Jr. River Kings chasing two national titles
For the Prince George junior River Kings, this is Christmas in July. Two high-profile fastball events are just around the corner for the under-21 team and the River Kings expect to figure prominently in the final standings of each of those tournaments.
The River Kings are one of the favorites to win the 10-team junior division at the Canadian Native championships, which get underway Friday at eight city ballparks. The junior tournament runs through Sunday, after which the River Kings will catch a flight to Toronto for the Softball Canada under-21 national championship in Tavistock, Ont., Aug. 2-7.
The junior River Kings squad is built around a core of players who won gold for Team B.C. two years ago at the under-19 North American Indigenous Games in Regina. Eight players from that team are chasing the national title this weekend, including Lane Desjarlais, Theo Potskin, Nicholas Potskin and Tyson Ghostkeeper, all of Prince George; Shelby Tom of Fort St. James; Zack Gottfrendson of Kamloops; and Clarke Ohman and Josh Anderson of Vancouver.
Trent Seymour, 18, who pitched for Team B.C. and suffered a crippling injury in a hunting accident two months after the Indigenous Games, will be part of the umpiring crew this weekend.
Shortstop Nicholas Potskin, 19, one of the River Kings’ top hitters, is healthy again after he suffered an ankle injury sliding on the basepaths earlier this season. Last weekend he was the tournament MVP playing for the host team at a men’s tournament at Takla Landing.
The River Kings have tapped into the East Coast to bolster their pitching staff. Bryson Gould of Eskasoni, N.S., 21, and his catcher in Nova Scotia, Zachary Denny, will join the River Kings on the field this weekend.
Also likely to appear in the junior River Kings lineup this weekend are Jarrett Potskin, Troy French, Clint Sam (Fort St. James) and Brody Rosychuk (Goodfish Lake, Alta.)
Most of the junior River Kings have been playing in the Spruce City Men’s Fastball Association for Falcon Contracting. The travel team got together for a tournament in early June in Kelowna and won the junior division. Knowing there’s a cash prize of at least $5,000 for the junior division champion this weekend, River Kings manager Randy Potskin says that would come in handy to help his team pay for the trip to Ontario.
Because the River Kings have players from outside of the province, they won’t be referred to as Team B.C., even though no other B.C. team will be going to the U21 national tournament. But as an all-aboriginal team, they are eligible. They plan to add some experience to the roster, including pitcher Wacey Strongeagle of Saskatchewan, who will pitch this weekend for the Big Guy Lake Blazers, the other Prince George junior team. Jericho Prince of Prince George, who plays for Big Guy Lake, and Davis Houle of Goodfish Lake, will also make the trip.
One of the teams to beat in the junior division this weekend is Cross Lake, Man. Cross Lake’s under-18 team won the junior division at the Canada Day tournament at Spruce City Stadium, beating the junior River Kings in the final. The tiny community 520 kilometres north of Winnipeg is sending five teams to Prince George. In addition to the under-21 squad, Cross Lake will have two teams in the 28-team men’s division, one in the 22-team women’s division, and one in the 12-team master men’s division. There’s also a five-team master women’s division, which brings the total to 77 teams. Randy Potskin said the number had to be capped due to a shortage of umpires and limited space at the ballparks. A crew was out at Rotary Park baseball diamond Wednesday putting up a temporary backstop and closing in the outfield fencing to convert it to softball park dimensions. With more than 1,100 players involved in the three-day tournament and their families coming along for the trip, that should provide an economic boost this weekend for the city’s service industry.
“I’ll bet there won’t be a hotel room or campsite in town,” said Randy Potskin. “We haven’t had anything this big, ever. Aboriginal fastball is improving. Last year we had 72 teams in Winnipeg and I think with the River Kings fastball history (the men’s team won the national title seven years in a row, 2000-2006) and the facilities here (there is extra interest). And B.C.’s a beautiful province and I think people are using this as a chance to come check B.C. out.”
More volunteers are needed for admission gates and parking control, to sell 50/50 tickets and work in concessions. For more information call Gwen at 250-612-7584.