Jaxon MacDonald's arm is carrying him to the 2022 Canada Summer Games. The MacGregor native has been named to Team Manitoba's U17 baseball squad for the event in Niagara, Ontario. The pitcher describes the process he went through for the opportunity to represent his province.

"Last year, during the school year, I was attending Badlands Baseball Academy in Alberta. I worked really hard there and got a lot better," MacDonald explains. "I came back and tried out. We went to Fargo for the top 40 camp, and then we went to Minneapolis for the last tryout. After that, I got the call saying I was on the team."

MacDonald says it's always been a dream of his to play for Team Manitoba and notes he was extremely excited when he received the news. The pitcher describes how his year in Alberta prepared him for a big stage like this.

"My pitching coach was amazing. I gain some velocity and good my change up and curveball working well," says MacDonald. "I learned so much from there. It was amazing."

The MacGregor product adds he's looking forward to playing against the best that the country has to offer. He says after two trips south of the border with this group, he believes those tournaments helped them gel as a team.

"We placed really well in Minneapolis, definitely higher than expected. We built a lot of team chemistry out there too, which was good," MacDonald continues. "It definitely made us more confident, getting to know each other and learn everyone's skills."

MacDonald says this will be the biggest event he's ever taken part in and notes he couldn't be more excited.

"It'll be fun to go to Niagara and to get to travel with all of the guys. There's going to be a lot of people there, the atmosphere is going to be crazy but it's going to be fun."

The Canada Summer Games begin on August 6.

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