The Acme Red Sox AA Midget team added to its medal count. The team came home last week from the Western Championships wearing silver.
The team had earned their way to the championships after winning gold in the Alberta AA Midget championship.
“We’re pretty happy with our performance. Our goal was to see if we could make it to the western finals and we did that,” said head coach Dave Price. “The guys played very well.”
The tournament included the host team, the Morden Wild, Prince George IDL, Swift Current Indians, Altona, and the Acme Red Sox.
The Red Sox got off to a shaky start in their first game at 8:45 a.m. on Friday, August 17, losing 7-3 to the Morden Wild. In their second game, the Red Sox fared no better against Altona.
“It was first game early and didn’t feel like we got going the way we like. The second game we had a tough game and stayed close until the last inning or so,” said Price.
The next day was a different story.
“We reset ourselves Saturday morning and played really well against B.C. and Swift Current. Swift Current has traditionally played well at this level, so we were happy to have knocked them off,” said Price.
In their first game on Saturday, the Red Sox defeated a tough Swift Current team 12-10. Later in the afternoon, they beat Prince George 3-2.
The two wins set the stage for a tie breaker against Swift Current, which the Red Sox won. The Red Sox were headed to the final game against Altona.
“The guys were pretty pumped and ready to play. Altona is a really strong team, so we knew we had our work cut out for us,” said Price. “We got the first two runs, we stayed in it, worked hard, but they were the better team.”
The Red Sox were defeated 12-3, by Altona, who were the defending champions. The Red Sox earned a silver medal
“It’s outstanding for the size of the community our kids come from, they did an outstanding job,” said Price,
This may be the last time most of the team plays together. Most of the players will be too old to play at the midget level. The departure does however, usher in a new group of midget Red Sox, who aim to have fun and continue the team's championship ways.
“We hear there will be enough kids to have another midget level team next year,” said Price. “It’s mostly about the kids enjoying the game and learning as they go. There’s outstanding support from the community and parents. It makes it a lot more fun for the kids all the way through.”
