Lloydminster’s busy stretch of Baseball Alberta championship tournaments began on the July 18-20 weekend as the Twins hosted 15U A Tier 3 provincials at Hospital Diamonds.
Read more: Pirates hunt for provincial 18U AA banner
In a tournament where all four teams were worthy contenders, the host Twins won the second of their three games — a 17-14 decision over the
eventual gold-medallists, the Grande Prairie Reds, on Saturday.
Lloyd opened with a heartbreaking 26-24 loss to Parkland on Friday night in a marathon battle of Twins. In its final game, Lloyd lost 15-9 to the would-be silver-medallist, Sylvan Lake Mariners Navy, on Saturday.
Alexander Masikewich of the host Lloydminster Twins motors to first base as Lloyd faces the Parkland Twins last Friday in the first game for both teams at Baseball Alberta’s 15U A Tier 3 provincials at Hospital Diamonds.
John MacNeil – Meridian Source
In Sunday morning’s championship game, played during a slight drizzle, Grande Prairie defeated Sylvan Lake 18-11.
“Really good,” Lloydminster coach Rod Henderson said about the weekend overall.
“Lots of close games. Sportsmanship was great, so that’s always good to see. The weather held up — it wasn’t looking too promising — so I was happy to see that as well.
“I just thought the whole weekend was really good — the players, parents and coaches were all good. Lots of young umpires, too, and they did great. A phenomenal job.”
The visiting teams credited Lloyd for stepping up to the plate to host the three-day tournament.
“Thank you for a great tournament,” a voice from the Sylvan Lake dugout echoed after the closing ceremonies, as Henderson and fellow organizers tended to field maintenance.
GAME ON
All parties weathered a snag that delayed the final two innings of the
championship game, which was running longer than the designated time for regularly scheduled games. Grande Prairie was leading 17-11 at the time. Play resumed, however, when it was confirmed that the time limit didn’t apply to provincial championship games.
In the end, it appeared common sense prevailed, allowing the kids to decide the championship on the field.
“I would agree,” Henderson said. “There was a bit of a discrepancy on the website on the actual length and the rules of the provincial final game. We got that all sorted out and the right team won. They were the better team today.”
For the host Twins, they were pleased to even construct an A team this
summer, complementing two Lloydminster AA teams (Twins and Pirates) at the 15U age level.
“That’s pretty good,” Henderson said of Lloyd fielding three 15U teams this year.
“At times, I find it can be challenging to get an A team together, just because there’s such a different spectrum (of interest). There’s some that are really into ball and there’s some that are not. And once the community league is done, they’re done with ball (for the summer).
“It was nice to see that there was enough interest to make this team. The boys are all great. The
parents are all great. It was a great year.”
‘HAPPY WITH THE PROGRESS’
As the past weekend showed, the Twins made strides from humble beginnings.
“There were definitely some lows,” Henderson reflected. “It was a little rough at the start of the year. Then, we kept getting better and better. And by the end here, we were right there. Overall, I was happy with the progress.”
Those ups and downs of baseball were on full display in Friday’s 50-run battle between Lloyd and Parkland.
“Yeah, that was a crushing one,” Henderson said. “We probably should have won that one, but you know what, that’s ball.”
He believes the A division is just the right template for kids — and their parents — who want to play competitive baseball but still allow time for other summer pastimes.
“I think you’ll find a lot of parents will say it’s just the right amount of ball for them,” said Henderson, who coached the Twins with fellow parent-coaches Shaun Sinclair and Chad Stark. “If you play AA or a higher level, it goes another month or what have you. This gives you a little bit of the summer, so a lot of kids prefer this method.
“Yeah, it’s still good ball. I think it was on display this weekend. Lots of good pitching, lots of good hits and lots of good plays.”
AA PROVINCIALS ON DECK
More provincial action is coming to Lloyd in the next two weekends.
The 15U AA Twins host the Tier 7 provincials, a six-team tournament, July 25-27 at the Hospital West diamond.
The 13U AA Prairie Pirates are at home for their provincials on the Aug. 1-3 weekend. They’ll play that six-team championship at the Driven Energy Legion Ball Park.
In the 15U AA tournament, Lloydminster faces the Grande Prairie Reds at 6 p.m. Friday, immediately following the opening ceremonies. The Twins are also scheduled to play Parkland Twins White at 6 p.m. Saturday.
Playoff-round action is set for Sunday through the 6 p.m. championship game.
The tournament opener is slated for 3 p.m. Friday between Lacombe Dodgers White and Calgary Bucks Blue.
The Consort Cubs round out the field.
Read more: Lloyd girls prominent on provincial rugby team
