The boys of summer are back.
The Innisfail Merchants Junior AAA team is off to a winning start in 2016.
Sitting with a 5-1 record and 10 points in the first six games, the Merchants have hit the field batting their way to second place in the standings early in the season.
“Right now we have the best winning percentage in the league,” said Brett Littlefair, coach of the Merchants.
“We have a roster of 18 with five over-age players, and the majority of our team is from Central Alberta -- Olds, Innisfail and Red Deer area,” he added, noting several individual players are from Bentley, Rocky Mountain House, Drumheller, Calgary and Camrose.
The Junior AAA team began its season in early May and is on schedule to play more than 20 games this summer.
“With (our schedule) the commitment is not a huge factor for a lot of players,” he said. “As long as we get the commitment from the guys and we get the turnouts that we expect, we can field a pretty good team this year.”
The Merchants play doubleheaders – back-to-back games -- on Sundays and practise on Thursdays, noted Littlefair, adding he likes the makeup of his team and their style of play.
“I think our strengths will be our pitching. I think we've got a good pitcher from Bentley, he's throwing the ball really well for us,” said Littlefair. “He played college baseball in Lethbridge and another player from Red Deer plays for a senior team as well, but he pitches and catches (for us) and he's done really well too.
“We're a smart baseball team, we don't make a lot of errors and we capitalize on every chance we get,” he added.
The regular season finishes on July 24 with the provincial championships taking place over the August long weekend. The location for provincials has not yet been determined, said Littlefair.
“It will be a three-day tournament in the host town,” he said, noting the provincial championships showcase some of the top baseball teams from across Alberta.
Littlefair is optimistic about the Merchants' chances of making it to provincials this summer.
“I expect to be near the top come the end (of the regular season) and hopefully we'll have a good shot at provincials,” he said, despite some added challenges and unknown competition from new teams in the league this season.
“Last year, there were only three teams in the league and this year we've grown to six teams. That's great to see,” he said. “We played a new team out of Edmonton two weekends ago and we won a game and lost a game against them. They are a good team and they'll be fun to play against coming up later in the season.”
The Merchants have 18 games left in the regular season, with four of them at home in Innisfail on July 10 and July 24.
For more information visit www.baseballalberta.com
Brett Littlefair, coach
"We're a smart baseball team, we don't make a lot of errors and we capitalize on every chance we get."
