In addition to being an excellent host for the Saskatchewan Baseball 1999 Mosquito 'A' Boys Provincial Championships on July 16, 17 and 18, Tisdale Harvest Valley captured the Provincial title. Teams from Nipawin, Moose Mountain, Esterhazy, Saskatoon, Assiniboia and Lumsden travelled to Tisdale to attend the three-day tournament.
In their first game of the tournament on Friday, Tisdale faced the Moose Mountain Mets. After five innings of play. Tisdale was defeated by their competitors 17-4.
Despite their earl y setback, Tisdale fared better on their second day of the tournament. In a close game against the Esterhazy Renegades, Tisdale took an 8-6 victory after six innings. After the victory against Esterhazy, Tisdale gained momentum and was able to crush the Saskatoon BatterUp Braves 11-0 in their third game of the tournament. This win propelled Tisdale into the Semi-Final games.
As taking second place in Pool A of round robin play, Tisdale faced the first place team of Pool B – the Nipawin Lions. However, Tisdale's confidence-building performance in their last game fueled their 18-8 victory over the Lions. This win advanced Tisdale to the Gold Medal Game.
The Gold medal game on the last day of the tournament once again matched Tisdale with the Moose Mountain Mets. Tisdale faced fierce competition with the Mets as they were undefeated after round robin play. After five innings of play, Tisdale captured the Provincial Title over Moose Mountain with a score of 15-4.
According to Coach Wayne Hedin, despite their slow start, Tisdale's excellent batting and pitching were the determining factor in their stellar performance in Provincial play.
“We really rattled them with our bats and got to them early,” stated Hedin about Tisdale's winning performance.
The team's performance title also marks the first time Tisdale has captured the Provincial Title since 1987.
Hedin was also pleased with the efforts of the volunteers and organizers.
“Tisdale sets the standard when it comes to provincial tournaments in the province,” commented Hedin.
