Over the weekend, there were three St. Paul Minor Ball teams involved in the final rounds of provincials. Each team had high hopes after working hard all season.
The Peewee boys competed for provincial glory in Clive, Alta., while the Peewee girls made the short trip to Elk Point, and the Mosquito boys went to their provincial final in Spruce Grove over the weekend.
Meanwhile, the Midget AA Provincials team hosted the last round of provincials before the finals in St. Paul. Sherwood Park, Whitecourt, Vegreville, and St. Albert were in town throughout the weekend, as the final weekend of play took place.
The Mosquitos boys had a team of determined young players who were looking to utilize their skills and put on a good showing at provincials. The boys had three wins and three losses in previous provincial rounds, and were ranked in Tier 2.
While in Spruce Grove, the boys competed hard and came out with two wins and two losses, with their last game being a 10-0 win over the undefeated Olds Spitfires who were 3-0 so far that weekend, heading into the game.
Coach Reggie Mortensen was happy about the team’s play at provincials and the fact that the boys ended the season on a high note.
“It was good to finish on a high like that. I have to thank the coaches, Joe Young, JJ Dechaine and Darryl Peters, and the parents for giving their time to make the season a success.”
The Peewee girls softball team made the drive to Elk Point with high hopes, entering the weekend as an undefeated team. The girls remained undefeated all weekend but eventually came up short in the final game.
After falling behind early in the game, the girls continued to battle but ended up falling 15-8 to the Provost. Although they did not come home with the gold, the team was happy about the silver medal win after a great season.
Team manager Crystal St. Arnault says the girls battled all weekend. “The final game was an exciting game, lots of cheering and a fun game to watch. The Provost Shooters took a quick lead and the girls just weren’t quick able to come back. The Storm came home proud with a silver medal. It was a great weekend for this team and they are already looking forward to next year.”
The Peewee boys had a good season and came into the weekend ready to play, defeating the Jasper Bears 15-11. Previously, the Bears were the only team that had beaten the St. Paul boys in the provincial rounds.
In their second game, the Storm’s defense saw a barrage of hits from the High Prairie Chiefs, and the players did their best, but ultimately lost the game after the fifth inning.
The team qualified for a semi-final against the hometown Clive Crushers. The Storm started game with a strong push, but once the home team came alive, the boys once again lost in five innings.
Coach Armand Boucher thanked the boys, the coaching staff and the parents for the effort that was put in throughout the season.
“I would like to thank the boys for a great effort over the month of July. A big thanks to my coaching staff and parents too. We placed fourth out of 18 teams in the province, so it was a great job done by everyone.”
The midget boys had a bit of a tough weekend, losing two and winning one, but Coach Rick Austin said they were almost certainly going to be in Tier 4 already for the provincial competition, so the main goal was to make it through the weekend with no injuries, and play good baseball.
“We play in the finals in Sherwood Park in five days. We played well and we’re on the right road to be prepared for the finals. We had some sore arms and some guys that were a little beat up.”
The crowd support for the midget storm was great on Sunday, and the boys gave them a good show even though they dropped a nail-biter to Sherwood Park 4-3. Austin says that the boys have a good shot to win at provincials this weekend, and they hope to improve from their silver medal last year.
“We have a good team and a good shot. The kids are having fun and we’ll put our best out there and hopefully it ends with a provincial win.”
Tier 4 AA Provincials for the midget boys take place this weekend in Sherwood Park. Contact Rick Austin at (780) 614-8167 for details if you’d like to come cheer the boys on.
