The NCABL celebrated 50 years with a family tailgate party and all-star game on a cloudy and rainy Sunday afternoon at the Legion Memorial Ballpark in St. Albert.
The day started in the early afternoon, and despite some rain earlier in the morning families came out to enjoy the festivities. Local band Mourning Wood provided entertainment with a diverse set list that included hits from artists such as The Black Keys and Philip Phillips, and some throwbacks as well for the parents in attendance.
Despite the weather, the bleachers filled up to watch the 30 all-stars from eight different NCABL Senior AA ball clubs across northern Alberta. There were four players representing the St. Albert Cardinals: catcher Scott Peterson, pitcher Nick Creelman, third basemen Bandon Hoffman, and outfielder Hayden Chies. The Sherwood Park Athletics had seven all-stars in attendance, the most from any one club.
“I think it was a great time, obviously the weather wasn’t great but there’s nothing we can do about that. Our past president Ed Ewasiuk pretty much ran the entire event and he did an unreal job. It’s a lot of work that he put in, the band and the kids’ games were all thanks to him,” said St. Albert Minor Baseball Association president Kurtus Millar.
Members of the St. Albert/Morinville RCMP were in attendance as Lia Cole, winner of the St. Albert 150 song-writing contest sang her original song Home to Me, and O Canada. Mayor Nolan Crouse threw the ceremonial first pitch to start the game.
“St. Albert, it doesn’t matter what the age group, is selected to do these types of events and it really speaks to not only the facilities we have, but the people we have here and the hospitality that we provide, even on a day like today,” Mayor Crouse said.
The game turned out to be a blowout, a 12-1 victory for the Beverly Optimist All-Stars over the Leon’s Carpet and Paint All-Stars. It was decided after the second inning, which saw the home side put away seven unanswered runs for a 9-0 lead. Although the score was one-sided the talent on the field was noticeable on both sides.
“I know we’re a senior AA league, but there’s a lot of AAA calibre players in this league,” Millar said.
Westlock Red Lions’ first baseman Nathan Swap was named MVP of the game, with four RBIs and a handful of strong defensive plays.
“Once we got the first couple runs it really let us relax. And the big seven run second inning really helped, we were all nice and relaxed and we had a lot of fun. I’ve been seeing the ball real well the last two, three weeks. I’m a pretty aggressive hitter so I wanted to go after the fastballs early,” Swap said of his MVP performance. Swap was one of three players representing the Red Lions this game.
Swap was one of the ten all-stars who were voted into the all-star game by opposing teams and managers.
“Being voted by my competitors in the league and the managers from the other clubs, it’s a huge honour. I’m really thrilled to have that respect from everyone around the league,” Swap said.
