The return of the Shiretowners
In the summer of 2023, for the first time since he was yea-high, Cooper Jones didn’t spend his summer months playing baseball.
When the calendar turned to September, Jones missed the game enough to make a few phone calls to several leagues within the province to look ahead to summer 2024. One of those calls was to the Fredericton Intermediate Baseball League. Jones’ call was well received, offering an opportunity to reignite Intermediate level baseball at Dale Allen Field in Connell Park.
Jones also contacted the most recent intermediate team player/coach, Brady Giberson.
“For some advice, information and to go over some dos and don’ts,” said Jones.
Fast forward to spring and the very first on-field tryouts.
“I’d been working the phones, reaching out to most of the guys I’d played with through minor ball. At that stage of the spring my goal was to be sure we had players to not just field a team but to be competitive,” Jones explained.
However, the actual numbers from the first practices were less than Jones had hoped, and they were inconsistent.
“It was to the point that I questioned whether we could field a team,” Jones recalls. The date arrived that the league registration fee was due to be paid. It was do or die. I had thoughts of not moving forward but eventually said let’s make this happen!”
In true Jones fashion, Jones continued recruiting after on-field workouts began. Will Boomer was using his social media savvy to garner interest.
“There’s a core of us who’d been together for years, myself, like Kaden Graham, Kyle Gallagher, Isaac Sparrow and Andrew Pirie. But then, guys like Russell McLellan, and David MacDonald came out and suddenly what started out as 7 or 8 turned into about 15-16 players,” a relieved Jones pointed out.
In addition, like a gift to reward their hard work to this point, new players set foot on the field. Eventual team MVP Dave Dupuis was a pleasant surprise.
“He contacted us,” Jones said. “So, suddenly, our left side of the infield was settled with Russell at SS and Dupuis at 3rd base. Ryan Morneau and Luke Doucette committed to play, and after a game or two, Andrew Pirie decided to play.”
Morneau and Doucette helped to settle the pitching staff. Doucette would become the team’s Pitcher of the Year. Further, Jones calls Pirie the best hitter he’d ever played with. Pirie would become the team’s ‘Offensive Player of the Year.’
As the season charged on, the team performed well, ending the regular season in second place. Will Boomer acted as Jones’s bench coach and social media guru.
“He was phenomenal,” Jones stated matter-of-factly.
“Jordan Currie took charge of in-game announcing, which is so important for the fan’s enjoyment of a game,” he added. As for fans, what began as 100 to 200 watching games early in the season became 300, 400, even reaching up to 500 at crunch time.
In playoffs, ‘the team that almost never happened’ kept up the momentum with a strong second half to sweep the Orioles in round one. The Shires upset the perennial champion Expos squad in the league final.
“They’d won the league championship so many years in a row. But we got some timely hitting and solid pitching and defence to win, “Jones says.
Both the Expos and Shiretowners earned berths into the Provincial tournament in Saint John. Others fighting for the provincial title included Dieppe, Newcastle, Tracadie and the host Kennebacasis squad.
Rain wreaked havoc on the tournament schedule that began on Sept. 13, forcing organizers to reschedule games for the following week.
However, by then, the Shires had sat winless with two losses. Dieppe would win the provincial title one week later.
“Our normally solid defence wasn’t there for us and our pitching wasn’t effective, “Jones laments. “We were in each game but couldn’t pull through with wins.” Not immune to criticism, the lefty Jones, in fact, had started game one.
Rounding out the end-of-season awards were David MacDonald as Most Improved Player, Isaac Sparrow and Pirie shared Defensive Player of the Year honours, Devon Grant was Rookie of the Year, and Kaden Graham was Utility Player of the Year.
“Without the corporate support from the community and the fans, there’s no way this team happens,” Jones states.
Looking ahead, Jones, Boomer and company plan to initiate special “corporate packages” for local businesses.
“On the field, our goal is to become more competitive each season over the next three to five years. We’d like to host provincials at some point. Long-term, senior baseball would be our ultimate goal in, say, five years”, Jones confirms.
Revenue is generated when the team gets more business support and fan interest grows. That revenue will help the team and the community.
“We’d like to improve the dugouts, the scoreboard, and sound system and perhaps upgrade the lights. All would greatly improve the fan experience,” explained Jones.
“We’d like to grow a team which young ball players can strive to be a part of when they graduate from minor baseball.”
The Shiretowners have returned.
