INNISFAIL – For many, it’s not summer until ball season begins.
The Innisfail Merchants junior AAA baseball team kicked off its regular season with a double-header in Innisfail on May 13.
They downed the St. Albert Cardinals in a 9-7 comeback victory to earn their first win of the season.
The Merchants also beat the Fort Saskatchewan Red Sox 15 - 5 in their second game Sunday afternoon.
“St. Albert is a strong team. They’ve got a big organization and lots of talent from the city,” said Brett Littlefair, head coach. “They’re a good pitching team and they’re a solid defensive team so we just have to keep them on their toes.”
After a shaky start, falling behind 5-0 by the bottom of the third inning, the Merchants had a strong second half of the game to take their season opener.
“It’s going to be a beautiful day for a couple of ball games to open the year,” he said.
The Merchants spent their time practising indoors in winter and over the past several weeks.
“We practise in the Springbrook gym. We ran a baseball camp out of there over the winter,” said Littlefair.
The regular season runs until the end of July. This year, they will play doubleheaders every Sunday, either at home or on the road.
“Every Sunday we play two games,” he said. “August long weekend is provincials and depending on how we do, western championships are the following weekend.”
Littlefair noted this year’s 18-player roster with players between the ages of 19 and 21. They include team members from Olds, Red Deer, Lacombe, Rocky Mountain House, Bentley and other areas in the province.
The team is a mix of new players and returning veterans, he noted, including a couple of new faces from Innisfail.
“We’ve got four players that have graduated from our Innisfail midget team this year,” said Littlefair. “Reid Money and Greg Baumgardt are from Innisfail, and Dustin Larsen and Alan Klinck both played for the Innisfail midget team and they’re from the Olds and Sundre area.”
“We’ve got a number of returning players too, so our team is a little bit bigger than it used to be,” he added.
Littlefair said they had a great season last year and look to repeat with another successful season ahead.
“Last season we were very strong. We struggled with numbers a little bit from time to time,” he said, noting a silver medal at provincials and a spot at the Western Championships in Brandon, Man.
“This year I think we have a very strong team and I wouldn’t expect any less this year,” Littlefair concluded.
