WESTLOCK – For the first time in a long time, Keller Field will host the North Central Alberta Baseball League’s All-Star Game July 23, with first pitch slated for 2 p.m.
Shelved in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the mid-season classic was held at RE/MAX Field in Edmonton last summer where it’s been played sporadically throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s — the league all-star game officially began in 1974. Spectators wanting to take in the Sunday-afternoon tilt will have to shell out $6, while kids under 10 get in for free and a concession will also be on-site.
Although Red Lions players manager Chris Brand will be out of town the day of the game celebrating his 10th wedding anniversary, he was pumped that Westlock was getting the chance to host it. In a league memo, commissioner Paul Riopel urged all the players to spread the word about the game so there was “a worthy crowd to cheer our athletes on.”
“The NCABL is endeavoring to bring a little more life into baseball in the rural context where it originated. The North Central Alberta Baseball League is steeped in the history of rural Alberta and is part of its fabric. Having lost a number of rural franchises over the last few decades, we’re trying to bring back our showcase events to those areas,” said Riopel in a July 17 interview. “I invite everyone to come out and support it as it will be an entertaining game.”
On the field the Beverly Optimist All-Stars, made up of players from the St. Albert Cardinals, Fort Saskatchewan Reds and Parkland Twins, will square off against the Westlock Power and Marine All-Stars, composed of Red Lions and Barrhead Orioles. While Brand would have managed the Power and Marine club, he’s turning over the reins to long-time Red Lion Sean Beaudoin.
“Having it in Westlock is definitely exciting. It’ll be a good event, with some good players on the field and some very good ball,” he said.
As for the nuts and bolts, the players vote on one all-star roster, while for the game itself more are added from across the league. This year, Red Lions’ Nathan Brown was voted by his peers to the club as a utility player, while the Orioles’ Chase Visser was voted in as one of three outfielders — four Twins, and two players each from the Reds and Cardinals round out the voted-in roster.
“This game is about showing off what kind of talent there is in the NCABL, because there are some really good players that definitely deserve to be showcased,” Brand concluded.
