As June approaches local baseball fans begin to think about Western Major Baseball League action.
The Yorkton Cardinals have been busy recruiting players including Kameron Mizzell and Liam Goodall.
Mizzell, 20, is a catcher born in Sylacauga. He said he is heading north to better his game as a Cardinal.
"I hope to work on the ability to be able to transition my game from hitting with aluminum to wood bats," he said. "I also hope to continue to get better behind the plate and become a better catcher."
Goodall, a returning Cardinal, was born in Nanaimo, B.C..
"I played with the Nanaimo Pirates of the BCPBL in high school," he said.
Goodall said he hopes to build on his experience in the WMBL last season.
"I played with the Cardinals last summer, and I enjoyed the level of play and the atmosphere that the WMBL presents, so I decided to come back," he said. "Also I feel that I have improved a lot since last summer and I feel that playing in Yorkton will help me continue to grow as a player.
"This summer I hope to continue to improve my all-around game in any way that I can."
For Mizzell baseball has been a long-held passion.
"I have played baseball since I was able to walk," he said. "I played baseball at B.B. Comer Memorial High School in Alabama. I was a five-year letterman and had started since the eighth grade," he explained.
And Mizzell is continuing his play as a collegian.
"I am currently a rising senior at Talladega College in Talladega, Alabama," he said. "My junior season went very well I posted a .429 batting average good enough for fifth in the country in NAIA. I had 69 hits on the season and 49 RBIs and 3 HR and 17 doubles."
Goodall too is coming off a solid season.
"I played my freshman year at Vancouver Island University. I'm now a sophomore and playing for Embry-Riddle University in Daytona Beach, FL," he said. "As a team we're currently ranked fifth in the nation for NAIA schools and are headed to the NAIA World Series in a couple weeks. I'm the starting left fielder and I'm currently hitting .255 with 1 HR, 25 RBI, and 15 stolen bases."
Mizzell said he thinks his greatest strength as a player is his approach to the game.
"I believe I'm a very good ball player and play this game with love and passion and most important respect for the game," he said. "I believe some of my strengths are the ability to get on base and drive in runs on the offensive side. On the defensive side I believe my strengths are my arm strength to throw runners out stealing bases and blocking balls in the dirt and also my knowledge of the game to make the right call when it has to be made."
Goodall said its defence first in his mind.
"As a player I'm a good defensive outfielder, with good range and a strong arm," he said. "Offensively, I'm a line-drive hitter who gets on base a lot and steals bases, and I can drive in runs if the situation calls for it."
Mizzell said he decided on the WMBL and Cardinals based on some old-fashioned word-of-mouth promotion for the league.
"Well one of my teammates played with a team up here and helped me send out emails to teams across the US and Canada. And this is one of the best leagues to play in around North America," he said.
