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Jon Kuiperij Sports Editor sports@oakvillebeaver.com Sports 27 | Friday, July 10, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com "Connected to your Community" Veteran slugger excited to make Pan Am debut by Jon Kuiperij Beaver Sports Editor Some of the pitches are thrown just as hard as a major league fastball. They dip, veer sideways or even rise. If only they were thrown overhanded from 60 feet away, not underhanded from 43, Steve Mullaley might have played ball for a living. "I don't really think about that, to be honest with you," says the 31-year-old Oakville resident, a regional sales manager for FirstOntario Credit Union. "I've just really focused on seeing how far I could take the game of softball." And Mullaley continues to take it to new heights. Sunday in Saskatoon, the nine-year Canadian men's national team veteran clubbed three home runs -- including a grand slam -- and drove in seven runs as Canada won its first-ever world men's softball title with a 10-5 victory over defending champion New Zealand. Mullaley, a former outfielder who now plays first base, batted .500 (7 for 14) with four homers and 11 RBI in four playoff games at the tournament. "When Steve Mullaley is on fire like he was, there is no better hitter in the world," Canada head coach John Stuart told the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix newspaper. Mullaley will now shift his focus to another first -- his first appearance in the Pan Am Games. Mullaley helped Canada win a Pan American championship in 2012 (when he hit three home runs and drove in eight) but men's softball has not been contested in the Pan Am Games since 2003. "From a softball perspective, (the Pan Am Games) are Steve Mullaley (right) high-fives a Canadian teammate during last week's ISF world men's softball championships in Saskatoon. Mullaley hit three home runs and drove in seven in Sunday's final as Canada defeated New Zealand 10-5 to win its first-ever world title. | photo courtesy of Softball Canada the same tournament (as the Pan Am championships). But it's an incredible opportunity," says Mullaley. "We're all excited to be part of the bigger Team Canada." Newfoundland a softball hotbed Mullaley grew up in Freshwater, Nfld., a small fishing settlement located near the eastern-most tip of Canada. Softball wasn't an alternative to baseball, it was the only choice. "We didn't even have baseball fields. It was all softball," recalls Mullaley. It explains why five members of the men's national team are from Newfoundland, and why 3 Cheers Pub -- Mullaley's former club team, which is based out of St. John's -- won three consecutive Canadian senior men's titles from 2012-14. Mullaley, who moved to Oakville several years ago and says the town has "an east-coast feel to it, the people are great," still prefers softball over baseball. "We play seven innings and the games are one-and-ahalf to two hours. And we don't have pickoffs. I know it's really difficult to hit breaking balls and sliders in baseball. But to hit a softball at this level, it's really difficult as well. I really enjoy it," he says. "It's not as mainstream as baseball. It's not played in as many countries, but when you come to this side of the world, especially in the Americas, there's a lot of softball in Canada and the U.S. and Latin America. "We're happy to see it back (in the Pan Am Games)." Pan Am Games men's softball will be contested in Ajax. Canada will play its first game Sunday (July 12) against Mexico, and the medal games are slated for July 18. Pan Am schedule for Oakville's athletes Oakville is heavily represented at the Pan Am Games, which got underway earlier this week and conclude July 26. Competition venues are spread out across the Greater Toronto Area and beyond, ranging from Welland to Barrie and Hamilton to Oshawa. Here's where and when you can see our local athletes in action: Sprint canoe/kayak (Welland) (Local athletes: Adam van Koeverden, Mark Oldershaw, Brady Reardon and Kathleen Carole Fraser) · Saturday, July 11 (9 a.m.): Adam van Koeverden and Mark Oldershaw will race in heats and semifinals. Van Koeverden, whose four Olympic medals are the most among Canadian paddlers, will compete in the men's K-1 1,000m. Oldershaw, a bronze medallist at the 2012 Olympics and a third-generation Olympian, will compete in the men's C-1 1,000m. Kathleen Carole Fraser, who lives in Oakville, will compete in the women's K-4 500m final. · Sunday, July 12 (9 a.m.): Brady Reardon will compete in the men's K-4 1,000m final. · Monday, July 13 (9 a.m.): Finals of the men's K-1 1,000m (van Koeverden's event) and men's C-1 1,000m (Oldershaw's event) Triathlon (Toronto) (Local athlete: Kyle Jones) · Sunday, July 12 (8:30 a.m.): Men's triathlon final Women's soccer (Hamilton) (Local athlete: Kinley McNicoll) · Saturday, July 11 (6 p.m.): Canada plays Ecuador, following game between Costa Rica/Brazil · Wednesday, July 15 (5:30 p.m.): Canada plays Costa Rica, following game between Brazil/Ecuador · Sunday, July 19 (5:30 p.m.): Canada plays Brazil, following game between Ecuador/Costa Rica · Wednesday, July 22 (5:30 p.m.): Semifinals · Friday, July 24 (8:30 p.m.): Bronze-medal Burloak Canoe Club paddlers (from left) Brady Reardon, Mark Oldershaw and Adam van Koeverden, pictured during the club's Pan Am Games sendoff Sunday in Oakville, will compete in the Games this weekend in Welland. | photo by Graham Paine -- Oakville Beaver -- @Halton_Photog see Oakville on p.28