Joey Payeur
Diamond stars of both local fastball galaxies were shining bright in Stratton on Saturday.
The Rainy River District Fastball League and Rainy River District Women’s Fastball League held their joint year-end awards banquet to pay tribute to their top performers of this past season.
For representatives of the two league champs, it proved to be an unforgettable evening.
Vaughan Wilson of the Barwick Blue Knights needed a wheelbarrow to cart home all his accolades after being named the RRDFL’s most valuable player (Gerry Harasymyk Award), the winner of the Shane Jarvis Award for sportsmanship, and the top shortstop.
Added to that was Wilson’s selection as manager of the year after he guided the Blue Knights to their first title since 2008.
As the Blue Knights’ lead-off hitter, Wilson set the table for Barwick’s top-ranked offence during the regular season (205 runs) while also providing rock-solid defence.
He turned up his game even more in the post-season as the Blue Knights went undefeated—closing things out with a two-game sweep of the Rainy Lake Pirates in the best-of-three final.
“This 2015 RRDFL season will be one that I remember for a long, long time,” said Wilson.
“Not because we won in the playoffs. That’ll fade,” he noted.
“But watching the guys on the Blue Knights do what they do was unbelievable.
“Right from our dominant pitching and catching combo to our positional players, our guys made play after play like clockwork and we limited our runs against to an all-time low for our team,” Wilson marvelled.
“We got to send off [longtime Knights’ pitcher George Oltsher] in a great way this year that was pretty special to all our players in a number of different ways,” he added.
“During the playoffs, we had guys who knew they were there to pinch hit or run in crucial situations, and they were more than OK with that,” Wilson continued.
“Those guys made my job as a manager really easy. All I had to worry about was giving us a chance to win,” acknowledged Wilson, who admitted his MVP selection was “a bit of a shock.”
“I knew I had had a good year offensively and I felt my defensive game was pretty strong, too,” he said.
“But there are so many people in the league that you have to beat individually to win games that I was a bit surprised when my name came up.
“It’s a huge honour and being a relative of Gerry’s, it means that much more,” he remarked.
Winning the sportsmanship award is old hat to Wilson at this point, but it never feels that way to him.
“Like I said at the banquet, I learned a lot from a guy who won the award a few times, too,” Wilson said in crediting Oltsher, who was chosen for the award 10 times.
“When this game stops being fun, which it likely never will, I’m out,” he added.
“Until then, I’m going to do everything I can to show our younger players and the kids at the ballpark how I feel a ball player should carry himself in a men’s fastpitch league.
“Some of the most solid friendships I’ve formed have been through playing ball,” Wilson stressed.
“This award means the most to me because it tells me that I’m doing something right representing our league.”
Wilson said the manager’s award undoubtedly was a shared honour with his teammates.
“Behind the scenes, when it came to work around the ballpark, preparing for games, organizing rides, and planning tournaments, the guys were always a big help,” he noted.
“And it’s obvious that our whole team cares as much about the town and our ball team as I do.”
Being picked as the best shortstop was a tribute that spoke to Wilson’s passion for guarding the left side of the infield.
“I love playing the position and can’t imagine playing anywhere else,” he remarked.
“There are some really great shortstops in our league and when you’re playing against people like Jesse Tom, Shelby Nosan, or Ryan MacDonald, you can’t help but learn something about the position by watching them.”
The Blue Knights swept the infield honours for the top positional players as Wilson was joined by teammates JJ Landry (pitcher), Kevin Gemmell (catcher), D.J. Mosbeck (first base), Mike Anderson (second base), and Brad Wakefield (third base).
“What can I say? I’ve never seen [Landry] pitch better in my life than the last three or four games of the season,” lauded Wilson.
“But then, I feel like I should say something about defence from everyone else on the team,” he added.
“Sheesh, what a problem to have, eh?”
Meanwhile, Northwest Bay Beavers’ pitcher Darcy Smith was named MVP for the women’s league following a stellar campaign both on the mound and at the plate.
Smith was tied for second in pitching wins with a 10-4-1 record during the regular season.
She also batted clean-up for a Beavers’ team that was fourth in the RRDWFL in offence with 227 runs, then manufactured a 6-1 playoff run capped by a two-game sweep of the two-time defending champion Red Gut Babes in the final.
Karma Andy (Manitou Blaze) was recognized as the league’s home run champion (six) while RRDWFL president Candy Teeple (Dawson Diggers) was selected for the sportsmanship award.
“To me, this is very humbling,” Teeple said.
“I try to treat people as I want to be treated,” she added. “I’m not perfect by any means.
“This award represents, in my mind, a player that loves this game wholeheartedly, respects the game, and respects the players whether you win or lose,” noted Teeple.
“There are a lot of women in this league that fit that definition.
“I’m very proud that some of our teams think that I portray that meaning,” she remarked.
“It’s a great feeling, no doubt.”
