The Estevan Minor Baseball Association (EMBA) is looking forward to another season of action on the ball diamonds for local youths.
Ryan Siever, who is entering his first season as president of minor baseball, said they have about 250 young people registered this year through their seven different divisions. It’s a similar number of players to last year.
But their registration figures don’t include the Estevan area youths playing with the Southeast Performance Pump Twins midget AAA squad.
“I’m definitely happy,” said Siever. “I’d always love for there to be more.”
The Twins started their season on Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader in Swift Current against the 57s on Saturday.
In addition to the Twins, the EMBA will have two other age representative teams: the Estevan KPC mosquito Sluggers and the Estevan TS&M peewee Tornadoes. Some local bantam players will travel to Alameda to play for the Southeast bantam As team.
House league play is scheduled to start on May 1.
The blast-o-ball division will be the EMBA’s largest, with eight teams. Two teams from Bienfait will also be playing in the blast-o-ball league. They will have six teams for the junior mites division, and they will be joined by a team from Bienfait in their league. Three teams are in the senior mites division, and they will play in a league with two teams from Lampman and one team from Bienfait.
EMBA has four mosquito teams, who will play in a league with teams from Weyburn, Bienfait, Gladmar and Radville.
They will also have two teams for peewees, which will play in a league with Weyburn, Lampman and Radville. And they will have house league teams in bantam and midget division who will play in the Moose Mountain league.
House league play will continue until late June.
“From what I’ve seen from the kids that I’ve talked to, they’re raring to get going,” said Siever.
Skills clinics were held for junior mites, senior mites, mosquito and peewee players at the Power Dodge Ice Centre on Sunday afternoon. Siever said it was a chance for the kids to work on their fundamentals such as hitting, fielding and pitching.
