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Victoria's Hodges on Junior National Team

Victoria native Jesse Hodges is 8,206.05 kilometres from home playing the sport he loves, proudly wearing the Maple Leaf.

Hodges is in Seoul, South Korea as BC’s only member of Team Canada’s Junior National Team.

The club is preparing for the IBAF 18U World Championship which begins on Thursday with a tilt against Panama. The game is scheduled for 2:00am PST.

Canada will compete in Pool B where they will play a round-robin schedule against Panama, Japan, Italy, Chinese Taipei and the Czech Republic.

Pool A consists of host South Korea, Australia, Colombia, Netherlands, USA and Venezuela.

Hodges, 18, will graduate from Lambrick High School in Victoria this year.  He plays with the Victoria Mariners of the BCPBL.  This year the infielder hit .341 in 37 games, compiling eight doubles, two homeruns and 33 RBIs. 

The 6’1, 210 pound right hander also pitched for the Mariners.  He would finish 4-2 with a 2.55 ERA, striking out 28 in 24.2 innings.

At the conclusion of the first round of the tournament, the top three records in each pool will play each other in crossover games. The teams will be seeded one to six with their first round record against teams also in round two counting in the standings.

Once round two is completed the top two seeds will play for gold, while third and fourth place will play for bronze and the fifth and sixth seeds will meet in the fifth place match-up.

The selection process for the Junior National Team began in March in St. Petersburg, Florida where the club held a 10-day camp which included daily practices and exhibition games.

Subsequent camps were held in Orlando, Florida in April and the Dominican Republic in May while, the team’s final selection camp was recently held in Toronto and Ronchi dei Legionari, Italy.

You can follow Hodges the tournament HERE

Photo courtesy of Baseball Canada

Story courtesy of Ryan Watters - Baseball BC Media