When the North Battleford PeeWee AA Beavers started off their 2017 season, coach Carson Wouters asked the players to write down their goals for the year.
“Everyone wanted to go out and win a provincial championship,” Wouters said.
The Beavers did just that on July 23 in Lloydminster, as they went a perfect 5-0 over the course of the weekend on their way to winning the PeeWee Tier III championship.
“We put this team together from two teams in the Northwest League and they were able to mesh together really well,” Wouters said.
“The biggest things that made them successful was how hard they worked at practice. We really keyed in on improving their pitching and hitting and it showed at the end of the year.”
Prior to the provincials, the Beavers had competed in nine exhibition games and also made it to the semifinals at a tournament in Macklin.
Their trip to Lloydminster started off with 13-6 win over the Regina Pacers, though they had to claw their way back after giving up five runs in the top of the first inning.
“That first game was delayed by about an hour, so the nerves stared to build up for the guys a little bit,” Wouters said.
“Once we got those butterflies out of our system, we played really well and it set the tone for the rest of the round robin.”
The Beavers, who scored seven runs in the fifth inning to break open a 5-5 tie, were helped offensively in their victory by a three RBI performance from Cory Wouters.
On Saturday, the Beavers picked up a 9-4 win over the Swift Current 57’s and cruised to an 11-1 triumph over the Saskatoon Cardinals to clinch a spot in the semifinals.
Dane Closen, Levi Scherman and Trayton Troesch each drove in two runs in the win over the 57’s, while the Beavers combined for eight hits and eight stolen bases in their triumph over the Cardinals.
Sunday’s semifinal contest against Carnduff was a wild affair, as the Beavers allowed six runs in the top of the first frame but rebounded to tie the game in the bottom half of the opening inning.
The Beavers would then score three runs in the second inning before exploding for nine runs in the third on their way to a wild 19-11 win that saw the team combine for 17 hits.
“We struggled a little bit at the start with our pitching,” Wouters said. “There was a pretty small strike zone from the umpire so there was a lot of walks early on, but we made some adjustments and we got things going in the right direction.”
The championship game against the Saskatoon Athletics was a lopsided affair, as the Beavers scored five runs in the first, second and fourth inning on their way to a 15-4 win and a provincial championship.
“That game was a continuation of what we had been doing all weekend long,” Wouters said. “Our hitting kept getting stronger in each game, and it all came together in that game.”
While the batting was impressive, it was the Beavers pitching that also made a big difference during the weekend.
Nate Monchuck had a strong showing in the final as he had six strikeouts and only allowed two runs on four hits.
“Our pitching was probably the biggest factor to our success,” Wouters said. “It helped us out a lot.
“We had a lot of good arms on our roster and I think we had five of our top six pitchers that we could have used in the last couple of games. Many of the teams had gone through their top guys already during the weekend, so that was something that worked in our favour.”
Looking ahead to next season, almost the entire Beavers squad will be moving up to the bantam ranks, as Steston Winterholt is the only player who is eligible to return to the peewee division.
“This was a little bit of a different year for the guys as they were playing with different kids, but I think the experience is something that will benefit everyone,” Wouters said.
“Some of them hadn’t played at a high level of baseball like this before, but it turned out well for the team. They grew in confidence as the year went on and that’s always important as you get to big tournaments like the provincials.”
