Neepawa Baseball pleased with on & off field results at provincials
- Details
- Published on Thursday, July 23, 2015
By Eoin Devereux
The Neepawa Banner
A baseball club from Oak River captured the midget “AA” championship on Sunday, July 17 in Neepawa, defeating the Rock Lake Regals 18-8 in the final. Trailing by four runs to the Regals in the top of the seventh and final inning, Oak River scored 14 runs to take the lead and ultimately seal the victory. Oak River ended the tournament with a perfect 5-0 record and will represent Manitoba at the upcoming Western Canadian Championships, scheduled for August 14-16 in St. Albert, Alberta.
As for Neepawa, the host team was able to end the round robin portion of the weekend with a 2-1 record. Neepawa opened the tournament on Friday, July 17, with an 11-3 win over Bonvital. After an 11-1 loss to eventual championship finalist Rock Lake, Neepawa bounced back on Saturday by shutting out a midget team from LaBroquerie 7-0. With that win, Neepawa advanced into the quarter-finals to face the Boissevain Centennials. It was a tightly contested contest throughout, but Boissevain would eventually move on to the semi-finals with a 6-5 win. Neepawa manager Mike Krutkewich said the community should be proud of the great effort its young baseball players left out on the field.
“It was a great game and a great weekend overall. Some of our regular players were not available this weekend but we were still able to compete at a high level with who we did have out there. We came into this tournament just with the hope of making it though the round robin and getting the chance to play some extra games and we did that,” said Krutkewich. “It’s a tough loss to accept right now for them, but the players really should be proud of what they accomplished out there. The whole team really represented Neepawa the right way.”
As for the event itself, organizers deemed the weekend a major success. Neepawa Minor Ball president Toni Kuharski said there were large crowds in attendance at all of the games
“Everything went extremely well. As far as we know, there were no major concerns. There were a few injuries from the games, which is to be expected and the weather wasn’t always ideal, but for the most part, it was a great weekend,”
Kuharski added that the tournament could not have been successful, had it not been for the tireless efforts that were put in by parents and volunteers.
“The Neepawa Cubs, the Neepawa Farmers and Neepawa Minor Ball parents deserve a huge shoutout. The work they did out there, that was amazing. Everyone pulled together and were able to pull this off,” noted Kuharski.
Baseball Manitoba convenor Greg Bell agreed with Kuharski’s assessment of the weekend and added that Neepawa has always proven to be a great baseball community.
“It was a terrific event. Previously, both as a coach and as a spectator, I have been to other provincial events and I felt that this year, Neepawa’s effort was as good, if not better than any others I’ve ever attended,” said Bell. “The quality of baseball was top notch and the efforts of the volunteers for Neepawa Minor Ball were amazing. It just goes to show how committed and passionate this community is for the game.
