The summer of 2017 will be one that the Unity Cardinals won’t soon forget.
Not only did they make it to the championship game of the provincial Tier III senior baseball championships on their home diamond Sunday, but they also won the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League title for the first time in their 18-year history.
“At the start of the year we had some fairly high expectations about what we wanted to do,” Cardinals coach and third baseman Graeme Gieni said.
“We had never been to the league final before so to get there was really awesome. It was a bummer not to win the provincial title, especially since we were playing at home, but it was still a really good season.”
The Cardinals finished the regular season in first place in the Colliar Division with a 10-4 record, which earned them the second overall seed in the playoffs.
Following clean sweeps over the North Battleford Beavers and the Standard Hill Lakers, the Cardinals came away with the championship in a three-game battle over the top-ranked Border City Jays of Lloydminster.
“Everything really came together for us for the last couple of weeks of the season, especially with our hitting and pitching,” Gieni said.
“We got a big boost from having Rhett Feser, Blake Robertson and Cory Wildeman in our rotation on the mound, as it gave us a pretty big advantage.”
Following a 5-0 win on Aug. 3 in Lloydminster, which was highlighted by a shutout performance on the mound by Feser, the long-awaited celebration was on for the Cardinals as they received the NSRBL trophy.
“As soon as the game was over, we got a lot of texts and congratulations from former players on the team,” Gieni said.
“The league’s been dominated over the last few years by a couple of teams, so it’s nice to break through and be in the mix. It says a lot for the strength of the league as well, as now there’s a number of teams battling for a title and competing well at the provincial championships.”
As the host team for the Tier III senior men’s championship, the Cardinals gave their fans a lot to cheer about as they made their way to the final.
Despite a valiant effort, they were unable to snag a second title in as many weeks as they fell 12-9 to the Northeast Red Sox from Melfort.
“This was the second straight year we lost in the finals, so it was pretty disappointing obviously,” Gieni said.
“We played well all weekend and we had a really strong game against Wilkie in the semifinal, but we came up against a better hitting team in the final and they came up with some clutch plays when they needed them.”
While the new season is still months away, the Cardinals should once again field a strong team when the 2018 campaign gets underway.
“As of right now, we’re expecting almost everyone to be back with us next summer,” Gieni said. “The only guy we’re not totally sure about is Rhett, as he’s pitching for the Saskatchewan Under-21 Selects team in Ottawa this weekend and he might have a chance to play at a higher level next year.
“Our core group of guys will be back and our expectations are to hopefully repeat. However, this is a tough league and anyone can win on a nightly basis.”
