ESTEVAN - Teams in three different divisions were at Mel Murray Cactus Park in Estevan on the weekend for Baseball Saskatchewan provincial tournaments.
The U11 AA Tier 1, U11 AA Tier 3 and U15 AA Tier 4 tournaments brought a total of 23 teams to Estevan. The host Estevan Brewers had a team in each division.
In the U11 AA Tier 1 division, the Yorkton Cardinals outlasted the Weyburn Beavers 19-16 in a slugfest to win the provincial title. Yorkton and Weyburn were the class of the tournament, as each team won four straight games to reach the final.
The Estevan Steel Reef Brewers represented the Energy City as the host team. They competed as a AAA team during the regular season, but played at the AA level for provincials.
They opened the tournament with a tight 7-6 loss to the White Butte Broncos. Then they dropped a 17-3 decision to the Lumsden Cubs and 18-8 to the Beavers.
The Humboldt Dodgers No. 1 upended the Watrous Lakers 8-6 in the U11 AA Tier 3 final. Watrous had beaten Humboldt 8-7 in the round robin, but Humboldt responded with the win in the final.
The Estevan Brewers were in the group with the two finalists, and they opened with a 14-2 loss to the Dodgers and 12-2 to Watrous. They closed out the tournament with an 8-6 defeat against the Assiniboia Aces.
The U11 Tier 3 Brewers were comprised of players from Estevan’s house league baseball teams.
In the U15 AA Tier 4 division, the Lafleche Merchants were the top team, as they went 5-0 to capture the title. They defeated the Redvers A’s 10-7 in the final.
The Estevan team opened with a 6-5 victory over the Saskatoon Braves on Friday afternoon. Then they lost a tight decision, 13-12, to the Saskatoon Blue Jay Bombers. Their final game was a 17-14 loss to Lafleche.
Redvers, meanwhile, beat the Saskatoon Rockhound A’s 16-1, lost 12-9 to the Langenburg Miners, but recovered to defeat the Saskatoon Blue Jays Crush 14-4 to finish first in their pool in the round robin with a 2-1 record. They edged the Saskatoon Blue Jay Bombers 9-8 in the semifinal round.
This week’s edition of the Mercury will have more on this story.
