The North Saskatchewan River Baseball League plays a key piece of the spring season in the Battlefords and other surrounding communities. (File photo/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

Full Count

Local baseball league still hopeful to host season

Apr 9, 2020 | 12:20 PM

As the springtime sun creeps ever closer, and the winter wind blisters back into hibernation, the fate of the baseball season hangs in limbo.

A warm-weather pastime of many in the community – adjacent to hockey season in the winter months – the baseball season has served as a staple of the spring for decades. Co-commissioner of the North Sask. River Baseball League (NSRBL) Kelvin Colliar said he hopes can continue this year, amid all kinds of uncertainty due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Colliar said while nothing is set in stone yet, the plan for now is to delay the season’s start from late May to sometime in early July, to allow the season to still go ahead this year.

“What we’re going to try to do is run a six to seven-game schedule through July, just to give teams a chance to play, and to get a chance to ‘tier’ some teams off with regular season play,” Colliar said. “Then in the playoffs, heading into August, we’ll run a tournament where all 12 of the teams make the playoffs.”

Colliar added for the postseason, the 12 would then be broken into two six-team tournaments: one hosted by the two North Battleford teams, and the other by the two Lloyminster clubs. The remaining 10 teams would then be balanced out between the two locations based on their finish in the standings. Out of that weekend, the winners from each of the two tournaments would then play each other in the league final, towards mid-to-late August.

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While the NSRBL continues to look for guidance from the provincial government, Saskatchewan Health Authority, Saskatchewan Baseball Association and Baseball Canada; Colliar said at least for the time being he is hopeful the season can move forward. He said he hopes young athletes eager to get back in the dugout to “get some enjoyment from the game they love and be able to participate in it.”

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1