Melissa Armstrong

Biography

Melissa Armstrong first made the national team in 2007 as a relief pitcher. At the 2008 IBAF World Cup she helped Canada to its best ever finish at the global event, a silver medal. In 2012 she was part of Canada’s bronze medal team at the IBAF World Cup, rebounding from their fifth place finish in 2010. Despite those international accolades, Armstrong’s career highlight has been helping Team Alberta win the women’s national title in 2014.

PERSONAL

Family: Parents Charles and Holly Armstrong… Older sisters Andrea Gonzales, Kerri Korol, Krista Friesen…Getting into the Sport: Started playing baseball at age 4… She and her sisters played every sport they could after school and in her mid-teens baseball presented the most opportunities… Joined the national team in the summer before her senior year of high school… Outside Interests: Completed second year of PhD in South African history at Carleton University where she works as a Teaching Assistant… Earned her Masters of Arts from Oxford and her Bachelor of Arts from University of Saskatchewan… Enjoys audiobooks, going to church, reading, traveling, and coaching basketball… Affiliated with Hands at Work, a Christian home-based care organization that is involved in Southern Africa as well as Nigeria… Odds and Ends: Favourite motto: “It has been my experience that you can almost always have your cake and eat it too.” – Chuck Armstrong… Sister Andrea is her role model for reminding her that no matter where you start from, hard work can make big things happen… Pre-game routine includes 30 minutes of Rosetta Stone with teammate Becky Hartley… Always travels with her Bible and a “small library” of South African history books… Collects art and paintings from her travels…

NOTABLE INTERNATIONAL RESULTS

IBAF W Cup: 2014 – 4^th; 2012 – BRONZE; 2010 –5^th; 2008 – SILVER