It’s been a rough first season at the midget ‘AAA’ level for the Parkland Expos as the club went just 8-22 over the 30-game SPBL regular season before an 0-4 record at Provincials.
However the club did find success in a pair of tournaments, posting above .500 win/loss records in both Winnipeg, Manitoba, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
The Expos then finished their season on a high note going 3-2 at the 2015 Western Canadian Midget ‘AAA’ Championships, opening the tournament by handing the eventual champion Parksville Royals their only defeat of the tournament with a 7-6 walkoff win.
The Expos then ran into some defensive trouble against the St. Albert Cardinals, allowing errors to get the better of them in a 6-1 loss before handing the Northwest Prairie Pirates a 7-3 defeat.
A lacklustre effort in their fourth game of the tournament saw the Expos fall 11-0 to the St. James A’s, meaning the Expos could no longer qualify for Sunday’s gold medal game.
However that fact did not deter the Expos from ending the season on a high note, dropping the North Winnipeg Pirates 7-2 to finish in the top half of the tournament at 3-2. “The guys did come to play on the weekend and they pulled it together this weekend with a 3-2 record and we’re not walking away disappointed with that,” offered Parkland Expos’ co-coach Tony Black. “We struggled in the beginning and throughout the league but these guys stepped up here this weekend and at the end they showed exactly what they were capable of doing.
“They were making plays, going down and diving and coming up throwing which is exactly what they need to do at this level to be successful. I think throughout the season they realized what it takes to be here and to compete and this weekend they were ready to show that they could play here.”
In addition to their regular roster of local area players, the Expos also added four capable arms to their pitching rotation as well as one catcher. “We picked up Dryden Kaczmar from the Regina Athletics, Spencer Davis from the Regina Expos, Danny Berg from the Saskatoon Giants, Brody Vogel from the Saskatoon Cubs and Parker McRae from Muenster,” mentioned Black, continuing, “We picked those guys up because we needed some pitching and because we wanted to give Tannum Wyonzek some help behind the plate.
“We picked up Vogel for the catching and the other four guys we looked at for starting pitching. They got the task to start games which they did and they performed on the mound well for us and did well.”
Black also mentioned that, while the import players did play extremely well, the original roster players did as well.
They even managed to catch the eye of other people within the baseball community. “Coming out of a Double-A and a Single-A centre being their first time in the league and with a record not even that great these guys came and turned some heads and now people know that they are out there and they are aware of the kids we have here,” boasted Black. “We have four guys (Caleb Bymak, Tyson Black and Cole and Kyle Rathgeber) given an opportunity to go and play fall ball in Regina where they will be competing against Martin Academy and Sask Baseball’s Academy if they decide to go.
“We’ve got two guys that have signed letters of intent to go play some college ball in BC (Kholton Shewchuk and Jake Holinaty), so it’s obviously working for these guys in terms of exposure and people are seeing them and seeing what they’re made of.”
Call to arms
The 2015 season is officially over for the Parkland Expos Baseball Club, meaning it’s the perfect time to begin the 2016 season. “We’re going to try and keep this Parkland program running, so we’ve started evaluations already this week,” said Black, mentioning that prospective players have already been practicing on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. “There is some potential coming up from bantam as well as from our ‘AA’ program and we need to replace some guys as we’re losing five guys this year.”
The five graduating players are Jake Holinaty, Kholton Shewchuk, Ryan Krupski, Tannum Wyonzek and Jordan Bieber.
Black also mentioned that anyone within Zone Four is eligible to try out for the Expos, provided they are born in 1998-2000. To try out please contact the Yorkton Minor Baseball office.
