The Stettler Storm came out triumphant from the 15U AA Tier IV Provincial Championships, which ran July 26th through to the 28th here in town.
“There were eight teams at the tournament from all over Alberta,” said Martha MacPherson, team coordinator.
“On Friday there were four games, and on Saturday there were six - we had to delay two to Sunday morning because of the rainstorm that happened on Saturday.
“Round robin finished Sunday morning, two semi-finals took place Sunday afternoon and the championship game went at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday with Stettler winning 13 to four over Innisfail.”
MacPherson said at the final game, about 200 fans came out to cheer on the team as well.
“There was a lot of local support and a lot of local sponsors, too. I’d like to thank all the sponsors who donated and helped to feed our umpires, to give water to the teams (Stettler GM donated water to give to the players).
“Stettler Dodge brought a truck down on Friday night to feed the Food Bank, and gave the top three winning teams a prize.”
Baltimore Financial donated coolers to keep the water chilled as well, she said.
“There was a lot of community support to make it so successful.”
As to the win, MacPherson couldn’t be more proud of the hard-working young players.
“Our boys came together when they needed to come together,” she said. “When they were told by the coaches not to miss routine flies and routine plays, they really put it all out on the line. They came to win it on Sunday, and it was fantastic!
“The boys also took it upon themselves to be gracious hosts of the tournament and helped to welcome the other teams.”
MacPherson said she was told by visitors what a wonderful group of volunteers and organizers there were that helped to make the tournament run so smoothly as well.
“That to me - it’s a wonderful skill for anybody to learn to volunteer their time and do things without an expectation of something back. I’m proud of all of those boys and their families for helping.”
