The Barrhead peewee Yankees closed out their Canada Day weekend tournament brimming with confidence and owning a two-wins and one-loss record.
Entering the weekend, the Yankees were tiered with other similarly skilled teams from St. Albert, Calgary and Drayton Valley.
Tier 3 looks to be a really competitive division considering all but one of the Yankees games were really close.
“We are becoming more confident hitters and are more aggressive on the base paths,” said Yankees coach Rod Callihoo.
The Yankees drew St. Albert in Game 1 and battled the entire game, squeeking out a 17-15 victory.
“We battled back late in the game to win. We showed resolve to continue and put pressure on their pitching, and we just shut them down in the bottom of the ninth,” said Callihoo.
The lively tilt under near-perfect conditions saw the Yankees work hard on the fundamentals of the game, which netted them the late victory.
“We continued to work on coverage and our responsibilities on defence. In the end, we hit enough to score runs,” said Callihoo.
St. Albert claimed victory last time these two teams met, which was during the tiering weekend.
“They beat us pretty good last weekend, but we started to think that we could play with these guys,” said Callihoo.
The Yankees drew Calgary in Game 2, but didn’t get the result they were looking for despite putting up 17 runs. In the end, the top of Calgary’s batting order and their pitching was the difference.
“Calgary had some very good hitters at the top of their order. They just kept coming and scoring runs. We, on the other hand, had patient hitters taking pitches at key times to use the pitch count against the very strong starting pitcher,” said Callihoo.
Calgary’s starting pitcher was pretty dominant throughout the game, but he struggled with control issues at different points in the game.
Although the Yankees lost the game 24-17, the squad from Barrhead drew essential positives from the loss.
“We’ve seen the best pitcher so far this year, and we were able to get our timing and have some very good at-bats. This gave us a glimpse or our possible capabilities. I told the guys that I felt we grew as hitters and we are now able to be successful against any pitcher in our league,” said Callihoo.
The Yankees showed almost professional-like resilience facing a tough Calgary team, and didn’t give up.
In their final game of the tournament, the Yankees drew Drayton Valley and promptly dispatched them with an 18-3 victory, even as the clouds moved in and deposited a constant stream of rain on the field.
The Yankees were led by the pitching tandem of Graeme Nordstrom, who started the game and threw strikes like a strike-throwing machine, and Mitch Carstairs closed out the tilt garnering key strikeouts.
“I’m very pleased with the progress and confidence we are starting to show on the field and at the plate,” said Callihoo.
The lopsided victory was a clinic on how a team can win by manufacturing runs using the base paths. What it came down to was the aggressiveness the Yankees showed running the bases and how much pressure it put on Drayton Valley, causing them to commit key errors at the right time for the Yankees.
“It is important to take what is given on the base paths. It puts pressure on the opposing pitcher and influences the pitch count,” said Callihoo.
Closing out the weekend, the Yankees are owners of a 2-1 record within their tier.
“I am happy that we have shown ourselves that we are able to compete successfully. Our tier is very balanced. Consistency and continued growth leading up to provincials will identify the winning team,” said Callihoo.
As the Yankees move on in the season, some key markers have stood out as things to work on going forward.
“We’ve got to be able to compete in every situation. Consistency, coverage, movement and all of the fine details, are what we’ve been working on all season,” said Callihoo.
Highlights of the weekend for the Yankees not only included their play on the field, but also the parental support. The bleachers remained occupied even as the rain steadily fell on July 3.
“Our team play, defensive movement and parent support stood out for me. I was impressed not only by our play, but the parent involvement to host and provide a positive experience for all of the travelling teams and fans,”said Callihoo.
The Yankees will play in another tournament from July 16 to 17 in Drayton Valley and things are looking good for the boys in blue and white.
