Last week, the Regional Optimist reported the names of the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League MVP nominees, this week provides some insight as to why those 15 players were chosen from their peers and are in the running for the league honour.
The majority of the nominees have done some pitching this season as well as carried a big bat. Five of the players nominated by their teams last season are on the ballot again this season.
New this year is the league's top batter Troy Winterhalt. He batted .553 with 21 hits and 21 runs this season he also drew 12 walks and had 10 RBI with six stolen bases.
In 12 games, Winterhalt had at least one hit and had seven multi-hit games while batting second in the solid Lloydminster Meridian Twins' lineup.
Winterhalt, who patrolled left field for the most of the season for the Twins, helped the team go undefeated with a 14-0 record and 2-0 thus far in the playoffs.
Winterhalt also pitched 7.1 innings giving up just six hits with a 1.91 ERA and five strikeouts.
Wilkie Brewers representative, Nick Pertnisky, is one of the repeat MVP nominees and last season he finished in the top three in voting for the award. The Brewers' second baseman had a .409 average and was tied for the top spot for the second straight year in home runs with three. Pernitsky also had seven stole bases and often sets the tone for the Brewers' offence as the leadoff batter.
Pernitsky has helped the Brewers clinch second place with a 12-2 record.
Jason Fechter was expected to be one of the top end pitchers this season and he certainly met expectations. Fechter had three wins and a loss with the Lloydminster Junior Redhawks this season in five appearances and 22.1 innings pitched. He finished with a 2.19 ERA and seventh in the league with 34 strikeouts.
Along with his strong performance on the mound, Fechter had 17 hits this season in 14 games and batted .370. He scored 13 times and drove in a team best 19 runs.
The Redhawks placed third this season thanks to the pitching depth and Fechter was huge part of that.
The fourth place team, Meadow Lake White Sox, continue to make strides each season, and this season that is thanks in part to their big right-hander, Quincey Winkler. The White Sox earned home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs with an 11-3 mark.
Winkler played 13 games this season and pitched in four picking up a 3-1 record. Winkler had 41 strikeouts and a 2.04 ERA with one no-hitter this season.
When he wasn't pitching, Winkler often stands at first base. At the plate he blasted two home runs and batted .395 with 17 hits and he earned a hit in 12 of his 13 games played.
Winkler will likely pitch in the playoff series against the Beavers this week. He also helped the White Sox earned a berth in the senior A2 provincial championship while picking up three of the team's four wins in the two playoff qualifying series.
The North Battleford Beavers representative, Rylan Rogers went 4-2 on the season and recorded two no-hitters. He had one of the league's best ERA at 1.17 and was second in the league with 50 strikeouts. Rogers is a cornerstone for the Beavers since they rejoined the league and is a co-manager as well.
Rogers is no slouch at the plate, either. He made a plate appearance in 11 games and batted .353 with nine RBI, 13 runs and a stolen base.
Rogers will be looked to help the Beavers extend their playoff run and will be a key part of the Beavers' provincial run in Saskatoon. The Beavers record was 9-4-1 this season.
The Border City Blue Jays, held claim to the NSRBL MVP last season when Colby Field took that honour. This time they nominated another strong pitcher, Brian White.
White had one win, one loss and a save this season in five appearances and 23 innings pitched. He had 33 strikeouts, which put him in the top 10 in the league and a 1.83 ERA.
White helped the Blue Jays earned the sixth spot in the NSRBL standings with an 8-6 record.
He also belted out one home run, eight hits for a .571 average, three stolen bases, five RBI and seven runs.
Last season, Francis Keifer of the Unity Cardinals was the team's MVP and although he pitched less this season, his numbers were similar. Keifer was 3-1-1 with a save in seven appearances this season. He pitched 28.1 innings with a 1.98 ERA and he recorded 22 strikeouts and gave up just eight earned runs.
Keifer also improved his average this season as he batted .290. He had nine hits, nine RBI, 12 runs and a stolen base for the Cardinals, who finished with a 7-6-1 record.
The Cardinals used their staff ace in their first playoff game this week against Wilkie.
The Mervin Flyers crawled into the eighth spot and made the playoffs this season and Doug Bannerman will have to take some credit for that.
He batted .409 with a team high 16 RBI, 18 hits, 17 runs and a stolen base. In the second half of the season when the Flyers were in the hunt for a playoff spot, Bannerman had a hit in eighth straight games to end the season and 13 of his 16 RBI came during that stretch.
Mervin jumped back into the playoff picture this season with a 7-7 record and although their playoff season is already over, Bannerman and the Flyers have to be happy with the team's success and the fact they won one round of senior A provincial playoffs before bowing out to the North Battleford Beavers.
Kindersley went 7-7 this season and were on the outside of the playoff picture. The Raiders lost a couple key players from last season, but Kyle Adamson did his part to step up and fill the void left in Kindersley.
Adamson had a .308 on base percentage and scored eighth times in just 26 plate appearances.
The Raiders' focus all season has been towards provincials, which they are hosting Aug. 7 and 8 and they will need guys like Adamson in the bottom half of the lineup to set the table and create some offence for them to be successful.
The Midwest Expos were back in the league and a big reason for that was the work of Nathan Mullet. Mullet was a driving force behind the creation of the team when they were junior age and he was once again a driving force behind them re-entering the league, now as a senior team.
The Expos were 4-10 this season and Mullet earned all four wins for the Expos. He was 4-3 with a 3.35 ERA and 31 strikeouts while pitching a league high 46 innings.
Mullet also batted .333 with 11 hits and eight RBI in 12 games and 42 plate appearances.
The Unity Midgets may have surprised some this season with their talent and although they were 3-10 this season, the players on the Midgets' roster have a bright future in the league.
Like so many players coming up from the midget ranks and playing in the league, the experience is a huge asset.
The Midgets lost three games by one run this season and that appeared to be the difference between fighting for a playoff spot and dropping to the bottom of the league.
The Midgets team MVP is Cory Wildeman. He appeared in 12 games and pitched in eight this season with a total of 25.1 innings pitched. Wildeman had a 1-2 record with a 4.14 ERA.
Wildeman batted .256 with four runs, five RBI and five stole bases.
In 12th place were the Standard Hill Lakers with a 3-11 record. The Lakers lost a handful of players this season, but their MVP, Chris Chapman, was one player they could always count on, as he led the team with .381 average.
Chapman had 16 hits, seven RBI, nine runs and three stolen bases this season.
Chapman also took to the mound for nine innings giving up nine earned runs and finishing with one loss on the books.
Also at 3-11 were the Edam Blue Sox. Manager, pitcher and shortstop for the Blue Sox, Kelly Baillargeon, has tried to revitalize senior baseball in Edam and did a good job fielding a team while putting up some strong numbers himself.
In five pitching appearances, Baillargeon was 0-2 with a save, but he recorded 24 strikeouts. He also batted in the top half of the Blue Sox's lineup and was .320 for the season with 10 runs, three RBI and five stolen bases.
Baillargeon also joined forces with the Mervin Flyers for a run at provincials and picked up a win in the only game he pitched against the Saskatoon Brewers.
Like Baillargeon, Scott Thompson of the St. Walburg Reds joined Mervin for provincials. Thompson started three of the four games for Mervin during their provincial playoffs.
In the NSRBL, Thompson was the Reds' MVP last season in the team's first year in the league and again he earned the honour in 2010.
Thompson was known for his pitching abilities, but he also contributed with his bat this season, as he among the league leaders with a .462 average. Thompson had one homer with five RBI, six runs and a stolen base while the Reds were 2-12
Thompson pitched in all 10 games he appeared in this season and was 0-5 with a save. He had a 5.29 ERA, but recorded a league high 56 strikeouts with 32 earned runs in 42.1 innings.
The Lloydminster Midget Twins were 1-12 and in the league's cellar, but Rylan Urban put up respectable numbers to earn the team's MVP honour.
Urban batted .286 this season with six RBI, seven runs and five stolen bases. After a slow start, Urban had 10 hits in seven games to finish the season.
Urban also pitched 5.2 innings picking up one loss in two appearances.
The deadline for teams to vote and submit their picks for the league MVP is next week and the results should be known by next week's Regional Optimist.
