ESTVAN – The top senior baseball teams in southeast Saskatchewan will be in Estevan on July 29 and 30 for the annual Jack Harbourne Memorial Tournament, which crowns the champions of the Saskota Baseball League.
This marks the second straight year the tournament has been held in Estevan, and league president Riley Singleton said it will follow a similar format to last year.
Teams will be divided into two pools of four. One pool will have the top-seeded Carlyle Cardinals, who have won the Harbourne Trophy the past three years, along with the fourth-seeded Estevan Tap House Wolves, the Southeast Diamondbacks (5), and the Kenosee Cubs (9).
The other pool will have the Weyburn Sun Devils (2), the Redvers A's (3), the Carnduff Astros (6) and the Oxbow Chiefs (7).
The Moosomin Badgers and the Kipling Royals finished 10th and 11th, respectively, and missed the playoffs.
The postseason began on July 25 with the Cubs defeating the eighth-seeded Arcola Threshers 7-3 in a play-in game. There will be four games on July 28, with the Cardinals, Sun Devils, Wolves and A's getting to host playoffs games.
Then everyone converges on Estevan for the 29th. There will be two games each at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m., and individual games at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
If a tie-breaker is needed, it will be at 10 a.m. on July 30. Semifinals will be at noon and the final will be at 3 p.m.
When the tournament was held in Estevan last year, it was the first time in many years that it wasn't in Kenosee Lake. Singleton noted they decided to have the tournament shift around for a two-year team.
"Every second year, teams will put in a bid to host the Harbourne Tournament, and the successful team will host for one year, and then they will have the option to host for the second consecutive year. If they decide not to, then we'll open it up for bids," said Singleton.
Estevan exercised its option to host this year.
"We all really enjoyed the tournament in Estevan last year. It was a great success," said Singleton.
Some people missed having the tournament in Kenosee, but they were happy to be in Estevan with the level of activity in the community, and the luxury of having games on two diamonds instead of one.
"Nobody had to play games at 8 a.m., which was a really nice change of pace," he said.
If they encounter adverse weather conditions, they can reschedule games, and if necessary, they have access to Lingelbach Field at Mets Stadium.
Singleton is looking forward to some great baseball during the tournament. This season was the most balanced he has seen in 19 years of involvement with the Saskota. The No. 2 Sun Devils were just five points clear of the eighth-place Threshers.
Singleton said preparations for the tournament are going well. Kevin Culy has been organizing the umpires for the games, and Danny Ewen and Jolan Lingelbach are taking care of preparations for the Estevan Tap House Wolves.
He noted the players are looking forward to a cabaret at Mets Stadium at Woodlawn Regional Park, with all proceeds going to upgrades at the ball park.
