It's play ball time for the Innisfail Indians.
“We've been out on the diamond. This will be our second week. We also did a week of training inside at the Collicutt Centre in Red Deer,” said Steven Bouteiller, head coach of the Indians. “We have an exhibition game lined up right away (May 6) and we may get one more in before the season starts on May 25.”
This year marks the senior men's baseball team's 20th anniversary in Innisfail and with it comes a few changes and some new faces both behind the bench and on the field.
“We've got quite a few new players. It's been very competitive. We're really happy with the turnout,” said Bouteiller, noting the 21 players currently on the roster that will be trimmed down to 17 for the regular season.
“We're in a trial basis right now and this year we've spread out everything in the management department. A lot of guys that have been with the team for many years are taking on a little bit extra (responsibilities) to help out,” he added, noting other changes include changing the team name next year.
“It's still in the works but we're very open to ideas,” he added.
Earlier this year during the off-season, the Indians suffered some misfortune.
“Unfortunately, when we came out (for spring training) we noticed that our lock had been cut off our shed and we had two hockey bags full of equipment stolen,” explained Bouteiller. “We do have a few fundraisers planned for later this season to help recoup some of our costs.
“We're going to be a little short on stuff this season but we have enough to make do,” he added.
This season the Indians will face two new teams in the Parkland Baseball League. Stettler and Airdrie have replaced Rocky Mountain House and Acme. The number of league teams remains at five.
Despite the setback over the off-season, Bouteiller said they are looking forward to the season ahead.
“We're really excited,” he said. “It looks to be probably our brightest season. We're going to take a run at senior men's AA provincials, which is going to be hosted in Cold Lake this year. We're pretty excited about that,” he said, noting that some of the new additions to the team are quite strong in certain areas, which will make them a lot more competitive on the field.
In addition, the annual Dallas Yarbrough Tournament will be held in Innisfail on the weekend of June 10 to 12.
The season wraps at the end of July with a league final tournament. Provincials follow the regular season and conclude in the middle of August.
“We're super excited to get out and get ready for the season,” said Bouteiller.
Steven Bouteiller
"It looks to be probably our brightest season. We're going to take a run at senior men's AA provincials, which is going to be hosted in Cold Lake this year. We're pretty excited about that."
