A long, frustrating regular season paid off for the Southeast Legacy Twins on the weekend as they posted a 2-1 record and reached the semis at the provincial midget AAA baseball championship in Moose Jaw.
The Twins were ousted after a 5-0 loss to the powerful Humboldt Dodgers, who went on to win the provincials, advancing to the national championship. They defeated the Regina Athletics 10-3 in the final.
The Dodgers also finished in first place in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League this year.
"We couldn't be happier. We didn't expect to be there, but we were," said Twins head coach Tom Copeland.
The Twins would have needed everything to go their way to get past the Dodgers, a team full of third-year midgets.
"They made some nice plays, we had a couple of bad breaks and the bounces weren't going our way," Copeland said.
He said he was happy with Mackenzie Lamontagne's showing on the hill, but "the kid they pitched threw strike after strike after strike."
A win would have sent the Twins to the Western Canadian championship later this month.
The Twins opened the round-robin by edging the defending champion Saskatoon Giants 9-8 in a game that was decided in the bottom of the seventh.
"It was back and forth all game," said Copeland. "They didn't make a lot of errors but we really hit the ball well. Our bats have really come alive the last couple of weeks."
Following that confidence-booster, the Twins earned a crucial 10-6 victory over the host Moose Jaw Cardinals, ensuring them a playoff berth.
"We hit the ball really well and they made some mistakes they don't normally make. It was probably one of our better games all year," Copeland said.
Justin Chuckry pitched six strong innings in a winning cause, with the coach saying the Twins likely would have lost and been eliminated without his performance.
The final round-robin contest was a 6-5 loss to the Regina Wolfpack which had no bearing on the team's fate.
Copeland described it as "probably the best game Nolan Axten's ever pitched," adding that Axten likely could have gone the distance if not for errors.
Considering the Twins began the year extremely raw and found consistency elusive, the provincial results were a positive way to top off the year.
"For a team that only won (five) games all year, to come into this weekend and do that, it's pretty encouraging and it's a sign that the program's moving in the right direction," Copeland said, adding that he was proud of his players for battling through the poor weather and lack of diamond time this year.
The Twins lose shortstop Tyler Kendall, centre fielder Austin Halladay, catcher Garrett Walbaum, second baseman Nate Ferris, first baseman Kelton Houim and pitcher Eric Evans, who spent most of the year injured.
Copeland said he has identified a catcher, shortstop and centre fielder as the main holes to fill going into next year.
The upside is that the pitching staff will go virtually untouched.
"We think next year we should have a pitching staff that's almost second to none. None of them will blow you away, but they'll be consistent."
