Sydney Sooners

The Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League hs selected its All-Star Awards for each position as well as MVP, Coach of the Year and the Gary MacDonald Award. Craig Higgins of the Maple Foods Inc. Truro Bearcats is this years recipient of the Gary MacDonald Award. The award is presented annually to the player that exhibits the greatest game day skills as voted upon by opposing teams in the form of player of the game. The award is presented in memory of Gary MacDonald, a former founding player who performed with star status as a carreer short-stop with the Sydney Sooners. The award exemplifies the combination of game skills and a professional competitiveness that were characteristics displayed by Gary MacDonald who died after a courageous battle with Hodgekin's disease. The Gary MacDonald Award was originated by the Sydney Sooners in 1998. This is the first year that a player not playing with the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry has won the Award. Greg West won the Award in 2000 and Brad Miller won the Award in 1998 and 1999. NSSBL All-Star Team First Base - Darren Doucette, Dartmouth - Won the NSSBL's triple crown (.451 BA, 50 RBI, 14 HRs) Second Base - Jay Turple, Halifax - Tied for lead in hits with 57, 6th in RBI with 38, .388 BA Third Base - Craig Higgins, Truro - .381 BA, tied for fourth in doubles with 12, Led Truro Bearcats in all Offensive categories Short Stop - Ian Lockhart, Kentville - .341 BA, 31 RBI Catcher - Craig Cooper, Halifax - .360 BA, 2nd in RBI's with 43, 49 Hits, First in Doubles with 15, 6th in HRs with 4 Outfielders - Jamie Vallis, Sackville -Tied for Second in batting with .404 BA, 11 SB, tied for Fourth with 5 HRs Dave MacMullin, Sydney - Second with 12 HRs; Tied for third with 41 RBI, .371 BA Dave Cowan, Halifax - Fifth with 51 Hits, Tied for third with 38 Runs, Tied for first with 3 triples, 367 BA, 10 SB Left-Handed Pitcher - Jason Bailey, Dartmouth - 7-2 record, 3.38 ERA, 59 Strikeouts Right-Handed Pitcher - Sheldon MacDonald, Halifax - 10-3 record, 3.83 ERA, 70 Strikeouts. Led the League with 10 wins. Desinated-Hitter - Richie Walcott, Sydney - Tied for second with .404 BA, second in doubles with 14. MVP - Darren Doucette, Dartmouth Coach of the Year - Tom Hartnett, Halifax Gary MacDonald Award - Craig Higgins

Ryan Doucette's two-out two-run double in the bottom of the ninth capped Dartmouth's miraculous seven-run comeback and gave the Dry their ninth senior league title in the past twelve years. With Truro ahead 13-7 going into the bottom of the ninth Ryan Doucette led off the inning by being hit by a pitch. He came around to score on Joel Irvine's bases-loaded walk. Brad Miller drove in two runs with a one-out single. Down to their final out, trailing 13-10, Dartmouth had a bit of luck that was reminiscent of their playoffs against Truro last year where Jason Irvine reached on an error by Kevin Matheson with two outs in the seventh and Clinton Thomas reached on a bad hop RBI single. That set the stage for Ryan Doucette to drive in the tying and go ahead runs with a double and the Dry to a come from behind 4-2 victory. With two outs, Joel Irvine scored when a Jason Bailey hard-hit grounder jumped over Shawn Fuller's glove at first base. Mark Weeks hit a ground ball to Kevin Matheson which looked to end the game, until Matheson double-clutched the ball allowing Weeks to beat out the throw. This brought Ryan Doucette to the plate for the second time in the inning with the game winning double. Jason Bailey went the distance to pick up his fourth win of the playoffs and second of the finals, while Jeff Fielding also went the distance taking the loss. Billy MacKenzie led the way at the plate for Truro and looked to be the game star with two doubles, a homerun and six RBI before the fateful ninth. Craig Higgins also had a double and three singles. Truro 205 001 014 - 13 14 1 Dartmouth 402 000 017 - 14 12 6 Jeff Fielding (1-2) and John Saunders; Jason Bailey (4-0) and Mark Weeks. HRs: Tru - Billy MacKenzie (1) Dart - Mark Weeks (1), Greg West (2) Joel Irvine (1)

The mystique of the Dartmouth Moosehead Dry continues. With their team finishing the regular season below .500 for the first time in over a decade, the Dry are just one win away from regaining their senior league crown since 1998. Dartmouth, aided by four Bearcat errors, scored sixteen runs, en route to a 16-4 debacle of Truro. Dartmouth's biggest break of the series came through knocking starting pitcher Pat MacIntyre out of the box in the first inning. He was relieved by Craig Higgins who pitched almost five innings of relief, leaving him, most likely, unavailable as a starter unless the series goes to a game six. The move was a gamble as Truro did not want to be down 3-0 in the series and looked like the right move as the Bearcats pulled to within one run going into the top of the fourth. In the fourth, Dartmouth scored five runs and never looked back. Chad Sawler went the distance scattering nine hits in picking up the win. Darren Doucette had a three run shot and two singles while brother Ryan Doucette had three singles and two RBI. Joel Irvine added a two-run double. For Truro, Higgins had a double and two singles, while Kevin Matheson laced a single and a double. Game four is set for tonight at Beazley in Dartmouth at 7:30pm and could see a possible rematch of the game two starter Jason Bailey (3-0) and Jeff Fielding (1-0) who locked up in the game that wouldn't end. Dartmouth 400 512 4xx - 16 10 2 Truro 012 000 1xx - 4 9 4 Chad Sawler (1-1) and Mark Weeks; Pat MacIntyre (1-1), Craig Higgins (1), George Chapman (6) and Jason Hoyt. HR: Darren Doucette (6)

Kentville and Yarmouth hooked up earlier this year to play a 17 inning tilt that was easily the longest game in innings this year. Thanks to fog and rain, Dartmouth and Truro hooked up for what is probably the longest game by time in the history of the Senior League that was not interupted by other games. The game which began on Sunday at 7:30pm, ended Thursday night at 7:55pm - 96 hours and 25 minutes later. The game was suspended in the bottom of the eighth inning with Truro leading 4-3, after Brad Miller a Brad Miller fly ball became lost in the fog and turned into a triple. Truro had scored the go-ahead run in the top of the inning on a ball that centre-fielder Joel Irvine had lost in the fog. If that controversy was not enough for the game, what ensued once the game was resumed was. Jason Bailey batting with no outs and Miller at third base, picking up the game from the point where it was left on Sunday, was awarded first base on a questionable call of catcher's interference while trying to squeeze the run home. Miller was awarded a free pass home on the play tying the score at four. Mark Weeks promptly added a double of the left field wall to give Dartmouth 5-4 lead. The controvesy arose on the play when the catcher appeared to hit the bat after the batter had made contact with the ball, not before. Trevor Zwaan went to work in the nineth and retired the side in order to pick up the save. Jason Bailey, who pitched the first eight innings, earned his third win of the playoffs. Truro 201 000 010 - 4 4 3 Dartmouth 200 010 02x - 5 9 1 Jeff Fielding, Craig Higgins (2-2) and John Saunders, Jason Hoyt (6); Jason Bailey (3-0), Trevor Zwaan (S,1)(9) and Mark Weeks.

The Dry came out hitting and the Bearcats didn't as Dartmouth blanked Truro 10-0 to take the series opener. Trevor Zwaan, who faced the minimum 21 batters, pitched the second no-hitter of the year in a game shortened to seven innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. Ironically, Craig Higgins who took the loss, threw the other no-hitter. JP Wood was the only batter to reach base against Zwaan by being hit in the elbow by a pitch but was erased on a double play. Greg West led the way for Dartmouth at the plate with a single, double, homerun and five RBI. Brad Miller added a single, double and 2 RBI. Higgins was touched for seven earned runs on nine hits. Truro also showed signs of treating the Dry's power hitter Darren Doucette in the same manner in which they did in last year's playoffs. The former St. Louis Cardinals farm hand was intentionally walked twice. Dartmouth 401 023 0 - 10 12 0 Truro 000 000 0 - 0 0 3 Trevor Zwaan (3-2) and Mark Weeks, Craig Higgins (2-1), George Chapman (6) and Jason Hoyt. HR: Dart - Greg West (1)