The results they wanted on the field weren't there, but it was still a fun weekend for the Estevan KPC Sluggers.
The Sluggers hosted mosquito AAA provincials at Cactus Park, with 10 teams from across the province coming to town to contest the crown.
The Sluggers lost all four of their round-robin games.
Of the 10 teams participating, five were from Saskatoon: the Blue Jay Screwballs, Braves, Cardinals, All-Star A's and Blue Jay Crush. The other teams were the White Butte Broncos, Regina White Sox, Martensville Mustangs and Regina Buffalos.
The Cardinals edged the Blue Jay Screwballs 12-11 in the gold medal game on Sunday afternoon.
The Cardinals led 9-2 before giving up six runs in the top of the fifth inning. They then scored three to go ahead 12-8, but surrendered three more in the top of the sixth.
Although the Sluggers went winless, head coach Ryan Siever was happy with the team's effort against some tough teams.
"It was some of the best baseball we've played all year. We knew this year was going to be a bit of a struggle, but we thought playing in the AAA league would prepare us for provincials. Yeah, it is disappointing to go 0-4, but it wasn't like we just rolled over. We went in there and played well."
In their first game on Friday afternoon, the Sluggers fell 9-5 to the Buffalos. They had been down 9-3 before bringing in a pair of runs in the sixth inning.
"We started Jackson Miller. He went in and threw strikes. We actually had a nice, close game there and then we ended up taking him out," said Siever, noting that their reliever "threw strikes as well, but the defence kinda fell apart behind him and the Buffaloes found the holes with their hits.
"It was good to see the pitchers throwing strikes. That was our best showing against the Buffaloes all year."
In their second game later on Friday, the Sluggers lost 6-2 to the Blue Jay Crush.
Hayden Lavoie started the game on the mound and threw more than 70 pitches.
"He threw really, really well. He even had some comments from the coaches and players on the other team. They were all very impressed with how he threw. He threw hard, threw strikes and that's all we could ask for," said Siever.
The game was tied 2-2 after three innings, but the Sluggers struggled to put more runs on the board.
"After Hayden, we brought in Derek Weinrauch and he threw strikes as well. Again, we didn't find the holes with our hits, but the boys were swinging the bats pretty well," Siever said.
On Saturday, the Sluggers faced the eventual champions in the Cardinals. They lost 11-1 and the game ended early under the mercy rule. Kyler Dutka was Estevan's starter.
"We had a bunch of hard hit balls right at their defenders and they fielded them very clean. They were a very good defensive team. After Kyler, we brought in Hunter Siever to pitch. It was a good team," Siever said.
In the final round-robin game of the tournament on Sunday, the Sluggers took on the All-Star A's, losing 6-3. Tayce Miller was the team's starting pitcher in that one.
"For the most part, the kids played well. The kids went in there and swung the bats. They just outplayed us."
Mason Fichter was hit by a pitch during his first at-bat, but Siever said he didn't let it faze him.
"The pitcher was throwing fairly hard, but once we got some dirt on it, he popped right up and got down to first."
Kaleb Poole was one of the team's stronger performers at the plate during the weekend, hitting a triple and an inside the park home run.
"Pretty much all the kids did something really well this weekend, whether it was pitching or defence," Siever said.
Although there were no wins on the field, the coach said hosting provincials was a good experience.
"Being able to play them here was great, mostly due to the volunteers and everyone who sponsored to make it financially viable for Estevan Minor Baseball. It's a nice feeling, you get to sleep in your own bed and eat at home. When you're hosting, everyone's there lending a hand and it's a good feeling. It's something I looked forward to and it was a really good experience."
