Two Aylmer ballplayers help Ottawa West Twins reach national Little League championship

Tashi Farmilo

Emery Tavarez and Jackson Mousseau, two 12-year-old Aylmer ballplayers, helped the Ottawa West Twins claw back from a six-run hole to beat the Ancaster Diamondbacks 7-6 on July 29 in Timmins, a comeback that captured the Ontario Little League Major title and sent the team to the Canadian championship, one step from a chance to represent Canada at the Little League World Series.

The Twins trailed 6-0 through three and a half innings before the rally began. Tavarez got them on the board with a bases-loaded single in the bottom of the third, and Mousseau struck moments later with a three-run home run that pulled the team within one at 6-5. In the bottom of the fifth, the families said, Tavarez dropped a sacrifice bunt to move the tying run into scoring position, and Mousseau singled to push that runner to third before crossing the plate himself with the winning run. Tavarez sealed it, catching the final out on a pop-up to first base.

The win made the Ottawa West Little League Major U12 Twins the new Team Ontario and booked their place at the Canadian Little League Championship in Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, which runs from August 3 to 12. The national champion advances to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

For Tavarez and Mousseau, the run traces back to Aylmer. The two came up through the Association de Baseball Amateur d'Aylmer (ABAA) from ages five to 11, representing the Outaouais region at Quebec provincial championships and taking bronze in 2024 with the U11A Aylmer Bulldogs, the families said. They joined the Ottawa West Little League Baseball Association this year and earned spots on its U12 Major all-star team in May.

The families still call Aylmer home, and fathers Henry Tavarez and Joey Mousseau have both coached in the ABAA.