With spring slowly arriving, Westlock residents should start hearing the sweet crack of the bat as the Red Lions gear up for another quest to be named North Central Alberta Baseball League champions.
Although in recent years the results have not quite lived up to the past, player-coach Ryan Rau said there is light at the end of the tunnel.
“We’ve been a really successful franchise for a long time and the last few years we’ve been going through a bit of a rebuilding phase,” he said.
Last year was especially disappointing. The team finished the regular season with a 12-6 win-loss record, which most years in most leagues would be good enough for a playoff spot. However, another team had an identical record and edged out the Red Lions through holding the tiebreaker advantage.
This year, with close to 95 per cent of the roster returning, Rau said he thinks the team could break through.
“Most of the team is coming back the same, so I would hope and expect that we’re going to end up with a similar record and hopefully this time it’s going to be good enough to get us into the playoffs,” he said.
The roster comprises 15 players, with a few more additions possibly added to strengthen the team. Of that 15, Rau said he has a core of 13 or 14 players who regularly come out each game, which makes his job easier. He said it’s better than have an 18-man roster, but struggling to get 10 out for a game.
Positions work somewhat similar to those in Major League Baseball, he said, in that he likes to keep players in one position so they can become more familiar with how the ball comes off the bat at a specific position rather than moving around the diamond and having to readjust every inning or every game.
That said, there are some players who are more versatile and will change positions in order to give their teammates a rest or fill in for an injured player.
The same philosophy of limiting position changes holds true with the pitchers, of which Rau said he’s in short supply.
In 2010, he leaned heavily on two pitchers, A.J. Bosman and Adam Sawatzky. This meant the team was in a chase for a playoff spot right from opening day, because there were only two options to send to the hill.
Rau said there is a simple goal for the season.
“To make the playoffs is number one,” he said. “I think we have a team that can challenge the top teams in the playoffs when we get there.”
The season opens for the Red Lions with a road game May 8 against the Edmonton Jays. The team follows that up with a doubleheader May 15 in Camrose before coming back to Westlock for the home opener May 18 against the Edmonton Blackhawks.
The team wraps up its 20-game regular season at home Aug. 10, before hopefully embarking on a deep playoff run.
