After a 25-year hiatus, the Canadian Amateur Baseball Central (CABC) Gold Bat Invitational Tournament is returning to Sarnia this weekend.
The tournament features 12 of the best Senior AAA teams from across the province, including some of the top clubs from the 2023 Ontario Provincial Elimination Tournament.
Teams are divided into three divisions for round-robin play.
Along with the host Sarnia Brigade, the Windsor Athletics, Leaside Leafs, Etobicoke Rangers, Windsor Stars, Brampton Royals, Ilderton Riverhawks, Thornhill Reds, Tecumseh Thunder, Burlington Brants, Oakville A's and Newmarket Hawks will also compete.
Brigade Manager James Grant said he's excited for the tournament to return.
"Obviously, the senior level in Ontario has some great baseball teams across the province," said Grant. "We were really hoping to bring back the Gold Bat Tournament after it ended with the Juvenile division being dropped by Baseball Ontario. We figured the Midget tournament wasn't going ahead this year, so why don't we bring back the Gold Bat on the 25th anniversary of the last one? The teams have all supported it."
Grant said he's confident in his squad.
"I think we've got a good chance of being competitive," he said. "You never really know once you get into the playoff rounds with so many good teams filled with pro and college players. It comes down to having a good game at the right time. I think we'll be competitive in our division and definitely our goal is to make the playoff round."
Grant said the tournament will be a good way to gauge where the club is at.
"We're going to get a really good early concept of what we're up against this year," he said. "We won in 2019, missed a couple of years due to COVID, we came back in 2022 and made the final, and we finished third last year. We're still in the mix in the province. With this tournament, we're going to see if we're still there and what we need to focus on."
The Brigade will host the Windsor Athletics at 6 p.m. on June 7 at Errol Russell Park to kick off the three-day event.
Games will also take place at Sarnia's Blackwell Park and Eric MacKenzie Field in Courtright.
Grant said if all goes well, Sarnia could play host to the event once again in the coming years.
Games that are being played at Errol Russell Park (including the playoff rounds) will be live streamed on the CABC Facebook Page all weekend.