Bolton Brewers’ Chater, Sterritt, and Larmer win major awards at NDBL’s Annual Awards Night

March 13, 2025 · 0 Comments

By Jim Stewart

The convergence this weekend of daylight savings time, double-digit temperatures, sunny conditions, and maple sap running through blue lines strung across Central Ontario suggested that Spring is just around the corner. The North Dufferin Baseball League distilled the celebratory spirit of the emerging season by recognizing the outstanding accomplishments in 2024 at its Annual Awards presentation on Sunday at the Royal Canadian Legion in Lisle.

Two prodigious Brewer hitters—Brett Chater and Ben Sterritt—won multiple awards after catalyzing the high-octane Bolton offence last season.

The Brewers plated 211 runs in 24 games. Chater and Sterritt produced a significant portion of those runs, provided a 1-2 spark atop the batting order, and impelled the 19-5-0 Brewers to the NDBL pennant.

Chater was named the MVP of the Senior Division and led the circuit with 36 runs scored.

Bolton Brewers’ Head Coach and Second Baseman Mike Wallace appraised the qualities of his veteran shortstop and lead-off hitter.

“Brett is one of the better ballplayers I have coached and played with. He earned the MVP award this past season. He was tremendous offensively and defensively. His great speed makes him a constant threat on the basepaths. He has that ‘Die Hard’ spirit as a competitor who demonstrates great athleticism but Brett shows great respect towards the opposing team.”

Sterritt was recognized as the Senior Division’s Best Batter with a gaudy .548 average as well as the Best On-Base Percentage (.667). Coach Wallace appraised his young centerfielder’s 2024 performance: “For a young ballplayer, he’s light years ahead of others his age.”

“Usually the younger players suffer a setback in their first season in Senior, but Ben’s transition to the next level of baseball was a good one. He’s calm and collected at the plate, I never saw him strike out on a bad pitch, and Ben has a good swing that generates contact.”

Despite the stellar achievements of Chater and Sterritt, Sunday’s ceremony belonged to Jack Larmer of the Barrie Junior Baycats.

Larmer, who also played a handful of Senior Division games with the Bolton Brewers in 2024, won four of the Junior Division’s awards, including Most Valuable Player. Larmer compiled the best Batting Average (.556), best On-Base Percentage (.647), and most Home Runs (7) – the highest total slugged since 2006.

The hard-hitting corner infielder will begin his NDBL senior career on a full-time basis with Chater, Sterritt, and the Brewers in 2025 to create a triple threat at the top of Bolton’s offense.

Coach Wallace discussed the top third of his batting lineup that will feature the 2024 Senior Division MVP, the 2024 Senior Batting Crown Winner, and the 2024 Junior Division MVP: “We’re really fortunate to have the option of Chater, Sterritt, and Larmer hitting 1-2-3 for us for the upcoming season. Jack will be joining us full-time in 2025 after playing very well for us over the course of a few games last season.”

In addition to Chater, Sterritt, and Larmer, the North Dufferin Baseball League recognized an array of players and teams in both the Senior and Junior divisions on Sunday night.

In the Senior Division, Bryan Post of the 2024 champion Owen Sound Baysox won his second consecutive Home Run title with seven homers while his teammate Trevor Smith was named Best Pitcher.

Their coaches, the father-son duo of Don and Ryan Bartley, won the Coach of the Year award.

Brett Beardsall of the Orillia Majors was voted Best Catcher and the Most Sportsmanlike award went to Emerson Pendleton of the Mansfield Cubs.

Former NJCAA Genesee Community College Cougar Josh McBride of the Creemore Padres received the Best Pitcher award in the Junior Division and his teammate Anson Dupuis was voted the Most Sportsmanlike player.

A highlight of the event was the presentation of the prestigious President’s Award to Pete Kinghan for his years of service and dedication to baseball in the NDBL. Kinghan’s remarkable career includes coaching the Creemore Junior Braves, the Creemore Braves’ senior team, and the New Lowell Knights.

Over the course of forty years, he has won seventeen league championships, three provincial titles, and served twenty-four years as league statistician with two stints as president in 2003 and 2014.

Kinghan is the eleventh person to receive such an award since it was created in 1984.

NDBL Past President Chris Fafalios amplified Kinghan’s significant contributions to the league: “As a player and a coach, Jack’s won an incredible number of championships. He’s always coached so well—the right way always. He’s a really good person, too. Jack’s dedicated his life to the North Dufferin Baseball League.”

After the awards, team representatives and the league’s administrators planned the 2025 season. A 22-game schedule for the twelve Senior teams is in the process of approval. The Senior loop expanded to twelve teams over the Winter when the expansion Caledon Cardinals were welcomed into the NDBL.