The Yorkton Junior Cardinals will be hosting the 2010 Provincial Championships of baseball scheduled for July 30-Aug. 1 in Yorkton.
The tournament had previously consisted of seven teams however only six will dress following the Regina Red Sox decision not to play.
That narrows the playing field down to six clubs, including the Yorkton Junior Cardinals, Raymore Renegades, Regina Dodgers, Regina Athletics, the Saskatoon Smoking Guns and the Lloydminster Red Hawks.
Brian Trollope, coach of the Junior Cardinals and board member on the Saskatchewan Baseball Association (SBA), said the tournament schedule has just been formally accepted by all teams involved. Yorkton's opener will be on the Friday evening at 7 p.m.
At stake for all teams playing is a chance to play in the nationals, said Trollope. Also, teams finishing in second and third place will have the option of participating in western regionals, he added.Of the seven teams playing in the provincials in Yorkton, Yorkton is familiar with two of the teams-Raymore and the Regina As, Trollope said.
Lloydminster opted to play in the Saskatchewan provincials this year he said, however they could present a different challenge as they've never met up with the Cardinals.
The Smokin' Guns will also be a newer team, Trollope said. Most of their players from the last time they played Yorkton have graduated from Junior baseball and are ineligible to play due to age restrictions.Trollope said they will likely have a different set of players come provincials at the end of the month."We don't know anything about them," admits Trollope, adding that their team roster should be arriving in Yorkton at some point in the very near future.
The teams in provincials will be divided into two pools (A and B), Trollope said; one will hold four teams and the other will hold three.
He said Yorkton hopes to carry three overage players who have all played baseball in Yorkton. Dane Kobylko, Matt Poier and Daniel Lamb are all hoping to play with Yorkton in the big tournament.Trollope said that, so far, so good for the remaining players on the roster.
"So far!," he said when asked how the list of available players is shaping up.
Yorkton Cardinal rookie pitcher Tanner Denesowych may not be able to start due to injury, Trollope said, however the team's pitching is the one area that Trollope said should turn out to be an asset.
"Oh, absolutely. We have a very strong team here."
He added that should it come to it, the Cardinals may pick up a call up from another team, but that could just be in the worst case scenario, Trollope suggested.
"We want to take all the local kids. We have a strong team without any additions. The competition is going to be very strong."
With the calibre of teams about to square off at Yorkton's Jubilee Park, Trollope said the Cardinals are very excited about playing against the best in the province.
He said he's hoping for a strong crowd turnout and that spectators come out and see some good baseball.
He also added that being on a long weekend, it's hard to get an idea of how many people will show up for the games.
"It's always hard to tell for sure. Who knows? It's a long weekend," Trollope says.
He mentioned that the team is going to need volunteers to help out during the two-day tournament.
Canteen helpers, 50/50 draw sales, front gates as well as scorekeepers. He is also trying to find a booth announcer for the games.
Tickets for the tournament will be available at a cost of $5 for each day.
Yorkton will play out of pool "B', alongside the Redhawks and As.
They will open the games Friday at 3:30 p.m., vs. the Lloydminster Redhawks. Win or lose, they play again at 8:30 p.m., against the As.
Yorkton may have a third game scheduled for Saturday morning depending how they do on Friday.Elimination games are set for 12 noon on Sunday (Aug.1).
