A number of local softball clubs are preparing for provincial competition, beginning this weekend.
The peewee Rockettes are heading into the provincial B championship with the team playing well of late, and coach Carmon Lindquist hopes her team can rise to the competition's playing field.
"We debated going B or C, and we've entered into B," said Lindquist. "We have a stronger group of girls this year. Initially when we moved up to B, we wanted to see some new teams and be exposed to a higher level of ball. We wanted to be able to compete with them."
Despite the rain this spring, she said the team has been able to go along well this season, and the weather hasn't been much of a hindrance for them.
The provincial tournament is this weekend in Regina and will feature 16 teams. Lundquist knows what her team is capable of, and knows the competition, so she has set a team goal of finishing in the top half of the group and maybe better.
"As long as we're in there being competitive, and hopefully (we're) doing the right things to give us a chance to possibly win provincials."
She looks back to the team's experience at a tournament in Moose Jaw where they met stiffer competition than they had previously seen.
"That was our first time getting our feet wet, seeing what this level of competition was all about. It was a weekend to remember."
Lunquist is pleased with her team's progression from last year.
"Everything's coming together. Last year, moving up from quirt, we focused on pitching, and it carried as through to a successful season. This year we know our batting needs to be strong, so that's been our focus this year, on hitting."
Those bats have come along this season, as she noted the girls hit well in the Moose Jaw tournament bringing in plenty of runs. She is also happy with the way the team has "owned" the basepaths.
That tournament, she hopes, gave her team the necessary experience to compete at their best.
The midget team will head off to provincials for the C tournament from July 8 and 10 in Rosetown.
Coach Merv Puryk is high on his team's competitive spirit, and despite recently playing a tournament in Moose Jaw, in which they came out winless, he noted the games were all close. The tournament was a B level that is higher than what the midgets have regularly played so far, and they saw teams from Moose Jaw and Regina.
"We fared quite well against them, didn't win any games, but we were in all the games," he said. "(That's) quite good considering that was our first tournament and we didn't know what to expect."
Puryk said he's been happy with his team's progress this spring, though he noted they still have a couple of hurdles to clear.
"We've got a ways to go yet. I'd like to see more improvement than we have, but I'm pretty happy with what we've got."
The team will have a few games before the provincial appearance to work out some of the things they still need to focus on. Puryk said that while their pitching and field skills are strong, the team struggles with the bats.
"We'll work on it 'til the middle of July and work on it hard, and I think we'll get it to where we want it to be."
Puryk would like to see his team position themselves for at least one game in the playoff round but knows the competition will be fierce, and they will need to play well against some tough opponents.
"The competition will be stiff. These are the best girls from all over different communities in Saskatchewan. The girls are all pretty competitive."
Estevan will also play host to the Squirt C Girls Â鶹´«Ã½AV Provincial Championship on July 9 and 10.
