Four Westlock Red Lions have made the North Central Alberta Baseball League (NCABL) all-star team.
Nathan Brown, Teron Callihoo, Travis Wagner and Derek Lofstrand from the Red Lions will feature at the NCABL all-star game on July 20 in Waskatenau.
“Each one of our players that made the all-star game have had a very strong batting average. A lot of the voting is based on that,” said Red Lions General Manager Jordan Brand. “They're strong batters, but they're also very strong defensively so they're just good two-way players. Personally, I think we could have had a couple more there.”
Nathan Brown made the all-star team as an outfielder and with a batting average of 0.545 and 12 hits and 16 runs in nine games. Brown is a consistent veteran who has been with the team for more than 10 years and assists in running the team off the field.
“I think we have the most picked and you can go off the fact that we're first place. That just shows that anyone could have went from our team and if we were lower in the standings, we wouldn't all be in this position,” said Brown. “It's a fun event to go to, it's a blast to be picked but at the end of the day, it's important to show what our league can do, and I think that we've done that as a team this year. We’re going to have fun at the all-star game showing what the best of the best can do.”
Teron Callihoo also made the all-stars as an outfielder with a batting average of 0.343 and12 hits and 10 runs in 11 games. Callihoo joined the Red Lions four years ago and has been a great asset and team player over his time with the team.
“It feels great. I think it's a team win. I agree that this year it’s hard to find a guy on the team that didn’t deserve it,” said Callihoo.
Travis Wagner made the all-stars as a third baseman with a batting average of 0.429 and 18 hits, 14 runs and a team-leading 16 RBIs in 13 games. Wagner is in his second season with the Red Lions and was vital in their success at the finals last year, scoring the only run as the Red Lions defeated the Parkland Twins 1-0 in the all-important final game.
Derek Lofstrand rounded out the Red Lions all-stars, making the team as a shortstop and batting average of 0.528 with a team-leading 19 hits, 17 runs in 11 games and a 10-game hitting streak. Lofstrand is also in his second season with the Red Lions.
Voting for the all-star team is based on each team’s manager voting for the best player in each position on other teams in the league besides their own team.
The Red Lions currently sit top of the NCABL and will be playing their final regular season home game against the St. Albert Cardinals on July 24 and wrap up the regular season on the road against the Legal Primeaus on July 31.
“We've been very consistent so even the games we lost, we were right in it until the end,” said Brown. “Every game, you can pick a guy on our team and he's had a clutch moment throughout this year. It’s never been just us four guys that happen to get picked as all-stars. It was like everyone’s had an opportunity to come up for our team and they've stepped up in some way, whether defensively, offensively, or pitching.”
The NCABL playoffs are scheduled for the Aug. 8-10 weekend and Westlock will also be hosting the Western Canada Baseball Association (WCBA) championships from Aug. 15 to 17 against five other teams from across western Canada.
