Baseball fans and proud parents filled the stands at the Shawville Recreation Association baseball diamond on Friday evening to cheer on the players in the minor league fastball finals.

The season’s culminating event featured three final matches for age groups seven to nine, 10 to 12, and 13 to 17.

The evening of baseball also featured a barbecue to keep fans fed during the tournament, as well as a 50/50 ticket draw.

Jennifer Barr, director for the RA and organizer of the minor ball events for 15 years, said the tournament was a battle between Quyon and Shawville in a friendly competition for a trophy and bragging rights.

“I think it’s fun for the kids to have some friendly competition. I love to see them participating in sports,” Barr said. “I think being a part of a team is really important to learn. I think you learn a lot of things: you learn how to win, you learn how to lose, you learn how to play as a team.”

Those helping run the tournament were, from left, Mackenzie Barr, Jennifer Barr, Cindy Hamilton and Matt Carmichael. Photo: Guillaume Laflamme

Two Shawville teams faced off in the youngest age bracket at 6 p.m. Then at 7:30 p.m., Shawville 1 and Quyon 1 teams in the 10 to 12-year-old bracket took to the diamond, and at 9 p.m. the Shawville 1 and Quyon 1 teams in the oldest age bracket competed for the first-place title.

Joe McCleary was one of the coaches for the Shawville 1 team in the oldest group. He has been coaching for the minor ball league for the last six years and is a former competitive baseball player.

He explained coaching offers an opportunity to share his knowledge with the next generation of the sport.

“This is what I did growing up. So this is why it’s important for me to pass this on to the kids, and I hope they continue to do it to their kids,” McCleary said. “When you’re playing sports as a kid, that’s all that matters. There’s no other problems in the world. It’s ‘you’re here, you let go and you have fun.’”

McCleary also noted the importance the outdoor sport has in a world full of digital distractions.

“I hope it means everything to the kids, because what else do the kids have to do?” McCleary said. “If they’re not doing this, they’re at home, on their phone or on their computer.”

This year’s tournament saw Shawville teams win in two of the three age groups.

“I think everybody likes to come out a winner,” Barr said. “I was noticing on the trophies, there’s a lot of Quyon markings on it. So it’s time to add some Shawville names to the trophy.”

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