Through their first two games of the season, the Wildcats were yet to allow a run.
In the most recent game, the juniors took on Hantsport May 27 at Memorial Park and scored a 7-0 victory.
Keegan Gaskell, Luke Muise and Christian Vogler combined on a four-hit shutout, with Gaskell and Muise pitching three innings each and Vogler contributing a scoreless seventh.
Nick Barrett led the way offensively with a triple, single, two runs scored and four RBI. Leadoff hitter Adam Gardner reached base four times and scored two runs.
Dryden Schofield had an RBI double and Bradley Fuller an RBI single. The final Kentville run was scored on a wild pitch/passed ball.
Kentville also played a strong game defensively, highlighted by several strong plays by Fuller at third base.
The Wildcats played their season opener May 21, also on home turf. The Nova Scotia Youth Selects, with locals Cameron MacPherson, Nathan McCarthy, John Payne and Jake Lonar on the roster, provided the opposition.
The Wildcats ended up blanking the Selects 3-0, with Fuller, Wes Harding and Vogler combining on a four-hitter. Again, Fuller and Harding threw three innings apiece, with Vogler chipping in a scoreless seventh.
Gardner led the Kentville offence with two hits, two walks and a run scored, again reaching base four times. Barrett doubled, walked, scored a run and had an RBI.
Grant Ruffinengo singled, walked and scored a run, and Mitchell Bunker and Schofield each contributed one RBI.
“Things look promising for us this year as we are carrying 17 players, a big increase from last year,” Boylen said.
To a promising core of returning players that includes Fuller, Harding, Vogler, Mike Boylen, Nick Tibert, Ethan Lycan-Lang, Gardner, Schofield, Ryan Kaulbach, Brandon Croft and Justin Beach, the Wildcats have made several key additions.
Three players – Gaskell, Barrett and Bunker – who suit up for Saint Mary’s University in season, have joined the club. Gaskell, Barrett and Ruffinengo all played for Nova Scotia at the 2013 Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Ryan MacDonald, who, like Gaskell, hails from Hammonds Plains, will be the primary catcher, Boylen said. Muise, a Yarmouth native who last played in Kentville in 2013, is also back and “will be a great addition.”
In addition to Fuller, Harding and Vogler, Tibert, the pitching line up also includes Schofield and Muise, as well as Barrett and Gaskell who both pitched at the Canada Games. Most are capable of playing other positions as well.
“I don’t believe we will have to worry about not having enough players,” Boylen said. “We will have lots of pitching and depth we did not have last year.”
Nova Scotia will send two teams to the junior nationals in Saskatchewan in August.
“Our goal is to be one of those two teams.”
The junior Wildcats are next in action June 7, when they host Cape Breton in a doubleheader at Memorial Park.
Through their first two games of the season, the Wildcats were yet to allow a run.
In the most recent game, the juniors took on Hantsport May 27 at Memorial Park and scored a 7-0 victory.
Keegan Gaskell, Luke Muise and Christian Vogler combined on a four-hit shutout, with Gaskell and Muise pitching three innings each and Vogler contributing a scoreless seventh.
Nick Barrett led the way offensively with a triple, single, two runs scored and four RBI. Leadoff hitter Adam Gardner reached base four times and scored two runs.
Dryden Schofield had an RBI double and Bradley Fuller an RBI single. The final Kentville run was scored on a wild pitch/passed ball.
Kentville also played a strong game defensively, highlighted by several strong plays by Fuller at third base.
The Wildcats played their season opener May 21, also on home turf. The Nova Scotia Youth Selects, with locals Cameron MacPherson, Nathan McCarthy, John Payne and Jake Lonar on the roster, provided the opposition.
The Wildcats ended up blanking the Selects 3-0, with Fuller, Wes Harding and Vogler combining on a four-hitter. Again, Fuller and Harding threw three innings apiece, with Vogler chipping in a scoreless seventh.
Gardner led the Kentville offence with two hits, two walks and a run scored, again reaching base four times. Barrett doubled, walked, scored a run and had an RBI.
Grant Ruffinengo singled, walked and scored a run, and Mitchell Bunker and Schofield each contributed one RBI.
“Things look promising for us this year as we are carrying 17 players, a big increase from last year,” Boylen said.
To a promising core of returning players that includes Fuller, Harding, Vogler, Mike Boylen, Nick Tibert, Ethan Lycan-Lang, Gardner, Schofield, Ryan Kaulbach, Brandon Croft and Justin Beach, the Wildcats have made several key additions.
Three players – Gaskell, Barrett and Bunker – who suit up for Saint Mary’s University in season, have joined the club. Gaskell, Barrett and Ruffinengo all played for Nova Scotia at the 2013 Canada Games in Sherbrooke, Quebec.
Ryan MacDonald, who, like Gaskell, hails from Hammonds Plains, will be the primary catcher, Boylen said. Muise, a Yarmouth native who last played in Kentville in 2013, is also back and “will be a great addition.”
In addition to Fuller, Harding and Vogler, Tibert, the pitching line up also includes Schofield and Muise, as well as Barrett and Gaskell who both pitched at the Canada Games. Most are capable of playing other positions as well.
“I don’t believe we will have to worry about not having enough players,” Boylen said. “We will have lots of pitching and depth we did not have last year.”
Nova Scotia will send two teams to the junior nationals in Saskatchewan in August.
“Our goal is to be one of those two teams.”
The junior Wildcats are next in action June 7, when they host Cape Breton in a doubleheader at Memorial Park.
