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Lacombe PeeWee AA Dodgers place sixth overall in province

The Lacombe PeeWee AA Dodgers hosted the provincial championship tournament this past weekend and placed sixth in the competition.

The Lacombe PeeWee AA Dodgers hosted the provincial championship tournament this past weekend and placed sixth in the competition.

There were 35 teams in the division and the top eight competed at Michener Park with the Okotoks Outlaws Orange taking home the title of provincial champions after defeating the Edmonton Angels.

“Our record for the Dodgers was one win, two losses so we officially ended up in sixth place. We were unable to come through with the win in our next game, which would have put us in the semi-final. We lost to the Edmonton northeast team, who went on to play Okotoks in the final,” said Coach Lyle Lorenz.

“Our highlight of the tournament was defeating the number one seed, Camrose, by a score of 17-7, which is the mercy rule - 10 runs up after five. We beat them and they were the number one team in the province throughout the 20 game schedule. They came in with a record of 18 wins and two losses. Those two losses were very close games, and we were the only team that beat them to that degree. Our team had the best game of the season in that game, I’d say.”

The Dodgers have had a successful season, with many of the players moving in this year from community leagues. Unfortunately, they were beat out over the weekend from some of the top provincial teams. However, Lorenz said in league play the team did well and proved their skill.

“In league play we did defeat the two teams that were in the final game. I think the fact that we beat the top two teams showed that they really belong in the top tier,” Lorenz said.

“We finished sixth out of 35 teams (in the PeeWee AA division) – we’re very happy about that and I’m very proud of the kids.

“We were given the option to pick up players from lower tiers and we decided right at the start of the year that we would not pick up other players to re-enforce during provincials. Teams like Edmonton picked up a couple of pitchers and they were good players,” he added.

Awards were given out at the provincial championships - Most Valuable Player (MVP) and the Heart & Hustle Award. From the Dodgers, MVP awards were awarded to players Lewis Rice, Joe Partington and Zoë Lorenz-Boser. Heart and Hustle Awards were given to Lorenz-Boser, Myles Pallister and Graylin Geisbrecht.

“We were the eighth seed coming into the provincials so we’re very happy with how things went. The kids played well and every one of our 12 players did something really, really well throughout the weekend. I’m very pleased and very proud of our team,” Lorenz said.

kmendonsa@lacombeexpress.com