The Battlefords Minor Baseball Association are still hoping to hold a season for their older age groups at the U-13, U-15 and U-18 levels. (Submitted photo/Clint Gieni)

By Martin Martinson

Batters Up

Battlefords Minor Baseball cautiously optimistic for limited summer season

Jun 19, 2020 | 3:00 PM

Baseball in the Battlefords could become a reality this summer if all goes according to plan.

The Battlefords Minor Baseball Association has already cancelled the season for their younger levels and house league, as the campaign would ordinarily have wrapped up around late June. However, the league is hopeful they can still host some semblance of a season this summer for their older players within the U-13, U-15 and U-18 ages groups.

A boon to the idea of a potential return was the announcement this week from the province that Phase four of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan will take affect Monday. The phase authorizes the potential for local sports and activities to return to play.

President of the Battlefords Minor Baseball Association, Clinton Gieni, said the league is currently working on hopefully making the season a reality, though he said there is still a lot to figure out before any dates for a potential schedule can be finalized.

“The biggest challenge is just figuring out what the rules are in regards to what you’re able to do and not do when the season starts,” Gieni said. “The idea of how much space you have, how clean your equipment needs to be, how many people you can actually have at your ball diamond; there are lots of those types of questions.”

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Following Baseball Saskatchewan’s announcement earlier this month that all provincial tournaments would be cancelled, a number of communities within the province have already put their association on hold for the year. However, Gieni said Battlefords Minor Baseball have chosen to take a more optimistic approach, hoping they can still give the older youth a chance at some kind of season.

He said especially for those about to graduate from the U-18 ranks, it would be nice to give them a chance to take the field for at least an abbreviated final year of play.

“For the Midget players, those U18’s who are going into their last year, it would be nice to see them get a little bit of ball in and not completely miss the season,” Gieni said. “From that perspective, that’d be the one group I would [especially] like to see play some ball, as limited as it might be.”

Gieni said while the optimism remains, the reality is the clock is ticking on a potential season timeline.

“The further we go into the summer, the less of a season we’re looking at,” he said. “Then of course you have school starting in September, and different sports potentially. With all those things there’s a time for ball, and it is the summer time, those four months. As each day ticks by you just lose one of those days as an opportunity to play ball.”

Those interested in keeping up to date with the latest developments on the Battlefords Minor Baseball season are invited to visit their website and social media platforms.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1