Milleteers look to three-peat in 2011

The Leduc Milleteers will look to make history to become the fourth team since 1987 to win three straight Powerline Baseball League championships.

To do it, they’ll likely have to go through the same teams they’ve gone through the past two seasons – Bardo and Ryley.

The league seems to be staying relatively the same except for a movement of Tofield to Camrose. Talk of a team in Sherwood Park and Fort Saskatchewan remains a little bit up in the air as they look for someone to run the team and gather enough players to make it work.

With that in mind, and many weeks before the league meeting, tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 17, all of that is up in the air and won’t be finalized until teams round out their rosters in the spring.

It’s still a fact that Leduc remains the heavy favourite to repeat again as champions. Their biggest competition has been Bardo since they entered the league three years ago. A semi-final loss, a championship win and a grueling semi-final victory against Bardo last year has made for epic commentary and contests. Is it Bardo’s time to strike back? 

Speaking of Bardo, word is spreading they have acquired four new players in the build-up of ammunitions to try and defeat the Milleteer attack. A pitcher who formerly delivered in the Sunburst league and former Tofield Laker Dylan Berrecloth, related to current A’s all-star Rob Berrecloth, are two of those additions. Whether these can be enough to acquire home field and conquer Leduc in the playoffs remain to be seen.

Ryley and Holden remain the biggest wild cards in my mind.

Holden showed they have a solid young staff, but will there youth and inexperience get the best of them as it did last year? Do they need just one or two years to challenge for the top spot and ward off inconsistencies?

Ryley just needs to stay healthy and out of trouble. Their relationship with the Camrose Axemen provides them with quality talent and resources, but injuries and commitment hurt them throughout the season. Making the championship was a step in the right direction. But can they take the final step and become a legitimate contender?

Armena and Camrose remain dark horses. But one would imagine with the team in Camrose and Larry Lewsaw providing some assistance, a new Roadrunner team could be better. The stiff competition makes it difficult for either team to crack the top four, but the regular season is always up for grabs.

It should make for an interesting spring, and with so many weeks before the league meeting, just like every year, there’s sure to be some twists and turns before the schedule comes out.

Posted on January 21, 2011 by Jason Buzzell