Titans Gearing Up for Mini Spring Training Weekend April 10-13 at Genesee CC in Batavia, New York
All six Titans teams will be rolling down the QEW for a Mini Spring Training Weekend on April 10, 11, 12, and 13 at Genesee Community College in Batavia, NY. As Titans’ GM Adam Stevenson noted, “This event is mandatory for all players in the organization and will be a great opportunity for skill development, team bonding, and exposure to a collegiate environment.”
The six squads are getting set for the Canadian Premier Baseball League’s Opening Day Weekend on May 3 and 4. The thirteen-team league—regarded as the top youth baseball loop in the province -- stretches from Windsor to Ottawa and includes two franchises located in the nation’s capital-- Watson Elite and the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians—as well as one in Quebec: Academie de Baseball Canada. ABC’s 17U CPBL squad went undefeated in 2024 and won the league championship.
To prepare all six clubs for the strong CPBL competition and get an early start on Spring, Titans 17U Head Coach and Genesee Cougars Coach Denis Bailey is looking forward to putting the organization’s players through their paces at his NJCAA baseball club’s facilities in Batavia, NY: “It’ll be great to get all the guys on the field outside. It shows us that the summer is approaching soon and we need to get ready. It’s important for our outfielders to track fly balls after being indoors for months and for our hitters to get the feel of hitting live pitching. We don’t want to overwork the players, though, since we have to remember this is day one of outside training for them.”
In addition to the on-field workouts, Coach Bailey is pleased that the Titans players will get a chance to interact with Genesee’s players, some of which are graduates of the CPBL and the Titans program: “The beauty of this weekend program is that the Titans’ 13U, 14U, and 15U players will be able to watch our NJCAA game when we play Monroe College on Thursday. The 16U, 17U, and 18U Titans can watch our doubleheader when we host Finger Lakes on Sunday. The Cougars will be taking BP on Friday and Saturday between their home games on Thursday and Sunday so the Titans players can see first-hand what a College practice is like. The boys will get first-hand experience and have the opportunity to talk to our players about College baseball.”
Bailey reveled in the fact that the Cougars are having a good season and some former Titans are figuring prominently in recent wins by Genesee: “We walked off Onondaga in Game 1 of a doubleheader and former Titan centerfielder Tarek Emara hit a two-run bomb in the second game. Tarek is hitting above .400 and is tied for first on the team in home runs.”
Coach Bailey also noted that “former Titan pitcher Jaxon Lehr beat the #10-ranked team in the nation—Oakton CC—when we opened up a series in Florida. Jaxon and Tarek are having great seasons for us. We’ve been playing games since February 22 when we opened the season in New Jersey. We’re twenty games in at this point.”
The Cougars will host the 13U, 14U, and 15U Titans on-field on Friday and Saturday.
- Thursday: Attend NJCAA game - Monroe College at Genesee CC
- Friday: Full-day training
- Saturday Morning: Training session
After the younger teams depart, the 16U, 17U, and 18U Teams will go through practices at the Cougars’ facility on Saturday and Sunday.
- Saturday: Training (Day & Evening)
- Sunday Morning: Training session
- Sunday Afternoon: Attend NJCAA game - Finger Lakes CC at Genesee CC
In addition to both groups having the opportunity to watch a college game and experience the atmosphere of collegiate baseball, Titans players will also participate in a campus tour during their time at the facility.
Stevenson stressed the importance of the Titans’ Mini Spring Training at Genesee: “This is an exciting opportunity for our players to train, get ready for the season start in May, and experience a college baseball setting firsthand.”