Curtis Reilly and the lone American - Florida's Jeff Lane rounded out the roster.

Back row: Curtis Reilly, Kevin McGuire, Darryl Beck, Patrice Leclerc, Neil Cooke, Jason Woodside, Mike Money, Luc Thibault

Front row: Eric Rosenquist, Cory Morrison, Dan Loney, Jeff Lane, Bobby Jack Hart

The 13s were entered in the Men's 35 and older competitive division.

Other teams in the division included the Western Ferrals from Australia, the Krushers from New Zealand, the Die Hards from the European Union, and the Toronto Gators. The Gators entered in the higher calibre "premier" division since they did not meet the requirements for the competitive division, but were bumped down to the competitive division since there were no other teams in their bracket. At the beginning of the competition however it was ruled that the Gators would automatically get the gold medal for the premier division and would not play against competitive teams in the medal round.

To add a few more games to the round-robin, each team in the competitive division played three crossover games against teams in the Men's 35+ recreational division. All games counted in the round-robin standings, with the top two teams advancing to the gold/silver medal game and the 3rd & 4th place teams playing for bronze.

Aug 2nd: Game 1

The 13s’ first game was against the Western Ferrals from Australia on the main diamond. The primary softball facility in Torino is a complex housing a baseball diamond and two softball diamonds, one of which had a very small outfield and only saw use for women's games in the higher age brackets due to the short fences. The baseball diamond was converted to softball by way of a temporary outfield fence, 60' bases, and a pitching rubber that had to get moved from 43' to 46' depending on if women or men were playing.

Neil Cooke took to the pitcher's circle for game #1 and did his best to "toe up" according to ISF pitching rules, taking a couple of batters to get accustomed to pitching without stepping back off the rubber. The defence helped him out however, erasing a leadoff walk courtesy of a slick double-play by Kevin McGuire at shortstop and Jeff Lane at second base. Another runner was stranded when Cooke struck out the #4 hitter to end the inning.

Dan Loney started things off quickly for the 13s in their half of the first inning when he was hit by the first pitch he faced. Loney then took second on a wild pitch and came home on Jason Woodside's single. After a pair of fly ball outs, Cory Morrison singled to bring home Woodside, Jeff Lane was hit by a pitch, and Mike Money legged out an infield single to load the bases. The shaky start for the Ferrals pitcher continued as he threw a couple more wild pitches that allowed Morrison and Lane to score before he got catcher Bobby Jack Hart to fly out to end the inning with the 13s ahead 4-0.

Cooke retired the Ferrals side in order in the 2nd despite giving up a hit. A leadoff strikeout was followed by a single, but the runner was erased when the next batter struck out and the baserunner got picked off. Ottawa added to their lead when Loney hit a one-out single, advanced on a ground-out by Woodside, and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

Ottawa would add another run in the 3rd courtesy of four straight two-out singles by Lane, right fielder Mike Money, Hart, and designated player Luc Thibault.

The lead was increased to 8-0 after 4 innings when Woodside and first baseman Patrice Leclerc scored after hitting singles. Curtis Reilly (subbed in for Cory Morrison in the 4th) then hit a sac fly to bring home Woodside, and Lane's single brought home Leclerc.

The Ferrals broke the shutout in the top of the 5th, getting a run courtesy of a pair of singles and a bad outfield bounce that allowed the runner to score. It was too little, too late however, as the 7 run mercy rule applied and the 13s came away with a 8-1 victory.

Neil Cooke: W 5IP 1R 0ER 8K 4H 3BB

Dan Loney: 2R 1-2 HBP

Jason Woodside: 2R 2-3 RBI

Cory Morrison: 1R 1-2 RBI

Jeff Lane: 2R 2-2 RBI

Mike Money: 1-1 2ROE

Aug 3rd: Opening Ceremonies

Saturday August 3rd was an off day for the 13s, but the event of the day was the opening ceremonies of the games. All of the competitors were asked to meet in the large Piazza Vittorio Veneto around 4PM, with a parade beginning around 6PM and making its way down Via Po for approximately 1km to Piazza Castello. The cafés and pubs along Piazza Vittorio Veneto were the big winners on the day, serving up cold beverages and food to the estimated 20,000 competitors who showed up to participate. The organizers had expected as many as 40,000 competitors to attend the games; rumours during the week were that the actual number of registrants was a bit over 30,000. Nonetheless, that's a lot of people when you consider that many of the competitors travelled with friends or family members.

Members of the 13s who had not previously attended the World Masters Games were surprised by the number of participants as well as the number of supporters (local Italians plus friends & family) that lined Via Po to watch the parade and cheer on the athletes. It was a very festive atmosphere with a strong Canadian and Australian contingent.

Aug 4th: Game 2

The 13s second round-robin game was against the Die Hards team from the European Union. Once again, the bats were hot and the 13s put up two runs in the top of the first inning to set the tone.

Shortstop Kevin McGuire hit a two-out single and came home on first baseman Patrice Leclerc's triple. Leclerc scored on left fielder Cory Morrison's double to round out the scoring for the 13s in the first. Staked to a 2-0 lead, Neil Cooke gave up a lead off walk, but then retired the next three batters to strand the runner.

The 13s added three more in the third with third baseman Jason Woodside, McGuire, and Leclerc all scoring in an inning that saw the 13s send nine batters to the plate.

Up 5-0, Ottawa added another two in the fourth with Woodside and McGuire scoring again - the second for Woodside and the third run of the game for McGuire.

With the time limit and a 7-0 mercy working against them, the Die Hards lived up to their name by scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the 5th off pitcher Luc Thibault who started the inning in relief of Neil Cooke. A one-out double and a two-out fielder’s choice followed by an infield error allowed the Die Hards to make it 7-2, but despite avoiding the mercy rule, the time limit had expired and the game was called after five complete innings with the final score 7-2 Ottawa.

Of note in this game was catcher Bobby Jack Hart's at bat in the top of the second inning, when he swung at a 3-0 pitch and grounded into a double play. That move earned him the first ever "Emma" award - a dubious honour named after a young, um... "self employed"... lady who worked near the team's hotel during evening hours. The team decided that a player who received the Emma award would decide its recipient for the next game, and would ideally acquire something for the player to wear after the game.

Neil Cooke: W 4IP 0R 2H 3K 2BB

Luc Thibault: 1IP 2R 0ER 1H 2K

Jason Woodside: 2R 1-2 3B

Kevin McGuire: 3R 1-1 BB HBP

Patrice Leclerc: 2R 2-3 3B 2B 3RBI

Cory Morrison: 2-2 2B RBI

Emma award: Bobby Jack Hart for swinging at a 3-0 pitch and hitting into a double play

Aug 5th: Game 3

Monday saw the 13s go up against the premier division Toronto Gators. Fastball legend Darren Zack got the ball for the Gators while the 13s countered with Patrice Leclerc.

After a scoreless first inning, the 13s scored a pair of runs in the top of the second. These would turn out to be the only runs the Gators would allow in the round robin. Patrice Leclerc led off the inning with an infield single. Darryl Beck (the designated runner for the game) came in to run for Leclerc, and moved up to second on Cory Morrison's single. With two on and nobody out, the Gators wasted no time in going to their ace, replacing Darren Zack with Todd Martin. Ottawa's next batter was first baseman Luc Thibault. Thibault squared to bunt on the first pitch, but the pitch was high and away as part of a pick-off move to second base. Everyone at the park except the person whose opinion mattered the most thought Beck's foot was easily back at the bag before the tag, but Beck was called out. With one out, Thibault was no longer bunting, and ended up smacking a double into left field. Playing at the second diamond with a short fence (61 meters in the corners and 69 meters in center), Morrison was held at third. After a strikeout, Martin threw a wild pitch with right fielder Curtis Reilly at bat that scored Morrison from third, and when the throw attempting to get Morrison at home sailed into the outfield, Thibault also scored.

The 2-0 lead was short lived however as the Gators scored two of their own in the bottom of the second. Catcher John Kemp hit a one-out single and came home on designated player Rob Gray's home run.

The score remained 2-2 until the bottom of the 5th when the Gators scored three unearned runs on two hits, an error, and a hit batsman to go ahead 5-2.

With a large crowd chanting "let them play", the officials called the game after 6 complete innings due to the time limit.

Patrice Leclerc: L 6IP 5R 2ER 7H 5K 1BB

Cory Morrison: 1-2 R

Luc Thibault: 1-2 R 2B

Emma award: Kevin McGuire for making the only error of the game for the 13s

Darren Zack: 1IP 2K 2H 1R 0ER

Todd Martin: 5IP 1R 0ER 3H 7K

Aug 6th: Game 4

The Tuesday game against the Krushers from New Zealand turned out to be one of the best games of the week. The Krushers won the 35+ competitive division gold medal at the Sydney World Masters Games in 2009, and had a few former NZ national team players on their roster. The game turned out to be a pitcher's duel between the Krushers' Terence Hibbert and the 13s' Neil Cooke.

The Krushers opened the scoring in the top of the 4th, cashing in a lead off single with a two-out flare to right field. The 13s answered quickly when Leclerc led off the bottom of the 4th with a towering home run to left field.

Ottawa threatened to take control of the game in the 5th while the NZ squad seemed content to play for the tie and tried to slow things down, calling time frequently to tie shoes or stepping out of the batters box in an attempt to run out the clock. With one out, 13s right fielder Mike Money hit a single, then was joined on the base path when second baseman Jeff Lane hit a two out single and shortstop Kevin McGuire drew a walk. Hibbert however managed to cool off the hot bat of Leclerc and strike him out with the bases loaded to keep the score 1-1.

As feared, the scorekeeper called the game after five complete innings due to the time limit, resulting in a 1-1 draw.

Neil Cooke: 5IP 1R 1ER 3H 4K

Dan Loney: 1-2 1B BB

Jeff Lane: 1-2 1B SAC

Patrice Leclerc: 1-3 HR RBI

Luc Thibault: 1-2

Mike Money: 1-2

Emma award: Kevin McGuire for making the only error of the game

Terence Hibbert: 5IP 1R 1ER 5H 9K 2BB

Aug 7th: Game 5

Having finished playing the teams from the competitive and premier divisions, the 13s had three remaining round-robin games against teams from the 35+ recreational division. First up was the Vikings from Australia, and the 13s took advantage of the smaller park and rec-level pitching to put up a lot of runs.

With catcher Bobby Jack Hart taking the day off, Jeff Lane donned the gear and caught for Patrice Leclerc.

Ottawa put up 5 runs in the bottom of the first inning, sending 8 batters to the plate. Lane, second baseman Cory Morrison, and Leclerc all hit singles, while right fielder Curtis Reilly hit a three run home run. Leclerc faced the minimum six batters in two innings before turning the ball over the Luc Thibault.

The 13s added 4 more runs in the second inning. Third baseman Darryl Beck drew a leadoff walk, center fielder Dan Loney hit a double, and both came home on Jeff Lane's 3-run home run. Patrice Leclerc hit a double of his own and scored on Reilly's single up the middle.

The Vikings got on the scoresheet in the top of the 3rd courtesy of a lead off single that got past a diving second baseman (Eric Rosenquist, who subbed in for Morrison to start the inning). That was followed by a misplayed bunt that left both runners safe. The next Vikings batter bunted the runners to 2nd and 3rd. With Luc Thibault having already pitched to three batters using the same style of delivery, the base umpire called him for an illegal pitch, advancing both Viking runners by a base and making the score 9-1. Thibault struck out the next batter, but the following Vikings’ hitter belted a home run to right field to score two runs and make it 9-3. Thibault gave up another single but stranded the runner with a pop fly out to end the inning.

Aug 9th: Game 6 & 7

Game 6 was originally scheduled for August 8th, but heavy rains caused it to be rescheduled. The 13s were slated to face the Venezuela Caricuao squad on the 9th, but the Venezuelans were dual sport athletes, competing in both softball and basketball, and apparently doing much better in the latter. As a result, they had chosen to forfeit softball games that conflicted with their basketball schedule. Finding this out ahead of time, the organizers scheduled the rained-out game on the 9th and awarded the 13s a 7-0 forfeit win over Venezuela Caricuao. The Breakaway Masters from Australia were the opposition for the 13s, and the game turned out to be very close for the first 4 innings thanks to a decision by the Breakaway squad to throw their ace rather than save him for a recreational division match the next morning.

Neil Cooke got the ball for the 13s, and after the Ottawa batters went 1-2-3 in the top of the first, Cooke's first pitch to Breakaway second baseman Scotty Parker went over the left field fence for a solo home run. Ottawa answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second as Curtis Reilly led off with a single and was bunted to second by Cooke. After a strikeout, shortstop Kevin McGuire belted a home run to put the 13s up 2-1. That score held until the bottom of the third, when Parker stepped into the batters box with two out and once again hit the first pitch he saw over the fence to tie the game.

Both pitchers retired the side in order in the 4th inning, but the 13s took control of the game in the top of the 5th, sending 8 batters to the plate and putting up 5 runs. McGuire hit his second home run of the game to get things started with one out, and was followed by singles from first baseman Thibault, catcher Hart, and center fielder Money who surprised the Breakaways with a bunt and got all the way to third base when the throw was late and off the mark. Lane knocked Money home on a groundout to short and Cory Morrison capped the scoring with a solo home run. Cooke struck out the side in the bottom of the inning to make the score 7-2 after five complete.

The 13s added a pair of runs in the top of the 6th when Loney hit a one-out single and McGuire just missed his third home run of the game on what was supposed to be an intentional walk. The catcher didn't stand up with his glove to the side calling for the pitch, staying in his crouch behind the plate instead. The third pitch of the attempted intentional walk got a little too much of the plate for McGuire to let go and he swung away. Many thought the high fly ball hit the right field fence above the orange strip that marked the home run line, but the base umpire said it hit the orange and McGuire ended up with a double. Thibault then hit a double that brought both Loney and McGuire home and restored the 7 run lead for the 13s.

The Ottawa 13s ended the round robin with a 5-1-1 record, just behind the Krushers who finished 5-0-2, the difference being the Krusher's 0-0 tie against the Toronto Gators.

Aug 11th: Gold Medal Game

The weather was perfect for the 4:30PM gold medal game between the 13s and the Krushers; a bit cooler than the mid-30s temperatures the team had played in all week, and with a few scattered clouds. The home team for all medal games was decided by a coin toss, and the 13s won the toss and took to the field first. Patrice Leclerc toed the rubber for Ottawa while Krushers ace Terence Hibbert once again got the ball for the New Zealand squad. There was no time limit on medal games, so both teams expected a close game going the full 7 innings, maybe more.

Leclerc retired the Krushers in the top of the first, yielding a two-out walk but then striking out the clean-up hitter to get out of the inning. In the bottom of the first, center fielder Dan Loney led off with a fly ball out, but that was followed by a 5 pitch walk to second baseman Jeff Lane. Left fielder Cory Morrison hit a 1-1 pitch to right field to move Lane to third and give Ottawa runners on the corners with just one out. The Krushers kept their infield back in hopes of getting a double play, and it almost worked when the next batter, Leclerc, grounded to second. The Krushers attempted the 4-6-3 double-play, but Leclerc was fast enough to beat out the throw to first, allowing Lane to come home safely on the play and put Ottawa up 1-0.

Leclerc retired the side on a pair of strikeouts and a groundout in the second, and Hibbert countered with a fast inning of his own, stranding Kevin McGuire who had led off the inning as a hit batsman.

The top of the third saw Leclerc continue to stymie the Krusher hitters, getting a pop up, strikeout, and ground out to once again retire the side in order. The 13s added to their lead when Loney led off the inning getting hit by a pitch. Lane attempted to bunt Loney to second but Hibbert managed to get him to strike out. Cory Morrison then came through with another single, this time to center field, and when the outfielder bobbled the ball, the speedy Loney came home and Morrison was on third. Patrice Leclerc then sent the second pitch he saw into left field to score Morrison and put the 13s up 3-0. With designated runner Mike Money in to run for Leclerc, the 13s had a chance to extend the lead as Money stole second to move into scoring position, but Hibbert got a fly out and a strikeout to end the threat.

The rest of the game was a pitcher's duel, with the turning point of the game coming in the top of the 5th.

The Krushers #6 hitter led off the inning with an infield hit that was misplayed, but the 13s prevented the Krushers from rallying by turning a textbook 6-4-3 double-play on the next batter, negating the error. The double-play turned out to be key as the following batter hit a single to center field. With a pinch hitter in for the Krusher's #9 hitter, the baserunner stole second but was stranded there when Leclerc K'd the pinch hitter on three pitches.

In the sixth, both teams went four-up, three-down to leave Ottawa ahead 3-0 with 3 outs remaining to claim gold.