The Bonnyville Braves AA midget team will represent Alberta at the Western Baseball Championships later this month in Swift Current, after capturing the Tier 1 provincial title in Lacombe on July 28.
“I think our chances are just as good as anyone else,” said Bonnyville head coach Jim Church. “We are going to go down there and just try and represent. It is elite baseball. We'll play it one pitch at a time and one inning at a time. Just try and execute well.”
The Braves path to the provincial title wasn't easy, as they needed extra innings to defeat Edmonton 10-7 and Camrose 7-6, in their first two games of the tournament.
The first game was a “huge win” as the Braves had trouble against the Edmonton Angels all season, according to Church.
Bonnyville found itself in a hole quickly, down 6-1 after the second inning. The deficit didn't faze the boys as they battled back to tie the game at six, sending it to extra innings. The Braves leaned on their experience in playing close games and were able to squeak out the win.
“We were used to playing in close, tight games all the way through the season,” said assistant coach Garth Campbell. “That helped us when we got into those situations we were in. We weren't excited about being in a close game because we were well versed in playing in them”
The second game against Camrose was similar to the first one, as the Braves faced an early 4-0 deficit. They got the runs back quickly, notching a five-run third inning to take a one-run lead.
The Braves trailed again later in the game, after Camrose was able to tie it and take the lead in the top of the extra inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, with the bases loaded, Church called a squeeze play and had the batter drop a bunt down the first baseline.
“The first baseman was a little tentative. ‘Do I go get the ball. Do I leave it for the pitcher,'” Church described. “Then pretty soon no one was getting the ball.”
This allowed Bonnyville to squeeze two runs across the plate and walk-off winners.
Church felt the team's ability to execute bunts was a big key as to why they came away as provincial champions.
“Early in the season we had lost four games on the inability to execute bunts, so we practiced it every practice,” explained Church. “It lost us games because we were popping bunts up or bunting right back to the pitcher. This tournament weekend we executed bunts very well.”
The two wins were enough to propel Bonnyville into the semi-finals on the Sunday, where they beat Slave Lake 7-4.
The finals saw them play a rematch with Camrose, although this game was a lot easier for Bonnyville, as the Braves sailed to a 12-6 win.
“They scored nothing in the first inning and we scored 5 runs in our first at-bat,” said Campbell. “That basically took the wind out of their sails, any momentum they were hoping to get never materialized.”
Campbell felt his team gained momentum as the season went along and was glad they were able to come together over the weekend.
“We didn't want to peak too early. We wanted to peak at the end of July when we got to provincials,” said Campbell. “Peak physically and mentally and emotionally, because you have to be mentally and emotionally ready to play these games. I think every player was there. There was no weak spot anywhere out there.”
Both coaches realize the competition is going to be a lot tougher when they get to the Western championships, but feel Bonnyville has the confidence to play well.
“The pitching probably isn't going to be much faster, but the change ups are going to be better, the curveballs are going to be a lot better. You are going to see a lot of buckled knees on guys on all of the teams,” said Church.
Due to prior commitments of several of their players, Bonnyville has added five players and a coach from the Camrose team to play with them in Swift Current.
Bonnyville will take on the host Swift Current team on August 16 before playing games against Brandon, Lloydminster and the B.C. champion over the course of the weekend.
The Elk Point AA Peewee team capped off a successful season with a gold medal in the Tier 5 division. It was the first year for a AA team out of Elk Point.
The Goodfish-St.Paul AA Midget team also won a medal, finishing their season with a silver in the Tier 4 Division.
The Bonnyville Braves AA Bantam team won the consolation final, after losing the first game of their provincial tournament. The team was happy with how the season played out.
