Westlock’s senior Red Lions squad is back for another season with hopes of repeating last year’s championship.
Now in its third year as a member of the Alberta West Central Baseball Association (AWCBA), the team is looking to improve on its first two seasons, said manager Rick Sereda. “I think of our three years, this is probably the strongest lineup that we’ve fielded,” he said. “We’re a little bit deeper pitching with guys that we’ve picked up. I think we’ll field the best batting lineup that we’ve fielded out of the three years.”
On the roster of 17 players, only two are brand new to the club. The returning players have all played at least one of the past two seasons on the team. In addition, 12 players are on the team full time.
During the AWCBA season, the Red Lions will play 17 games — 10 at home at Keller Field and seven on the road in the Edmonton area.
The team’s home and season opener is May 9 against the Edmonton Heat.
In addition to playing their AWCBA schedule, Sereda said the Red Lions have registered to play in the 35+ division at the Canadian National Oldtimers Baseball Championships in Edmonton this summer.
The tournament runs Aug. 1-5, and is a chance for the team to see how it matches up to other similar teams from across Canada, he explained. It’s expected to be quite the experience.
“Even though the guys are old, those guys have played very good quality baseball before,” Sereda said, talking about the players on the other teams at the tournament. “When I hear of some of the names of guys on different teams, they’re all very good baseball players from years gone by.”
Sereda added the team plans to compete in the Harvey J. Doherty tournament May 31-June 2 at Keller Field. The Harvey J. Doherty tournament is one of a series of events held during the North Central Alberta Baseball League season, which means the senior Red Lions will be going up against teams of younger players.
“Just competing in an NCABL tournament will be fun and exciting for us.”
