Scott Goosney has just one provincial senior A baseball title to his credit despite playing with a handful of teams over the years.
He wants another and knows he will have to beat some of his best friends to make it happen.
Bring it on, he says.
Goosney, a Pasadena native who now lives in St. John’s, won his first provincial senior A baseball crown last summer with the Corner Brook Barons. The Barons beat the Capitals in last year’s final to claim its first title in 14 years.
He was only too happy to help the Barons end the drought.
It’s going to be a whole different story this summer, because Goosney is one of the big arms the Capitals will be counting on when the townies tangle with the Barons for the provincial crown in a couple weeks.
The 27-year-old pitcher, who has also suited up for the Grand Falls-Windsor Beothucks on previous occasions, got the nod as the top pitcher of the provincial senior B baseball championship Sunday after leading the Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the Beothucks.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Goosney said. “I got a lot of buddies on the Barons and there’s a couple of guys on Pasadena playing with them this year too.”
The right-hander got the win, spinning a six-hitter over seven innings in his only appearance in the B tournament, which also featured the host Mount Pearl Blazers.
The Capitals went 4-0 in the double round-robin affair. Both the Beothucks and Blazers had identical 1-3 records, but the central squad got the nod to play the Caps because they allowed the fewest runs against in their games against the Blazers. Those teams split their two meetings, an 8-6 win for the Blazers and a 9-4 decision for the Beothucks.
Goosney’s teammate with the Shamrocks, Dave Penney, will be playing with the Barons in the A final, while former pesky Pirates teammate Greg Whelan is also expected to suit up for the defending champions.
Goosney admits there’s always some joking amongst the guys when it comes to competing on the diamond. But, with a few of his buddies standing in the way of back-to-back championships, he’s focused on playing the game like he’s always done.
“I’m looking forward to getting to face Dave and Greg, big time,” he said. “I really don’t want to give up a hit to either one of those guys.”
He had the option of returning to the Barons, but opted to put on the Capitals jersey after spending the summer helping the Shamrocks to an 8-2 record in the early going in the St. John’s setup. He enjoyed playing a full season in the capital city and looks forward to seeing both sides of the rivalry.
“You really get to see both sides of it now, so it’s going to be a different weekend,” he said.
Goosney knows the Barons will be a young squad with speed to burn with guys like Jay Warford on the basepaths, but he believes the Capitals have a deep team with a sprinkle of seasoned veterans and young guns looking to make a statement.
“There’s a lot of experience there so it makes a big difference,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who have been there before, and when the pressure is on they don’t really get fazed.”
The best-of-seven final gets underway Aug. 1 with three games at the home of the Caps. The final four games — the latter three if necessary — will take place at Jubilee Field starting Aug. 8.
Whether the series opens at St. Pat’s Ball Park or Smallwood Park in Mount Pearl is uncertain. That’s because the old ball park on Carpasian Road is undergoing an extensive facelift for the Canadian senior baseball championship, which starts Aug. 20 in St. John’s and might not be ready in just under two weeks’ time.
