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The Medicine Hat Mavericks will send six players to the WCBL all-star game Saturday at Okotoks, with pitcher Jack Novak, third baseman Tyler Vanneste, catcher Nick Thibodeau, outfielder Jordan Phillips, pitcher Jacob Petersheim and infielder Marshall Burke representing the red and white.
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Medicine Hat Mavericks fans will have a lot to follow at the WCBL’s all-star game this weekend.
The Mavs are sending six all-stars to the summer classic hosted in Okotoks for the third-straight year, with pitchers Jacob Petersheim and Jack Novak, infielders Marshall Burke and Tyler Vanneste, catcher Nick Thibodeau and outfielder Jordan Phillips all receiving the nod to represent the Mavs and the WCBL’s East division.
All six say it’s an honour to be selected and are looking forward to the event.
“It’s great being able to represent the team is awesome,” Petersheim said. “I’m new here in the league, so it’s great to just kind of come into the league and be selected to be a representative.”
Petersheim is going alongside Colorado State University Pueblo teammate and fellow pitcher Novak, an opportunity both are excited by.
“We have a lot of fun together and it’s great to have lots of success together, it’s nice having something to share,” Petersheim said.
Four of the Mavs, Petersheim, Novak, Thibodeau and Burke received the all-star selection in their first WCBL season. Vanneste is in his third season in the league, getting his first all-star nod and Phillips is heading to his second all-star game in his second season in the league.
“It’s good, just shows how hard I’ve been working and just improving every year,” Vanneste said. “It’s nice to get that recognition, go out there and just have some fun for a weekend.”
Phillips is looking forward to sharing the experience with his teammates who haven’t been there yet.
“It’s a fun time out there, I’m excited for the guys that are coming with me to experience, it’s a good time,” Phillips said.
For Thibodeau and Burke, neither had an all-star nomination as a goal for the season but appreciate the recognition and both have enjoyed the success they’ve had so far.
“It’s my first year of summer league and I have a lot of confidence in myself and I really work really hard,” Burke said. “So to get an award like that, it’s pretty cool. This is my first time in Canada and I’ve been living the dream. Getting the accolade is something that adds to it.”
“It means a lot just because we have six good players on the team going into the all-star game but there’s easily three to five more, even the whole team, who could have gone,” Thibodeau said. “It just means a lot having people on the team that close to being picked for the all star team and just shows how good of a team that we really are.”
The players will be joined by three of the Mavs’ coaches, with assistants Cody Henderson and Tory Nelson making their first appearances and head coach Kevin Mitchell heading to the all-star game for the second time.
Mitchell was on the East division staff last year and is at the helm for this year’s game with the Mavs making it to the league finals last season. He’s looking forward to sharing the experience with the players and his fellow coaches.
“Last year was so much fun, I had my fun with the players that we took last year and it will be really cool to share it with Cody and Tory for a lot of reasons,” Mitchell said. “The three of us are very close, we spend a lot of time together as it is, talking about baseball and everything, so to get up there and get to share it with them, it’s pretty special.
“I won’t say it’s a once in a lifetime thing, because I’m doing it twice in two summers, but it’s a really cool event. It’s a really cool day, I’m excited to have that time.”
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