North Battleford Beavers start their campaign with hopes of a fourth straight title

Despite their recent dominance, Gregoire said the Beavers know they will face stiff competition throughout the league and aren’t taking anything for granted.

“I look at the NSRBL league here, and we have some really talented teams,” he said. “Lashburn’s been up and coming; Lloydminster looks like they’re going to be up and coming. We’ve always had really good battles with the Unity Cardinals that we faced in the finals last year.”

Gregoire pointed to the Beavers’ hitting as the club’s biggest strength, while adding that strong pitching and defence have also played key roles in the team’s success.

“Defence-wise, I think we’ve always had some really good defence,” he said. “Whether that’s guys in the outfield, infielders or catching. Hitting has been our top one, but the others have been pretty good facets of our team.”

He added the team hopes to build more depth on the mound this season by spreading innings around to more pitchers.

“Get a few other guys to start throwing as well too,” Gregoire said. “I think that’ll make us a little bit deeper down the stretch. So, we’re going to look at that to help get a few other guys in there and take some innings off other guys.”

The Beavers also received strong community support ahead of the season through a successful fundraiser, something Gregoire said the organization appreciates.

“I just want to say a big thanks to all our sponsorship and supporters throughout the years,” he said. “Looking forward to having fans. We had some awesome attendances last year there. Hopefully we get some nice weather to come out there.”

Following tonight’s opener, the Beavers return home Thursday for a rematch of last year’s championship series against the Unity Cardinals. First pitch at Beaver Lions Stadium is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

—

Ryan.Lambert@pattisonmedia.com

by Ryan Lambert

North Battleford Beavers start their campaign with hopes of a fourth straight title

What's Trending