submitted photo
Jake Marks of the Sarnia
Midget Braves got the news he was hoping for on Monday as Baseball
Canada announced today the final 20 - player Junior National Team roster
that will represent Canada at the IBAF 18U World Championships August
30th - September 8th in Seoul, South Korea.
Players, coaches and staff will travel to
Seoul Monday from Venice, Italy, where the team's final selection camp
and International exhibition series was held August 20th - August 26th.
Canada will open the 12 - team tournament on
August 30th against Panama at 5am ET at Mokdong Stadium in Seoul.
Canada will compete in Pool B where they
will play a round -robin schedule against Panama, Japan, Italy, Chinese
Taipei, and the Czech Republic.
Pool A consists of host South Korea,
Australia, Columbia, Netherlands, USA, and Venezuela.
At the conclusion of the 1st round, the top
3 teams in each pool will play each other in crossover games. The teams
will be seeded 1 - 6 with their 1st round record against teams in round
2 counting in the standings. Once round 2 is completed the top 2 seeds
will play for gold, while 3rd and 4th place will play for bronze and the
fifth and 6th seeds will meet in the 5th place match-up.
Canada is coming off a 4th place finish at
the 2010 IBAF 18U World Championship that was held in Thunder Bay,
Ontario. Canada's last medal at an IBAF 18U World Championship came in
2006 when a club led by Brett Lawrie ( Blue Jays ) defeated Mexico 6 - 2
to claim the bronze medal.
Marks has been told his role with the JNT
will be as a starting pitcher, or in long relief with the team. At the
conclusion of the tournament, Marks will take the 21hour trek from Seoul
via L.A. and Detroit to Orono, Maine where he will begin his college
career at the University of Maine with the Black Bears.