CANORA - This Saturday, Sept, 7, the 1998 Yorkton Expos 18U baseball will be inducted into the Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame.
“It is an honour years in the making, but will be a great feeling to be recognized,” said Greg Andreychuk, current Canora Supers player/manager and member of the 1998 Expos.
“Several of the players will be at the award ceremony, which will be a feather in the cap for a great accomplishment.”
In addition to Andreychuk, other current and former Supers who were members of the Expos include: Darcy Blommaert, Travis Mentanko, Graham Lamb, Mike Chillog, Travis Fogg, Phil Sobkow, Jeff Wizniak, and Mark Newans.
In 1998, the Expos won Midget (18U) AAA Provincial Championship and went on to earn bronze medals at Nationals.
A post at the Canora Supers Facebook stated, “Congratulations guys, it's well deserved!”
The Expos original roster had 12 players, competing in two leagues: South Saskatchewan (18U) Midget AAA Baseball League, and the Southeast Senior Baseball League. In total, the team played in 64 games throughout the season, with an impressive record of 46 wins, 16 losses and 2 ties.
Being a part of the team required extreme commitment and dedication, according to Andreychuk.
“This team enjoyed playing ball, and thrived on competing against the best competition possible. Most teams would not commit to playing in more than one league, but the Expos teams routinely did this throughout the ’90s.”
Led by coaches Kash Andreychuk, Vern Neal, and John Zeeben, the number one rule for the team was, “You have to have fun.”
“If you weren’t enjoying yourself than you were on the wrong team,” said Andreychuk. “The team did not get down if an error was made, or if a call didn’t go their way. With a potent lineup, good pitching and a solid defence, the group knew they could overcome adversity. On several occassions the Expos found themselves trailing games by five or more runs, only to make a comeback and win.”
Many of the Expos players were among the league leaders in hitting and pitching. Travis Mentanko was one of the most respected power hitters, leading the 18U league in home runs and runs batted in. Graham Lamb and Mike Chillog were among the top five in batting average and stolen bases, while Greg Andreychuk was also among the league leaders in stolen bases. Darcy Blommaert and Travis Fogg were in the top five in pitching wins, strikeouts and earned run average.
In 1999, several of the Expos players graduated from the 18U ranks, and needed a place to play. These players were: Andreychuk, Blommaert, Chillog, Lamb, Mentanko, and Wizniak. Yorkton had one senior baseball team at the time, the Yorkton Black Sox, but they had a full roster with no openings. Lamb had been playing Junior B hockey in Canora with the Cobras, so the rest of the guys ended up joining him and the Supers.
“It was a tremendous season,” recalled Andreychuk, “with the new recruits and some seasoned vets such as player/coach Terry Dennis, Aaron Chicilo, Mike Weisgerber, Jeff Bahrey and Todd Schaefer placing first in the regular season and also taking home the league championship with a 3-0 series win over the Madge Lake Marlins.”
To this day, Andreychuk, Blommaert, and Mentanko still suit up for the Supers. Chillog had played with the Supers until 2007 before moving to Regina, where he still plays to this day with the Regina Capitals in the Qu’Appelle Valley Baseball League. He even played a game with the Supers in 2024 in Melville against the Parkland Pirates when the team was short players.
Phil Sobkow was picked up for Provincials and Nationals by the Expos, and played several years for the Supers from 2014 to 2022. Mark Newans also played on the Expos, and joined the Supers down the road, winning the Senior League title in 2008.
“Not many people play senior baseball into their mid 40s, but for some there is just not much else to do during the summer months, and baseball is a way of life,” concluded Andreychuk.
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