WESTLOCK — The Westlock Red Lions are in the North Central Alberta Baseball League (NCABL) finals after beating the St. Albert Cardinals 5-0 and 7-3 in the NCABL’s semi-finals on Aug. 10 and 11 in Westlock.
They will now face the Parkland Twins in a best-of-three series in the league finals Aug. 23-25.
“When it comes to the playoffs for the Red Lions, we dig deep. We dig down as a full team and we show our passion for the game,” said Red Lions general manager Jordan Brand. “We show up and we want to win.”
Brand noted the “good pitching that threw lots of strikes” over the semi-final weekend and the team’s defence that got the outs when they were needed.
“It was a full team effort,” he said.
The Red Lions know the challenge that lies ahead, and know what they must do to win a league title and championship.
“For us to get past the Twins, (it’s going to take) good defence and bring our hot bats that we’ve been having the for the last couple of games,” said Brand. “They have some good pitchers but we have better hitters.”
One of those hitters is the 2024 NCABL regular season MVP — Red Lion player Hayden Chies, who was presented with the award during the semi-final weekend.
“Having one of the elite guys on our team definitely helps for sure,” said Brand, adding that after five years with the team, he’s a veteran who leads by example. “He brings a really good bat, but he brings us the defence that we need out in centre field … every game, he’s there pushing the limits to make sure that we are a better team and play as a team.”
It’s the first time the team has had a regular season MVP in their lineup since 2017 — the same year that the Red Lions also won a league championship.
“We got a fun group of guys out here …when you have fun with the right group of guys, it makes the game fun and you play better,” said Chies.
Brand said they hope this will be the year they can pull through and win a league championship, particularly since learning of Keller Field’s namesake, Chuck Keller, a former Red Lion who made a huge impact in the baseball community in Westlock, recently passed away.
“It would be nice to win it for Chuck,” said Brand.
The Red Lions will play Game 2 of the finals at Keller Field on Aug. 24, at 2 p.m.
