It was a historic day for the Ottawa West Twins Baseball team, but destiny was not on their side as the team of 11- and 12-year-olds came up just short of qualifying for this year’s Little League World Series. Ottawa’s team was representing Ontario in the country’s youth national baseball championship game, played in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia. The Twins faced off against the Little Mountain Little League team representing British Columbia. The game was scoreless heading into extra innings when the team from B.C. exploded for four runs in the top of the eighth inning to win the game and represent Canada at the pinnacle of youth baseball. “Really feel for the team right now after a tough, tough, tough loss and a great game by both teams,” said Mark Kuske, a coach with the Twins baseball organization. Coaches and supporters gathered Wednesday at the Ottawa Nepean Canadians Sports Club for a watch party. Craig Alain, who last year coached the kids playing in Wednesday’s game, says this is the furthest any team in the Ottawa West organization has gone. “It was right there in the 7th,” Alain said, pondering what could have been with a different outcome. “If they’d won that, they’d be off to Williamsport, down going down to Pennsylvania. They represented Team Canada.” The journey itself is still an achievement for youth baseball in Ottawa. Kuske says that baseball mirrors life in many ways, and while these kids may carry heartbreak with them for some time, the experience will still benefit them greatly. “We were so close and they’ll get over it, but it’ll take some time. However, they take away from this experience and once they can sit back and kind of really digest everything that’s happened, it’s really going to make them stronger individuals because life is full of defeat.” “In baseball, you fail more than you succeed. So that kind of helps them in anything in life.” The 2026 Little League World Series takes place in Williamsport, Pennsylvania Aug. 19 to Aug. 30.
