UNITY — In a season filled with more ups and downs than a carnival rollercoaster, the Unity Junior Cardinals captured the 22U Sask. Baseball Provincial championship. The win earns them a trip to Western Canadian 22U Baseball championships upcoming in Stonewall, Man. Aug. 12 to 14.
Stonewall is 20 minutes north of Winnipeg
“I thought the guys played very well defensively and obviously Garin [Scherr] and Tylin [Hillbig] threw very well on the mound,” says coach Dan Feser.
While Feser says he feels the team’s hitting was spotty, he also says players did a good job of scoring base runners they had.
“Our hitting has been feast or famine all season but I guess that's baseball. North Battleford is a really good team and they made us work for it and that is the way it needs to be.”
With only two teams competing after Regina Pirates dropped out, the Cards played a best of three series versus North Battleford Beavers, winning two games, 8-4 and 7-2.
Previously eliminated in the NSRBL league playoffs, the Cards looked to stay in game form leading up to the Western Canadian championship.
Teams so far in the 2022 Western Canadian 22U baseball event include the Interlake Blue Jays, the Elmwood Giants, Unity Cardinals, North Battleford Beavers and Manitoba.
WESTERN CANADA BASEBALL ASSOCIATION - Divisions (wcbaseball.ca) is the website where fans can find updates. Feser said at present, it sounds like a parent will provide live game updates on the Gamechanger app.
Feser adds, “We do not know what to expect when we get there, as Manitoba is expected to be really strong, and they are still playing. We are going to have to reload and get razor sharp real quick to compete.
“We are going without some pretty key pitchers so we may have to rely on our plus defence to get us through some innings. We will have to hit like we did at our peak.”
The Cards added 18U arms Denim O’Donnell and Tommy Snell to carry some of the workload as Feser notes they have good arms and are strike throwers.
“It is going to be a great challenge and we are playing baseball in mid-August, so life is pretty sweet. We will be in tough, and that is the way it should be. We will go in swinging and see what comes of it, “concludes Feser
