By Nathan Kanter

Midget Beavers confident heading into provincials

Jul 19, 2017 | 12:00 PM

Ever since the end of their AA Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League season, the AA midget Beavers have been practicing hard and getting in exhibition games to prepare for provincials.

That weekend is nearly upon them.

They’ll begin play in Tier III provincials in Saskatoon this Friday afternoon at 1 p.m. against the Saskatoon Thunder Braves.

“When I look at the 10 teams that are in the tournament, we’ve played probably half of them and we’ve stacked up nicely against the half,” Beavers head coach Bert Benoit said. “There’s going to be some tough teams there but I think we’re ready for it and the kids are excited for it.”

The Beavers will round out the round robin with games against the Saskatoon A’s, the Prince Albert Royals, and the Oxbow Orioles.

Rustlers Volleyball

Crusaders' Bell excited for next chapter with Lakeland College

12h ago

Nothing but Net

Vikings' standouts ready for national stage with Team Saskatchewan

15h ago

Missing person

Spiritwood RCMP searching for missing woman

18h ago

This past weekend, the Beavers played two exhibition games, one against that same Prince Albert team, and one against the Meadow Lake White Sox, who are in the other pool in Tier III. 

The Beavers won both games.

“We play in a more competitive league, a higher caliber, and the kids are responding and playing well,” Benoit said. “When you play better teams all year, you learn the things that you need to focus on and you see how some of the plays are made.

“When you can apply that learning back into…when you’re playing equal teams, it helps your team shine because you’ve seen some of the better players out there.”

That being said, there’s clearly still challenges ahead.

In practices, which are twice a week, the club has been working on pretty much everything, with an emphasis on batting.

“We’ve been hitting the batting cage, as well as doing some live batting,” Benoit said. “We’ve been certainly working on our defence part as well. Pitching and bringing everybody through the pitching that we can. And of course ground balls, fly balls, and just focusing on trying to read the play a little quicker and make the play with good throws.”

What makes hitting particularly tough for younger players at the midget level is seeing a wider array of pitches that you’re not used to seeing.

That is something Benoit said the team can learn from and take into next season.

“The pitches are coming faster and there’s a lot more, call it junk if you will, [where] you never know what the ball is going to do,” he said. “I think the ability to read that pitch coming through is going to be key. The defensive part of it, I think the kids are playing well. It seems to be as a whole in the Battlefords, we struggle with the batting piece.”

The team has added two players to their roster as well, and they will primarily be used in a pitching capacity.

If the Beavers qualify for the semifinals out of their pool, that elimination game will go on Sunday, as will the gold medal game.

“We’re excited about the weekend coming up and I think we can compete with the teams that are in our division,” Benoit added.

nathan.kanter@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @NathanKanter11