Eighteen teams teams took to the diamonds for the St. Paul Slo-Pitch year-end tournament this weekend.
“It’s a good way to end off the season,” said St. Paul Slo-Pitch League Manager Justin Lock, adding that it was great to see so many people come out to enjoy the tournament.
Players from various teams stayed around the diamond to cheer on friends and jeer their foes as the tournament progressed into the final stages on Sunday afternoon, and it was Turn Up The Base who picked up the competitive A final victory over the Hot Sticks.
In the competitive league’s B final, the Swamp Donkeys stepped up to the plate by delivering a hard fought victory over the Speedee Lubers.
Pitch Slap took home top spot in the recreational league by narrowly defeating the Pinch Knitters, 16-15, while Oil Country bested Buck Wild in an equally tight, 18-17, victory in the recreational B final.
Pitch Slap’s Jonathan Leskiw had a particularly strong weekend at the plate, as he managed five home runs in a single game on Saturday afternoon, recording 14 RBIs in the process to help lead his team to the recreational A final.
“I hit the first three, and they hit their three and it went one for one, and I ended up hitting five home runs in total. It was a very big relief for me honestly, it was awesome, I couldn’t believe it,” he said, adding that the final match up against Pinch Knitters was a nail biter. “Both teams played really hard, we came up real close in the end. All around it was a good season for both teams.”
Lock said he was happy with the way that the season winded up, and the fact that everyone came out to play throughout the weekend, rain or shine.
“It was a great turnout,” said Locke, adding that grounds crews did a great job of maintaining the quality of the diamonds through a sporadically rainy weekend. “The diamonds were actually really good for the amount of rain we had. They do a good job keeping them maintained.”
While the St. Paul Slo-Pitch season has reached its end, a number of local teams, such as Pitch Slap, will be looking to continue their seasons in tournament play in places such as Leduc and Edson.
“Go Pitch Slap for the rest of the season for tournaments,” Leskiw said. “We have Edson and possibly two more, so we’re looking forward to that.”
