Yorkregion.com - Sports - World championship for Stouffville softball star

World championship for Stouffville softball star

Mike Hayakawa
Published on Aug 28, 2008

Evan Boyd has been on softball teams that won provincial and national championships.

Now, the 30-year-old Stouffville resident can add a world title to his resume.

At the recent International Softball Congress championships in Kimberly, Wisc., Boyd was part of the Kitchener Hallman Twins team that claimed this year’s championship.

They went undefeated in the 32-team double knockout competition that was capped off with a 6-3 victory over Aspen Interiors from Saskatoon in the final.

“It was pretty exciting,” Boyd said. “With my skill level, this (the ISC) is it. This is the top. This event has guys from all over the world who play in it. There’s a lot of guys who are playing who are in their 40s and they’re still trying to win an ISC title.”

It was Boyd’s sixth appearance in the tournament. He played in five of the Twins’ six games and was utilized as a designated hitter.

In the final, he made one appearance at the plate and drew a walk.

Entering the tournament, with the Twins ranked fourth, Boyd felt his club had a legitimate chance at winning the title.

The key, he felt, came in their third game when they mercied the top-seeded New York Patseys 7-0.

Just one week earlier at the American National Championships, the Patseys defeated the Twins 2-1.

“Once we went through them (the Patseys) we had a good idea we could win it,” said Boyd.

Timely hits were the key. Especially in their semifinal  against Aspen Interiors in which the Twins emerged with a 10-9 win in 13 innings.

Also a second baseman with Aurora Shoeless Joe’s in the Oshawa City and District Fastball League, Boyd hopes he can remain with the Twins next season when they defend their world title in Sioux City, Iowa.

“They have a lot of guys returning. But you never know because in this game a lot of players move around to other teams,” he said.

Boyd won a Canadian midget and Canada Summer Games titles in 1997 and a junior Canadian title in 2001. He was also part of a team that won a senior national title in 2003.