KENTVILLE, N.S. — Alex Ostrov is no stranger to swinging for the fences – on and off the field.
The veteran Kentville Wildcats infielder played his last game at Memorial Park, at least for the foreseeable future, on Labour Day weekend.
The Kentville Wildcats heralded Ostrov as a key contributor at bat, on the mound and in the infield in a recent Facebook post announcing his impending the departure.
“He posted eight wins in 2016 when the team surged from last place in 2015, to a first-place finish in 2016,” the post reads.
“Alex‘s actions on the field and in the dugout have provided an excellent example for his teammates to follow.”
As he embarks on what’s slated to be a two-year stint of working for an accounting firm in Bermuda, “Ozzy” is certain he’ll miss the Wildcats’ fans who regularly came out to root for the home team during his tenure in Kentville.
“It’s definitely special,” the 21-year-old said.
“We have, I’d say, the biggest and best crowd in the senior league.”
Ostrov, who lived in Timberlea, was among a core group of Wildcats players commuting from the Halifax area to play ball in Kentville.
“We could have probably went over to say Halifax or Dartmouth, but we had a good thing started in Kentville and the fans are great there,” he said.
“Although it’s a long drive, it’s only once or twice a week - and well worth it to be able to play with the guys that we were playing with since I started.”
Ostrov proved to be a versatile player, but he found his sweet spots on the pitching mound and at third base.
“It’s a game where you’re always in the spotlight,” he said, listing pitching, batting and fielding a ground ball as some high-pressure scenarios.
“You really have to be focused in and mentally tough, because if you get into a rut it’s easy to get down on yourself but, at the same time, you’re surrounded by 15 to 20 other guys that are going to pick you up.”
He played multiple sports growing up, yet it was baseball that always beckoned him back for more.
Ostrov jokes that even baseball banter – and chirping – serve a purpose in his favourite game.
“There’s definitely some stuff said both in the stands and in the bench, which keeps things, I’d like to say, entertaining,” he said with a laugh.
“It kind of keeps everyone off edge.”
He leaves the Wildcats with high hopes that the team will continue to see improvements under the leadership of new head coach and former player John Ansara.
“We had some new additions to the team this year… so I think adding a few key pieces really gave us some motivation to turn things around, especially after a tough season last year,” Ostrov said.
“I would like to wish the boys best of luck for the rest of the season.”
Ostrov is looking forward to getting used to the island life in sunny Bermuda. He’s been looking into relocating there for work for a number of years now.
Time will tell if Ostrov will once again don the Wildcats jersey in years to come, but he’s not ruling out the possibility.
“I hope I can go down there and use that year-round sun to strengthen my arm,” he said. “There’s not much baseball down there, so I’ll probably have to play cricket in the meantime, but hopefully I won’t come back too rusty.”
