The Zone 7 Sun Devils kept their playoff hopes alive Saturday when they swept a pair of Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League 18U AAA games at Silver Lake Regional Park, near Maidstone.
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The Sun Devils, whose 14-man roster includes seven players from Maidstone, Lloydminster, Edam and Macklin combined, defeated the Southeast Twins 7-2 and 4-1 in sunny conditions to open an intended four-game weekend homestand at Silver Lake.
“We kind of threw our top two arms today and gave us a chance to win some games, and it basically paid off,” coach Regan Beck said Saturday after standout performances from pitchers Brandt Spencer and Reid Beck, respectively.
“For this year, it was our first (doubleheader) sweep, and we needed it. Really, where the standings are, we probably need the whole weekend.”
On Sunday, the Sun Devils went up against another team fighting for a shot at provincials. The Parkland Expos posted a 14-8 victory, before the second game was rained out.
Zone 7, representing communities throughout northwest Saskatchewan, is making a push for one of the 10 post-season positions up for grabs in the 14-team league.
Entering the home stretch, the Sun Devils were in 12th place with a 7-14 record through July 7.
“We are (still in contention), but we need to get hot,” Beck said Sunday night.
The Sun Devils swept one of their contemporaries in a key head-to-head battle with Southeast. The Twins might be at the bottom of the standings this season, but the team from the Estevan-Weyburn-Alameda region has traditionally been strong, said opposing coach Beck.
“They know how to win. We’re a team that’s learning how to win.”
With players from 10 towns and cities, the Sun Devils are finding their way in the franchise’s third year in the Saskatchewan league.
“We started the year after Lloydminster moved all their programs to the Alberta league,” said Beck, father of Reid Beck and also president of Meadow Lake minor baseball. “We had one year with nothing in the northwest (on the Saskatchewan side of the border). And then, we had a group of kids coming up — Reid being one of them — where we said we need to have a AAA program.
“I sit on the Baseball Sask board of directors, and they really wanted a presence in the northwest. So, we started this program, knowing that it was going to be a process to get us going. But we’ve got there.
“Now, we’re competing. We don’t win every night — obviously it’s a challenge because we travel a lot more than everybody else, practices are harder (to schedule) and it’s harder to get the top players out. But we compete almost every night now. We’ve beat a lot of good teams.”
As part of their efforts to promote the regional composition of the team, the Sun Devils have divided their 16 home games into four towns — Meadow Lake, North Battleford, Unity and Silver Lake (Maidstone).
“So, everyone gets a little bit of love to go home and play at their home diamond,” Beck said. “We think that it’s important, being a regional team, to recognize all the communities. That’s something we really try to do.
“You see a few kids kicking around here today. They’re probably going to be Sun Devils in the future. That’s how it goes.”
Indeed, a minor ball tournament was being played at Silver Lake’s neighbouring field, while the 18U AAA Sun Devils’ roster featured local faces like Ean Alsager, Cruz Harrison and Colton Parker of Maidstone, Darian Lowe of Macklin, Kobi Weber of Edam and brothers Parker and Jake Spence of Lloydminster.
Parker Spence, a Prairie Baseball Academy commit from this year’s graduating class at Lloydminster Comprehensive High School, said the Sun
Devils appreciated the support of family and community members who showed up on the weekend.
Catching both games Saturday, Spence was on the receiving end of fine pitching in complete-game victories for Spencer and Reid Beck, both of Meadow Lake.
“Guys were throwing strikes,” Spence said. “That’s what matters. The defence played well. Minimal errors, and then our bats came alive today, which was nice to see, for the first time.
“These were very big wins today.”
Beck recorded 11 strikeouts and allowed four hits and one run, showing the skill that has earned him a U.S. junior college position at Cloud County Community College in Kansas.
In the opening win, Spencer fired a five-hitter, giving up two runs and striking out five.
Before the rain came Sunday, the Sun Devils — and the Twins — weathered steamy heat Saturday at the ballpark alongside a campground.
“I don’t mind it,” Spence said. “I was feeling it the last couple of innings, but you just drink some water and go again.”
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