March 1, 2025

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Tis that time of the year again.

As Paul Molitor said when asked why opening day was Opening Day, “It’s why we took all those swings indoors and why we worked so hard all winter -- who knows maybe they’ll never get me out this season.”

The Langley Blaze will play eight games at major-league facilities against first and second-year pros, including the annual Wayne Norton Memorial game against Seattle Mariners farmhands. Norton (Port Moody, BC) scouted for the Mariners and was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in St. Marys in 2016.

In all, they will play 28 games over 11 days.

Major leaguers to wear the Langley uni include: Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.), Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC), Mike Soroka (Calgary, Alta.), Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), Brett Lawrie (Langley, BC), Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC), Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.), Phillipe Amount (Gatineau, Que.), Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.), Zach Pop (Brampton, Ont.), Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.), Jared Young (Prince George, BC), Jordon Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.), Jacob Robson (Windsor, Ont.), Taylor Green (Comox, BC) and Scott Mathieson (Aldergrove, BC).

Drafted and signed players include: Nathan Flewelling (Innisfail, Alta.), Kyle Bloor (Lethbridge, Alta.), Jeremy Pilon (Salaberry-De-Valleyfield, Que.), Eli Saul (Vancouver, BC), Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC), Jacob Zibin (Langley, BC), Nate Ochoa (Burlington, Ont.), David McCabe (Oshawa, Ont.), Calvin Ziegler (Heidelberg, Ont.) and Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.).

Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.), Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Jordan Marks (Bright’s Grove, Ont.), Adam Shoemaker (Cambridge, Ont.), Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC), Conor Angel (Pointe-Claire, Que.), Micah Buckham (Abbotsford, BC), Dominic Hambley (Victoria, BC), Adam McKillican (Comox, BC) and Owen Cassie (Burlington, Ont.).

Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.), Nick Trogrlic-Iverson (Oakville, Ont.), Josh Burgmann (Nanaimo, BC), Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.), Matt Lloyd (Calgary, Alta.), Antoine Jean (Montreal, Que.), Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC), Owen Diodati (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Ryan Leitch (Whitby, Ont.), Jaden Brown (Mississauga, Ont.) and Tristan Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.).

Mitch Robinson (Surrey, BC), Ben Onyshko (Winnipeg, Ont.), Will McAffer (Surrey, BC), Connor Sparks (Saskatoon, Sask.), David Rhodes (White Rock, BC), Ben Abram (Georgetown, Ont.), Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont.), Adam Hall (London, Ont.), Clayton Keyes (Okotoks, Alta.) JD Osborne (Oshawa, Ont.) and Jason Willow (Victoria, BC).

Dondrae Bremmer (Toronto, Ont.), Rhys Cratty (Surrey, BC), Andrew Yerzy (North York, Ont.), Daniel Pinero (Toronto, Ont.), Alex Webb (Surrey, BC), Jacob Polancic (Langley, BC), Louis Phillipe Pelletier (Montreal, Que.), Matt Jones (Whitby, Ont.), Will Sierra (Montreal, Que.) and Tyler Duncan (Sooke, BC).

Tristan Clarke (Brampton, Ont.), Brayden Bouchey (Vancouver, BC), Carter Loewen (Abbotsford, BC), J.D. Williams (Brampton, Ont.), Darren Shred (Brampton, Ont.), Marc-Andre Berube (Trois-Pistoles, Que.), Owen Spiwak (Mississauga, Ont.), Devon Stewart (Maple Ridge, BC), Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) and Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, Ont.).

Miles Gordon (Oakville, Ont.), Jeff Degano (Surrey, BC), Robert Byckowski (Georgetown, Ont.), Kurtis Horne (Sooke, BC), Austen Swift (Etobicoke, Ont.), Julian Service (Whitby, Ont.), Cody Chartrand (Nanaimo, BC), Brock Dykxhoorn (Goderich, Ont.), Gareth Morgan (North York, Ont.) and Malik Collymore (Mississauga, Ont.).

Travis Seabrooke (Peterborough, Ont.), Lachlan Fontaine (North Vancouver, BC), Morgan Lofstrom (Nelson, BC), Kurtis Kostuk (Abbotsford, BC), Dylan Brooks (Dorchester, Ont.), David Otterman (Coquitlam, BC), Jeff Gibbs (Toronto, Ont.), Shane Dawson (Drayton Valley, Alta.), Dayton Dawe (London, Ont.) and Johnny Caputo (Etobicoke, Ont.).

Eric Wood (Pickering, Ont.), Keaton Briscoe (North Vancouver, BC), Fernando Fernandez (Chateauguay, Que.), Logan Seifrit (Edmonton, Alta.), Damion Smith (Windsor, Ont.), Tom Robson (Richmond, BC), Dustin Houle (Penticton, BC), Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC), Vaughn Covington (Burnaby, BC) and Chase Larsson (Vancouver, BC).

Nic Cuckovic (Victoria, BC), Jesen Dygestile-Therrien (Montreal, Que.), Ethan Elias (Saskatoon, Sask.), Justin Atkinson (Surrey, BC), Carter Bell (Courtney, BC), Dustin Hayes (Langley, BC), Ben Dartnell (East St. Paul, Man.), Skylar Janisse (Windsor, Ont.), Cory Scammell (Edmonton, Alta.) and Leslie Williams (Toronto, Ont.).

Jalen Harris (Toronto, Ont.), Eric Brown (Thunder Bay, Ont.), Jake Eliopoulos (Newmarket, Ont.), Marcus Knecht (North York, Ont.), Joel Pierce (Windsor, Ont.), Steve McKinnon (Duncan, BC), Brandon Dailey (Brantford, Ont.), Mark Hardy (Campbell River, BC), Mike Ellis (Surrey, BC) and Ethan Stewart (Campbell River, BC).

Bryan Arthur (Abbotsford, BC), Kelly Norris-Jones (Victoria, BC), Wes Darvill (Richmond, BC), Chad Stang (Surrey, BC), David Narodowski (Calgary, Alta.), Jon Hesketh (Surrey, BC), Terrence Dayleg (Burnaby, BC), Mike Monster (Kelowna, BC), Colin Kleven (Kamloops, BC) and David Kington (Coquitlam, BC).

Bobby Wagner (Port Coquitlam, BC), Paul Barton (Qualicum Beach, BC), Rory Young (Chase, BC), Brooklyn Foster (Langley, BC), Andrew Ruck (Whitby, Ont.), Stosh Wawrzasek (Burnaby, BC), Michael Crouse (New Westminster, BC), Mitchell Delaney (LaSalle, Ont.), Michael Gosse (Pitt Meadows, BC) and Justin Betts-Robinson (Langley, BC).

Kyle Lotzkar (Delta, BC), Mitch Hodge (Vancouver, BC), Evan Hildenbrandt (Surrey, BC), Colin Buckborough (Niagara Falls, Ont.), Henry Mabee (Surrey, BC), Travis Nevakshonoff (Langley, BC), Ryan Jensen (North Vancouver, BC), Cody Phipps (Round Hill, Alta.), Kyle Haas (Prince George, BC) and Kyle Orr (New Westminster, BC).

Jon Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.), Shayne Willson (Surrey, BC), Tyson Gillies (Langley, BC), Jordan Lennerton (Langley, BC), Denver Wynn (Kamloops, BC), Paul Wourms (Kamloops, BC), Phillipe-Alexan Valiquette (Montreal, Que.), Adam Parliament (Penticton, BC), Morgan Brinson (Victoria, BC) and Chris Lemay (Winnipeg, Man.).

Louis Metzner (Langley, BC), Jared Johnson (Kelowna, BC), Lyall Foran (Delta, BC), Tyler Williams (Delta, BC), Evan Bailey (Kamloops, BC), Ryan Lennerton (Langley, BC), Cooper Davis (Mississauga, Ont.), Jonah Tong (Toronto, Ont.) and Dylan O’Rae (Sarnia, Ont.).

Schedule

March 15 _ 11 AM, Kansas City Royals Surprise

March 16 _ Noon, Williston State (DH), Kino Sports Complex, Tuscon

March 17 _ 9 AM, Park University, Arizona Athletic Grounds

_ 2 PM. Central Arizona Community College, Coolidge, Az.

Mark 18 _ 9 AM, Park University, Arizona Athletic Grounds

_ 3 PM. Yavapai Comminuty College

March 19 _ Noon, Milwaukee Brewers, American Family Fields

_ 8 PM, ACU at Arizona Athletic Grounds

March 20 _ Noon, Athletics, Lew Wolff Complex

_ Noon, Eastern Arizona Community College (DH), Thatcher, Az

_ 1 PM, San Diego Padres, Peoria Sports Complex

March 21 _ 10 AM, Webber Academy Wildcats, Kino Sports Complex, Tuscon

_ 1 PM, HR Sports, Kino Sports Complex, Tuscon

_ 1 PM, Arizona Christain, Glendale HS

_ 8 PM, PGS, Golden Eagle Park

March 22 _ Noon, Canadian Premier League, American Family Fields

_ 6 PM, PGS, Golden Eagle Park

March 23 _ Noon, Milwaukee Brewers, American Family Fields

_ 1 PM, Seattle Mariners, annual Wayne Norton game, American Family Fields

March 24 _ 1 PM, Chicago Cubs, Sloan Park

_ 3 PM, Gateway College, Gene Autry Complex

_ 6 PM, Phoenix College, Phoenix College

March 25 _ 11 AM, Cincinnati Reds, Goodyear Sports Complex

_ Noon, Cochise College, Douglas, Az.

_ 3 PM, Cochise College, Douglas, Az.