Athabasca's Mosquito-level Trappers found themselves in St. Albert July 7-8 to play some baseball against some provincial-level teams, with the tournament being the first of a two-parter to determine which Tier they play provincials in.
The first day, they fell 16-11 to St. Albert. Then on the second day, they got slaughtered 19-2 against Edson, but then they managed to edge out Parkland by a score of 15-14.
"This tournament is a tiering system," head coach Jay Walega said. "After both tournaments are done, we will then be matched up with more equal teams for the provincial finals."
Overall, Walega said they did really well as a team.
"It was three of the first games the team played together," he said. "They got the butterflies out of their stomach after the first game, and they played against some experienced ball players throughout the tournament. So with each game they played, they got more and more comfortable."
He added that the team's improvement really showed during their last game.
"They showed they were ready to play," Walega said. "And they came out and did just that. There was some really good pitching from Jaden Dzieglo. There was also some aggressive base-running, and they put some points on the board. It was a really good game to watch."
Part two will be played July 14-15 in Stony Plain, with the provincial finals to be played July 21-22.
"As I said, we are still determining which tier we get to play in," Walega said. "As soon as we know that, we will then know where our final tournament will be located."
As for their next tournament in Stony Plain, Walega said they will just take it one game at a time.
"You can come up against some strong teams," he said. "Or you could be up against some weaker ones. The stronger ones obviously ended up in a lower tier, while the lesser ones end up in a lower tier."
Walega said his boys continue to work hard, and it's starting to show in the way they play in their match-ups.
