2023-09-27

Two Bulldogs’ represent Nova Scotia at national and Atlantic tournaments

BRIDGEWATER - Two members of the Bridgewater Bulldogs 13UAA team suited up for Team Nova Scotia this past summer.

Parker MacKenzie competed at the 13U national championships held in Woodstock, Ontario in late August and Elizabeth Corkum competed in Newfoundland at the 14U girls' Atlantic baseball championship just two weeks ago and helped her team win gold Sept. 8 to 10.

Parker MacKenzie

"He follows a line of players that have represent Bridgewater at nationals and Parker has done a phenomenal job continuing that because he exemplifies what a team-mate should be. The first thing is that he leads by example and he is incredibly sportsmanlike to all of his teammates. He's always inspiring guys to be better and always pushing guys to do more," said Bulldogs' coach Dennis Woodworth.

"Every year that I've coached Parker, he's been the MVP of our team.We've had players that have had just as good as stats as he has, but he blows people away with all his intangibles."

MacKenzie, 13, played at the nationals as a pitcher, outfielder and at first base.

What did he learn from competing at the nationals?

"To stay humble and I learned you have to really adjust when you are playing at that level. Some of the stuff is similar to what we play in Bridgewater, bu the speed of the game is different," he said, adding that he also learned that you are going to fail, but it's how you "learn from that" and bounce back the next pitch, next plate appearance or an error in the field.

Team Nova Scotia finished the tournament with one win in five games.

MacKenzie has been playing baseball since he was seven years of age. He also plays hockey as well.

Elizabeth Corkum

Corkum, 13, who is the only girls on the Bulldogs' squad, played outfield, third base and first base in five games in Paradise Newfoundland. The team finished with a 4-1 record and defeated the hosts from Newfoundland 2-1 in the championship final, the team that handed Nova Scotia their only loss in the round-robin.

It was her first tournament playing with an all-girls team and she noted, "it was quite different," in a number of ways.

She learned a number of things from the experience, she said including "staying upbeat through every game, no matter what."

Coach Woodworth said that she has made a lot of improvements over the past year.

"She's come a long, long way," he said, noting that she worked very hard over the winter months which gave her an edge when she went to compete for a spot on the provincial team.

Aside from baseball in Newfoundland, she enjoyed doing some touristy things as well, like visiting Signal Hill, walking around town and enjoying an ice-cream near the ocean.

But what she loved most, was competing on the field.

This was her second Atlantic championships, last year she had also competed with the Bulldogs 11U team last year who earned a silver medal on home turf.

She has played baseball since she was four years old and stated, "I love the experience and the excitement I get in every game."

She not only plays baseball, but also enjoys playing basketball and softball for Hebbville Academy.

Atlantic championships

Both will be looking to help their team this weekend at the four-team Atlantic 13UAA tournament held Sept. 29 through to Oct. 1. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played Sept. 15 to 17, but was delayed because of post-tropical storm Lee that hit the South Shore.

The provincial champion Bulldogs will host the Nova Scotia representatives, the Tri County Rangers, in a rematch of the provincial final, in their opening game Sept. 29 at 4:30 p.m. which is followed by the opening ceremonies and the home run contest.

Satruday, Sept. 30, the Dogs will go back-to-back with games staring at 11:30 a.m. the against Gander Pilots and the Western Valley Shiretowners.