Players from the Noel Road Jays, Hantsport Shamrocks and Windsor Knights were named or were tied for 17 of the 18 All-Star and Gold Glove Teams for the 2017 Nova Scotia Intermediate Baseball League Season on Aug. 26
The only position where a Hants County player was not involved was for the First Baseman Gold Glove Award, which went to Layne Conway of the Pictou County Royals.
The Gold Glove Team is as follows:
Catcher - Matt Wiseman - Noel Road
Second Base Tie - Sean Croft - Hantsport
Colin McCulloch - Noel Road
Shortstop - Aaron McPhee - Noel Road
Third Base - Paul Humphreys - Windsor
Outfield - Matt Noiles - Pictou County Albions
Roland Provencal - Hantsport
Lee Spares - Noel Road
Pitching — Matt Lloy - Hantsport
Logan Dawe - Truro
Tristan Reede - Sherose Island
Gold Glove Selections represent overall fielding excellence and does not factor offensive production and is a measure of the number of runs saved by a player's defensive performance over the course of a season, compared to the average defensive player at that position.
The All-Star Team is as follows:
Catcher - Matt Wiseman - Noel Road
First Base - Pat Benedict - Noel Road
Second Base - Colin McCulloch - Noel Road
Shortstop - Aaron MacPhee - Noel Road
Third Base Tie - Paul Humphreys - Windsor
Joe McPherson - Truro
Outfield Tie - Alex Patterson - Windsor
Roland Provencal - Hantsport
Lee Spares - Noel Road
Judson Wiseman - Noel Road
Pitching Tie - Matt Lloy - Hantsport
Logan Dawe - Truro
Keith Nickerson - Sherose island
NSIBL President Barry Anderson, Vice-President Jason Hanes and Secretary-Treasurer Laurie Johnston presented the awards to the players at the Noel Road field during the championship weekend.
Individual League Awards were also presented, including:
Coach of the Year - Adrian Lloy with the Hantsport Shamrocks, who managed to bring in a number prospects in the Hantsport Minor Baseball Association and had them work with many key veterans, while also picking up players from teams such as Yarmouth who decided not to participate in league play this year.
Top Hitter - Kyle Johnston - Hantsport — Kyle hit one home run and collected 20 RBI’s and was the only player in the league to finish with .500 batting average going 27 for 54.
Top Pitcher - Matt Lloy with the Hantsport Shamrocks had a brilliant season pitching five complete games and finishing with a 6-0 record with 41 strike-outs and an 0.86 ERA.
League MVP — Joe McPherson – Truro Bearcats, who finished third in league hitting but led the league in home runs with 6 and RBI’s with 26 to go along with his .480 batting average and .595 on base percentage.
Anthony Miller Memorial Award - This was the first time this award was presented by the league. Paul Humphreys of the Windsor Knights and Mike White of the Noel Road Jays were tied in points when the voting was over and the two were named co-winners.
The Anthony Miller Memorial Award is presented to player/players who show up for each and every game, express passion for the game, gives 100% at all times, is respectable to opponents and all involved in the game while being a supportive and excellent teammate.
Hall of Fame Induction Ceremonies:
Mike Johnston formerly of the Windsor Knights and Chris Zinck of the now defunct Bridgewater Bulldogs were inducted into the 2017 Hall of Fame Class.
Johnston played 18 years with the Knights logging nearly 450 games. He was a career .300 hitter. When asked to describe Johnston, his teammates used words such as warrior, competitor, determined and tenacity.
Johnston played the game old school as he slid hard to break up a double play, do anything for the team attitude to get to first base or, as witnessed many times when he patrolled second base, he would block with his chest, then pick up and throw the guy out at first.
Chris Zinck from the South Shore was also inducted for his hard-nosed play over many seasons and his ability to thrive as a teammate concerned about everyone.
It’ll be hard to forget Zinck’s masterful 14-inning relief performance in a Nova Scotia Intermediate Baseball Championship weekend tournament.
