Results have league president jumping for joy
After two hectic weekends of minor softball provincial championships, Saskatoon Minor Softball League president Clayton Fehr was smiling ear to ear.
Not only was he relieved and pleased with the successful set of championships hosted by the SMSL over the last couple of weekends, but he also had to be brimming with pride when the results came in. Teams associated with the SMSL won five provincial championships, and they also qualified five teams to western Canadian championships. Two more are on their way to nationals.
The Canada Day weekend produced the first three provincial champions, as the teams took full advantage of playing at home. Coach Shayne Denomy’s Rona Lasers pee wee girls were the youngest of the three winners, as they beat out the Prince Albert Aces in the final. Randy McKay’s pee wee B Eagles also brought home a provincial title for Zone 5, as his boys beat a tough seven-team field in Moosomin.
Two midget teams were also victorious, as Kevin Derdall’s Mulberry Selects won the boys’ B division and Brent Ball’s Scotia Bank Selects won the girls’ A division. It had to be a bittersweet victory for Ball, despite finishing first in Saskatchewan, his team will not move on because a number of key players won’t be available for the U18 nationals in Montreal starting Aug. 12.
Another provincial champion was decided last weekend in Regina, as Stacy Dybvig’s Hustlers team battled through a tough 13-team field to win the bantam girls’ title.
The Lasers will go to Maple Ridge, B.C. Aug. 3-6 for the peewee westerns. They’ll be joined there by coach Scott Hudson’s Phantom boys, who finished second to Prince Albert in the lone provincial hosted in Saskatoon last weekend.
The Phantoms will send a pair of bantam teams to westerns in Strathmore, Alta. Aug. 9-12, as both were runners-up in their provincials.
The Mulberry Selects will travel to Winnipeg Aug. 9-12 for the midget B westerns. The two Saskatoon minor teams going to nationals are Dybvig’s Hustlers, as well as the midget A boys’ runnerup Westside Selects. The Hustlers travel to Brantford Aug. 8-12, and coach Bryan Kosteroski’s Selects will make the long trip to Fredericton at the same time.
The first of the adult provincials was held last weekend in Moose Jaw, where coach Sean Edelman’s Jr. Eclipse qualified for the U21 westerns as a result of their third-place finish.
The attention of the local softball community turns squarely to the adults, with eight more provincials in the next two weeks. This Saturday and Sunday, the Saskatoon Amateur Softball Association will host three championships at Bob Van Impe Stadium and Gordie Howe Fastball Field. Although Saskatoon’s two junior men’s teams, the Poly Plus Diamondbacks and the Bullets, are both assured of a place at the U21 nationals in Owen Sound, they will still fight for provincial bragging rights when they battle it out with the Keeseekoose Chiefs.
Three top SAS teams, the Outlaws, Steelers and Tigers, will compete in the senior A women’s provincial. This will produce Saskatchewan’s first senior A women’s champion since 2006, when DBJ Leasing went to nationals. The other provincial will also be an interesting one, as Saskatoon Allied Denture Masters tries for its 26th consecutive provincial title when they take on Saskatoon Parktown Masters and Moose Jaw Giants.