Local pitching phenom and star shortstop Tyson Black has had quite the month of August, taking part in three major tournaments throughout the first three weeks of the month.
First Black, 17, won a silver medal at the 2015 Baseball Canada Cup in Saskatoon with Team Saskatchewan, powering Saskatchewan to a 7-0 win over Prince Edward Island in Saskatchewan鈥檚 fourth game of the tournament with a complete game shutout in which he struck out three and gave up just four hits.
Following the completion of the Canada Cup, the talented baseball player travelled to Sherbrooke, Quebec, to compete with the Saskatchewan representative Saskatoon Giants at the 2015 18U (Midget) National Championship from August 13-17, where he put together a strong performance on the mound against Manitoba, giving up seven runs (just one earned) on five hits and two walks while striking out one batter over 5.1 innings of work in a 10-4 loss.
Immediately upon his return to Yorkton, Black 鈥� who is originally from Miramichi, New Brunswick 鈥� rejoined the Parkland Expos as they hosted the 2015 Western Canadian Midget 鈥楢AA鈥� Championships from August 20-23, where he played a key role in aiding the host club to a 3-2 record and third place overall.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a really busy month for me,鈥� offered Black. 鈥淚 had a great experience at the Canada Cup and in Quebec and it was really nice this time to get a medal in Saskatoon. The team was really good, it was a good group of guys so it was definitely a fun experience.
鈥淨uebec was the same way. We didn鈥檛 do as well as we had hoped but it was definitely a good experience because they (Sasktoon Giants) are a good team and they鈥檙e easy to get along with.鈥�
The three tournament appearances are just the newest additions to the already impressive baseball resume for Black; a resume that includes several trips to Arizona for baseball tournaments as well as a previous Canada Cup competition.
In addition Black, who was one of the top pitchers in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League (SPBL) 鈥楢AA鈥� Division despite playing on an 8-22 team, finished the 2015 season with a 5-4 record, striking out 56 batters over 49.1 innings of work while walking 19 and posting an ERA of 3.26.
Black now has the opportunity to join three other Parkland teammates (Caleb Bymak and twin brothers Cole and Kyle Rathgeber) to play fall baseball for RBI Baseball out of Regina against the Baseball Saskatchewan Academy and Martin Academy, however he is uncertain if he鈥檒l play in the prestigious fall baseball league or focus more on high school athletics. 鈥淚 usually take a bit of time off to play volleyball,鈥� mentioned Black. 鈥淚 might be playing fall ball with RBI Baseball in Regina but that really depends on if I want to play volleyball.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tough decision but I鈥檒l have to see what I want to do for the next few months.鈥�
