It was a simple case of being on the wrong side of math.
While the Innisfail Merchants Jr. AAA Baseball Club were on the right side when they hosted the Western Canada Baseball Association Junior AAA Championships in 2012, it was not meant to be this year in Regina.
The Merchants, who lost the title game last year in a thrilling, heartbreaking extra inning affair, found themselves in a three-way second- place tie at this year's round-robin championship held from August 8 to 11.
A complex mathematical formula, based on runs against and then runs for, kept them out of the title game. The Merchants were forced to be on the outside looking in as teams they beat during the round-robin were given the right to win it all.
“Last year in Innisfail we actually got into the final because of this math equation, and this year it kind of bit us in the butt. You live by the sword, you die by the sword,” said Merchants head coach Desmond Bouteiller.
The Merchants were chosen to represent Alberta at the tourney for the third year in a row, and after losing the final game in both previous appearances, the team's mantra was definitely third time is a charm.
But things began poorly for the Merchants, who rolled into Regina just hours before their first game during the evening of Aug. 8. Tired and slightly haggard from the long journey from Innisfail, the Merchants lost their first game 5–3 to the hometown Regina Red Sox.
“I think we had a bit of jet lag from being cooped up in vehicles and we got there just a couple of hours before game time. We had a couple of costly errors that sunk us in one inning,” said Bouteiller.
And things didn't get better in the second game the following morning. The Merchants were blown away 12–3 by the Carillon Sultans.
“We had another bad inning with an error. The guys kind of had it in the back of their minds that we couldn't have any errors because of the night before,” said Bouteiller. “I think the guys got nervous and the other team just capitalized. We brought up a couple of kids to pitch and we decided to give them a look and the game got out of hand.”
But pride set in and the Merchants found a way to settle themselves down and prove they were a championship calibre squad. The Innisfail-based Alberta team rolled off three straight victories, beginning with a solid 7-6 win over the Arm River Indians, a team that reached the finals.
“We were down going into the last inning and we had a big come-from- behind win,” said Bouteiller. “We scored three runs in the seventh inning to take the lead and Brady Porter came in and shut the door. That was a boost we needed for us to realize that we were one of the better teams in this tournament.”
The next morning the Merchants beat Pembina Valley Orioles 3-2, the team that ultimately won the gold in the title game with a 4-1 victory over Arm River.
The Merchants closed out the round-robin with a 3-1 win over the Regina Pirates. They rebounded nicely but the math equation for settling three-way ties for second meant the Innisfail squad went home empty-handed again. In the meantime, the Merchants, who began three years ago as a promising young team of players between 18 and 21 years old, will have to rebuild for 2014.
“We are losing eight guys and five were part of the original nine on this team,” said Bouteiller, noting the departing players also helped the club through fundraising and attending trade shows to promote the team. “It's kind of tough seeing those guys leave because it's the last of the original crew. It bodes well for the senior team because they are going to have those guys the whole year. They are a solid group.”
