Get ready to grab your peanuts and cracker jacks - first pitch of the 91大黄鸭 Falcons season is about to be thrown.

It鈥檚 been over 1,000 days since the Falcons have played at Elks Stadium due to the pandemic, and the coaching staff and players are excited to be in 91大黄鸭 for the summer.

鈥淚 think everyone is ready to go,鈥� said Assistant Coach John Noce.

The team had a workout on Wednesday with just the 13 players they had in town, seven of them just pitchers. There were 23 players at Thursday鈥檚 practice, with more expected to filter in as the season goes on.

鈥� Jordy Cunningham (@CunninghamJordy)

In the West Coast League (WCL), every team has players from many different college programs around North America from many different levels. With that, and just one practice under their belt, everyone will have to gel quickly.

鈥淲hen you don鈥檛 know anybody, how they are, how they play, you have to see it for yourself,鈥� said Noce. 鈥淓veryone has to get an opportunity to play. They鈥檝e played baseball since they were little and this is another little stepping-stone for them to get better.鈥�

Players arrive from the NCAA D1 level to the junior college level.

鈥淭he competition is going to be good, these kids are college kids all throughout,鈥� said Noce. 鈥淵ou run the gamut of what level they鈥檙e coming from.鈥�

John will be the head coach on Friday鈥檚 season and home opener. His brother Doug, the team鈥檚 head coach is scheduled to be at Saturday night鈥檚 game.

One of the Falcons players this season is 91大黄鸭鈥檚 own Jaden Parsons.

鈥淸I鈥檓] excited to be back here at beautiful Elks Stadium, excited to get going and to see the fans watching live baseball again.鈥� said Parsons.

On top of playing at Elks, the infielder is excited to be playing in front of his family again.

鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty special,鈥� said Parsons. 鈥淥ne of the main reasons I came back to play in my hometown is my family hasn鈥檛 seen me play in three years and I鈥檓 just really excited to have them actually see me play in an actual baseball game instead of a little computer screen.鈥�

Growing up in 91大黄鸭 and seeing what鈥檚 happened over the last couple years because of the pandemic, Parsons says that having the team back is great for the city.

鈥淚 think its awesome, its just another thing that 91大黄鸭 can add to the list of amenities鈥�it鈥檚 really good for the city.鈥�

鈥淗opefully the people in 91大黄鸭 are excited about it and have missed the summer ball here,鈥� said Noce. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just excited to be the first group back in a couple years.鈥�

Parsons isn鈥檛 the only hometown kid on the team as Okanagan College Coyotes outfielder Clark Swift has also joined.

鈥淚 think it鈥檚 pretty cool, it鈥檚 always nice to play for the home city,鈥� said Swift.

Coming off the Canadian College World Series title, Swift wasn鈥檛 planning on playing this summer.

鈥淚 was at work and the OC coach texted me and said they鈥檙e looking for an outfielder and I was like 鈥榶eah!,鈥� said Swift. 鈥淚t was awesome.鈥�

Since the Falcons last season, there鈥檚 been a lot of changes to the WCL. One of them is that the number of teams in B.C. has doubled from two to four. On top of 91大黄鸭 and Victoria, Kamloops and Nanaimo now have teams in the league playing in their inaugural season.

鈥淭he more Canadian teams, the better for everyone involved,鈥� said Noce. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 important to have as many teams, especially Canadians being represented, that can only build the game.鈥�

With Kamloops in the league now, will their be a new rivalry in the WCL?

鈥淲e鈥檒l have to see,鈥� said Parsons. It鈥檒l be fun to play those guys.鈥�

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jordy.cunningham@kelownacapnews.com
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