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GROWING COMMUNITY ONE INNING AT A TIME

About us

Chris Shepherd - Founding Director

“Chris (Sheps) brings over 16 years of experience to Slo-Pitch and over 25 years of coaching experience in both baseball and basketball. From 1994-1998 Chris was captain of the NDSS basketball team where he formed his skills, abilities and knowledge of the game which earned him a basketball scholarship to Sir Sandford Fleming college, then finishing his playing days at Loyalist College. While at Loyalist College Chris adopted the value of inclusion and began coaching all abilities students in various athletics. After post-secondary Chris added coaching OBA Warriors and U19 team Ontario for the Indigenous Games to his experience.

You may know him from coaching his men’s Dodger’s team or his co-ed Titan’s team in many competitive tournaments in southern Ontario which is where he realized the geographical slo-pitch dead-zone’s and is passionate about growing the Diamond Cup Point Series and bringing competitive softball to the Quinte area.

Scott Maracle - Director of Umpire Development and Supervision

Scott (Scooter) Maracle, born in Belleville, Ontario and growing up on the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory where his passion for baseball began! It was the game of fast pitch, following a travelling team that his father played for and at the tender age of 14, Scooter’s parents signed the waivers so he could join his father on the field in Niagara Falls for the AI AI Championships! He got in one game in 5 years, stole second base, then third and got thrown out at home, man that umpire was everything but right on the call, lol. Afterwards Scooter quit fast pitch and met a few lads playing Lob ball from there he joined a league and began playing Slo-pitch in 1985. After his first trip to Niagara Falls for slo-pitch he was hooked, it was Niagara every year from 1985-2020, he took a few years off then returned not for the game but for the friends and community. It was in Niagara Falls that both ‘Scooter’ and ‘Sheps’ won the SPN Masters Provincial Championships on the Stallions team.

With over 40 years experience playing and coaching Scooter is looking forward to begin a new chapter as the Director of Umpires for the Diamond Cup. Scooter’s love for slo-pitch umpiring is a way he feels he can give back to the people in his hometown of Belleville, Ontario.

Zoë Shepherd - Administrative Director

Zoë is thrilled to share her passion for slow pitch with you. Over the past three years she has been an integral part of the Dodger’s and Titan’s teams, handling many of the behind the scenes tasks with enthusiasm and dedication. From ordering gear, meeting with apparel companies to setting up appointments, communicating with other organizations, being a point of contact for players and filling rosters. She takes pride in ensuring everything runs smoothly. She leads the charge in understanding and implementing slow pitch game rules for various slow pitch events, including co-ordinating tournaments, scoring games and capturing memorable moments. But what truly drives her is fostering a sense of calm and unity within Chris’s teams. This year she’ll be spearheading scheduling, rules and tournament updates as well as keeping the Diamond Cup pages and rosters up-to-date. She is excited to start this new journey with the Diamond Cup Point Series.