The Southeast A’s bantam AAA baseball team is back on the field this weekend.
The A’s, who boast players from Alameda and surrounding communities including Estevan, are hitting the road for their first action of the Regina AAA Bantam League (RAAABL) season with a game against the Regina White Sox on April 30. The team heads back to their home park in Alameda the next afternoon for a doubleheader versus the Regina Buffalos.
Trent Dorrance, head coach of the A’s, said the 12 kids on their roster all seem ready to play and the look out of training camp is they haven’t missed much of a beat from last year.
In 2015, the A’s went 6-15-1 in the RAAABL regular season, with all of their victories coming in the final nine games. The team then posted an undefeated record in the round robin of the provincial playoffs before falling to the Lumsden Cubs in the final.
“Our kids are going to be a lot more confident coming into this year,” said Dorrance, noting 2015 was their first time playing in the RAAABL and they needed the early games to adjust to the quality of play. “We know what to expect. There is a lot more excitement this spring going into the team, so I think we’ll do just fine.”
Dorrance said the team and each of the players are facing more stringent goals this year in regards to their play and how they finish. He said they have a big team with a lot of strong kids, so offensively they’ll play a hard-hitting game. On defence, the focus will be on playing simple and eliminating any unforced errors.
“I want to get off to a good start early in the season and I definitely want to finish top three,” he said. “In (playoffs) we’re probably going to be in AA provincials and my goal is to hopefully be victorious with that as well.”
