TORONTO – The third year of a Canada-Italy bilateral, cultural-athletic program based on the love for Baseball and Softball ended with a resounding crowd pleaser, Monday, with a game between Italy’ s Ladies U-18 and their Vaughan Vikings counterpart hostesses.

The Italian side completed their tourney with a victory, thus bringing their record against Canadian U-18 sides to a favourable 4-3. Three other games against similarly competitive Canadian clubs, whose players were composed of older, more experienced female athletes, gave the Italian representatives to impress the hosts with their grit and promise.

The success of these Canada-Italy week of Baseball and softball should be seen in the fact that, yesterday, both sides signed a yearly contract to extend the experience for a further five-years.

Last year, the Boys U-18 swept the opposition on their way to the World Champions, even defeating Canada when they faced off in their division. This was the first time for the Ladies.

From the point of view of preparation, exposure to international competition and response to the pressures of playing outside the Italian peninsula, players on the U-18 were unanimous in their declaration that the tournament was a success in preparing them for their ultimate goal: to compete in the 2028 Olympics, the World Championships before that and to develop skills sufficient to attract the attention of recruiters from Division I universities in the USA.

They were grateful for the generosity of the hosts, the friendliness of their competitors and in awe at the wonders of the Greater Toronto area and Niagara Falls. On Monday, The Member of Parliament for Vaughan Woodbridge, Francesco Sorbara, presented them with a Certificate of appreciation for sharing their experience with Canada. The ladies, for their part, were amazed at the number of Canadians whose parents originated from Italy.

 Italy’s U-18 is composed of players drawn from local teams from Rome and northern regions like Emilia Romagna, Veneto, Friuli, Lombardia and Toscana. Ad maiora.