YORKTON – The 18U AA Vale Country Parkland Expos won the Tier 1 Provincials Eight-Team Championship this past weekend of July 30 in Yorkton.
The Expos bested the North Battleford Beavers 13-1 in the opening round, the Moose Jaw Canucks 9-1, going on to beat the Estevan Brewers in the semi-finals and the Regina Pacers 9-4 for the championship.
"It was a really good weekend of ball. Everything worked out perfectly for us," said Broden Bilokreli, Head Coach of the 18U AA Vale Country Parkland Expos, in an interview with Yorkton This Week.
With the win the Expos will head to Kelowna August 18 for the 2023 Western Canada Championships, which Bilokreli says will require some work in certain areas.
"I think we have to stay humble," said Bilokreli, "I think managing arms is going to be key for pitching in this tournament."
"We were on the bats this weekend, but — 100 per cent — that's going to be a big determining factor is being able to score runs," said Bilokreli, adding, "what we did very well this weekend was be very shut down on defense — we made the plays that we could make and it was a huge determing factor in our success this weekend"
The significance of the tournament win isn't lost on Bilokreli, who said the teams that competed over the weekend "all deserved to be there."
"Every game that we played was not a blowout — we had to fight to win those games — we just came out to be the better team," said Bilokreli.
"We came to win."
