The Bonnyville Braves AA bantam squad was out on the road this past weekend dropping games to Stettler, Okotoks and St. Albert, despite continuing to make improvements to the team's play.
“We had a slow start and finally started to get some hits in the fifth inning,” said Braves head coach Chris Church. “The team continues to make improvements with each outing.”
Last weekend the Braves went 2-1 in a series of games hosted in Bonnyville.
The Braves defeated St. Albert 14-9 and Edmonton 5-4 in a pair of games on June 29. Bonnyville lost to St. Albert 12-2 in another game early the next morning.
“The (homestand) was a really good weekend for our team because we came from behind in both (wins),” said Church, who has been coaching AA for three seasons. “Our kids hit well and they played well. We had some amazing catches; we had a couple pickoffs and a couple run-downs that the kids executed really well.”
She said a highlight for her team during the season was a late-inning come from behind victory against Edmonton.
“We won that game against Edmonton when Aaron hit a ball over the first baseman's head to bring Marc in, the kids were really excited! They had their rally caps on. The win was a really good momentum builder for us.”
The team will finish up the season with the provincial final tournament July 26-28 in Okotoks.
Church understands that most of her players compete in a variety of sports year round. She tries to make baseball a relaxed atmosphere and let the kids have fun.
“They always think there is so much pressure for them to do well. I tell them to just forget about it and just focus on the next thing they've got to do and to not put so much stress on (themselves).”
She hopes to pick up a win in the year-end tournament and hopefully make the semi-finals.
“We are doing pretty good,” said Church. “The kids get along really well. They are gelling and every weekend, every game we play, we are getting a little better.”
