Blaze Repeat as BCs Best Champs!

Langley Blaze have repeated as BCs Best champions with a 5-0 win over the Nanaimo Pirates. The Blaze have won this annual May long weekend tournament in Parksville, 5 of the last 8 years! See tournment pictures and scores.

May 16-19, 2008, Parksville, B.C.

Update - May 5 2008
The Quality Foods Royals have attracted international competition to the BC’s Best tournament in Parksville, May 16 – 19th by adding a team from France. The 18 players coming to Vancouver Island play out of two baseball academies located in the cities of Toulouse and Rouen and are potential prospects for France’s Junior National team. Toulouse is a city in the southwest of France on the banks of the Garonne River, half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, and the fifth largest city in France. Rouen is the historical capital city of Normandy, in northwestern France on the river Seine, and currently the capital of the Haute- Normandie (Upper Normandy) region.
The French team will play the feature game against the home town Royals on Friday, May 16th at 6:15pm.

The Quality Foods Royals welcome the eleven teams from the BC Premier Baseball League, and the Okotoks J Dawgs from the Calgary area to the 14th Annual BC’s BEST tournament hosted by Pro-Nine Baseballs, Prostock Athletic Supply, Dairy Queen and Quality Foods. A total of 26 games will be played over 4 days from May 16 – 19th using Serauxman Stadium in Nanaimo for 2 games on the Friday, with the balance of games to be played at Springwood Park in Parksville using the Rotary and Royals fields that are adjacent to one another. All teams will be playing 4 or 5 games with the championship game scheduled for 1:00pm on Monday.

Traditional events of this tournament will continue to include the selection of game MVPs from each team, a dinner for coaches to acknowledge all their hard work, and a pancake breakfast at the park for community members, parents, players and coaches on Sunday from 7:30 – 11:00am hosted by the local Shriner’s Club where players will be treated to breakfast.

Langley Blaze, 2007 champions, will be going after their fifth BC’s Best Championship title since joining the BCPBL in 2001 and should be challenged by the 2007 league champions, Coquitlam Reds. The island teams, Nanaimo Pirates, Victoria Mariners and the hometown Royals should be in the hunt as well. Don’t count out the Okotoks J Dawgs as they have some of the top players from Alberta penciled in on their line-up card.

The 2008 Classic will once again draw attendance from scouts representing Major League Baseball and also college scouts from the Canadian College Baseball Conference (CCBC), UBC, Washington, Mexico, Louisianna, and Texas. In 2007 MLB presence included: the MLB Scouting Bureau, Toronto Blue Jays, Cleaveland Indians, New York Mets, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins, Colorado Rockies, Anahiem Angels, Boston Red Sox, Millwalkee Brewers, San Diego Padres, and the Seattle Mariners. With the talented group of graduating players in 2008, it is likely the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Arizona Diamondbacks, and Washington Nationals will make their trek to Parksville for the 2008 classic as well, along with retired international scout, Bill Clark, formerly with the Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres.

This baseball classic will showcase almost every player from British Columbia who will be selected in the June entry draft for MLB or who will move on to play college baseball in Canada or the USA. The BC’s BEST in Parksville has been acknowledged by the baseball world as the best high school tournament in Canada. For great baseball action, join the 1000-1500 spectators who come out daily to take in some games at Springwood Park in Parksville and Serauxman Stadium in Nanaimo. Check out the schedule for game times and location at www.bcpbl.com on the tournament link.

March 18, 2008
Press Release