The Acme Red Sox, a U18 baseball team, have gone gold and are now the Alberta Midget Tier I provincial champions.
From July 27-29 Acme hosted the provincial tournament, which consisted of the best eight teams throughout the province, including Acme, Bonnyville, Camrose, Grande Prairie, Lacombe, Red Deer, Rocky Mountain House, and Vegreville.
Going into the tournament, Acme was ranked in sixth place.
“The top eight teams in the province were fairly even. Vegreville had sailed through without a loss during their season, but I think everybody felt anyone could win,” said head coach Dave Price.
Acme had a rough start on Friday. In their first game against Bonnyville, Acme lost by a one-side 17-7.
“It didn’t feel too promising after the first game, losing 17-7. We knew we had to step up our game,” said Jared Weymark, a Drumheller native and pitcher. Weymark was awarded MVP twice during the weekend. “I think it was just nerves with the home crowd.”
“They knew they could do better. We had a little bit of hometown butterflies. I talked to them about focusing and we had a fresh start,” said Price.
And better they did. The team regrouped the next day and won their remaining four games. On Saturday, Acme dominated Camrose 14-0 and Red Deer 12-8. On Sunday, in the semi-finals, Acme narrowly beat a tough Vegreville squad, sending them to the champion ship match.
Their opponent for the final fitting. They played against Bonnyville once again, but this time for gold.
The game played out like a Hollywood movie.
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. We were up one inning, and then they were the next inning. It was back and forth until the last inning. They were up 13-12 and, it was bases loaded, and Joel Ratzlaff went up to the plate and hit a grand slam,” said Weymark. “When we made that last out, we threw up our gloves, ran to the pitcher, and celebrated.”
The final game attracted a large crowd of parents, other players, and Acme and area residents. Everyone was on the edge of their seat.
“We were nervous. I’ve never seen so many people at a baseball game before. It was really exciting to have the stands full,” said Sandra Weymark.
Price explained there were a couple factors in Acme’s favour during the game.
“It feels good. The kids worked pretty hard all year. We had a great bunch of parents get behind the provincial playoffs. It was fun all round. Four of the other teams sent along their congratulations and appreciation to the community. We did well, we had great offense and pitching at the right times. I think we had a little more depth at pitching,” said Price.
The team isn’t resting on its laurels. This week the boys head to Morden, Manitoba, to compete for the title of Western Canadian champion.
“We head to Mordan, mid week and prepare for a different experience. We’ll be looking at the basics, but there is some additional refinement we need to do. There’s the next calibre of teams there, it’ll be a challenge, but I think the kids will enjoy it and we’ll do the best we can. It would be great if they did it,” said Price. “The community and surrounding area has been really supportive of the team.”
