Teams showcase best part of league
Posted July 13, 2009
The Leduc Milleteers and Armena Royals showcased good pitching, stellar plays, great sportsmanship and pretty much everything that makes our league the funnest men’s league to play in in Alberta Sunday night.
It was surely a magnificent advertisement for our league in a big-city suburb that has a thriving baseball community.
“I didn’t even know this league existed,” said a Sherwood Park man who grew up in the Tofield area long ago.
They do now.
Even Rob Berrecloth and Kris Kushnerick of Bardo and Ryley assisted the Royals with scrounging up some foul balls out of the black forest along the first base line. Just another sign that even opponents in our league help each other out. Armena owes them a beer or two!
In the game of course, after five innings of no-hit baseball by Armena pitcher Kyle Ellis with no errors, things got a little shaky late, but it wasn’t the calibre of baseball that likely impressed the three umpires, two of which are on the Sherwood Park baseball board, including the vice president.
It has Sherwood Park Minor Baseball buzzing about entering a seventh team into the PBL mix. We ALL remember the great Athletics run of 1994. OK maybe not, but there is a history there.
Back to the game; both teams laughed, played hard, but also enjoyed the grass infield and a beautiful Sunday night. The game of course was moved to Sherwood Park for umpires and because of field conditions in Armena.
At the end of the day, you couldn’t have asked for a better game to put out the notice that, “Hey, it ain’t terrible baseball, and wow, you guys have fun and don’t tell the umps to…”
Well most of us don’t. And that’s what we need to remember.
Our league can grow and be one of the best – not because of AAA calibre players, although we have a few – but because of our enjoyment of the game. Just something to keep in mind.
Now bring on the stretch drive and playoffs!
Posted on July 13, 2009 by Jason Buzzell
