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Merchants claim silver at fastpitch championships

It was a bittersweet end to the baseball season for the Bruno Merchants.The Merchants placed second at the 2010 Men's Western Canadian Fastpitch Championships.The tournament was held August 12-15 in Irma, Alberta.
By Jodi Schellenberg Journal Staff Writer Journal.Reporter2@Sasktel.Net
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The Bruno Merchants men's fastpitch team placed second in the West after winning Provincials in July. Back row (from left): assistant coach Dave Jones, Kelly Lenius, Jarrod Teichreb, Rob Scheller, Ryan Olde, David Hutton, Derek Reding, Earl Ghostkeeper, coach Ray Bender. Front: Ryan Bender, Jordie Gagnon, Justin Dauvin, Lee Huber, Brent Twordik, Lee Prefontaine, B.L. Sparvier, bat boy Blaine Henderson.

It was a bittersweet end to the baseball season for the Bruno Merchants.The Merchants placed second at the 2010 Men's Western Canadian Fastpitch Championships.The tournament was held August 12-15 in Irma, Alberta. Bruno advanced to Westerns after winning the Provincials Championships over the Bulyea Rustlers. The Merchants did great in the round robin, winning five out of six games, said Ray Bender, coach of the Merchants.The top three teams from the round robin then played for the gold medal."We lost the final to Bulyea," said Bender."We didn't get enough hits in the final game."Although the Merchants were disappointed they didn't win the gold medal, they were still happy with their performance."Anytime you can win Provincials and get second in Westerns is nothing to sneeze at," said Bender.Two Merchant players were also honoured at Westerns.Justin Dauvin was named the MVP of the tournament and Earl Ghostkeeper was named the men's top batter with a .556 batting average, said Bender.