Coach Mike McCubbing describes it as one of the best teams he has had the pleasure of coaching, and they are bringing home the provincial championship. The AA Bantam Parkland Expos have wrapped a successful season by winning the Tier 2 category in Macklin.
In round robin play, it was the host team, the Macklin Lakers, that got closest to handing the Expos a rare loss. The game was 2-2 going into the 7th, leading the game into extra innings, where the Expos鈥� bats found the ball, and they finally won 6-2.
It was the semi-final, against the Swift Current 57鈥檚, which was the biggest threat to the team鈥檚 provincial championship goal. The contest was a close one from the beginning, with the Expos getting a run in the first and both teams getting a run in the third.
鈥淭here were times where the bats were a little dry, but they played good defense and had good pitching. Instead of being able to pour it on, we were able to get a hit when we really needed it and capitalize on a run. That Swift Current game, it was 2-1 for the whole game... Even though the bats were dry, they persevered and played good defense to hold it,鈥� said McCubbing.
The final game against the Muenster Red Sox was not nearly as close, with the Expos dominating the contest 16-5 to take the championship overall.
This marks the end of an exceptional season for the Expos. They won all but two games over the season, only losing one regular season contest and a final in a tournament where they met AAA teams.
鈥淪kill-wise, the team was really strong, and more than that, it was the best group of kids. Mentally, not having issues, being disciplined, showing up for practices, doing exactly what they had to do... It鈥檚 the best team I鈥檝e ever been a part of, I would coach those guys, hands down, any day of the week.鈥�
One of the strengths of the team, McCubbing said, was that it was a good group of players. Top to bottom, there was nobody on the team who was just filling the roster and that showed in their results.
鈥淎 lot of teams have their top five guys who are really strong and the rest are roster-fills. This team here, when the top didn鈥檛 do it, the bottom carried them... It was a group effort the entire season, that鈥檚 something that鈥檚 very uncommon. That鈥檚 why our record shows the way it does. It didn鈥檛 matter who it was at bat, where they were in the lineup, it was just a number, if it was their turn at bat they produced.鈥�
Next year, nine members of the team will graduate into the Midget age category. McCubbing is optimistic about their future in baseball.
鈥淢idget is another game, it鈥檚 another level up, the skill level is tougher and the field is bigger. It鈥檚 a big jump for some kids, I guess we鈥檒l see what happens next year... It鈥檚 a bit of an adjustment, but I don鈥檛 think any of them will have a problem adjusting to it.鈥�
