Royals finish 2nd at Provincials...again

The Royals were in Kindersley for the annual Senior AA Provincial Championship this past weekend.  The boys were supposed to play at 9am on Saturday, however, the rains came and all games were pushed back.  The first game was at 4pm against the Dodgers.  It was a tight game until the fifth inning when the Royals broke it open with the help of a Dustin Emberley homerun.  The final score was 5-1 for the Royals with Paul Strueby picking up the win. The Outlaws were up next at 6pm.  In a tight game the Royals lost 4-3.  Brett Yarskie threw a complete game for the Royals and Dustin Emberley and Rylan Korte lead the way with two hits a piece.

This put the Royals up against the Saskatoon Diggers in th quarter final Sunday morning at 10:30.  Dean Jaeb threw a very strong complete game.  After giving up two runs in the first, Dean settled in and only gave up one more the rest of the way.  The boys battled hard and dug deep against Jordan Rawlyk, who was throwing a very good game for the Diggers, to tie the game up in the fifth and then win it in the bottom of the seventh.  Marty Yeager, Paul Strueby, Luke Strueby, and Geoff Strueby had the key hits to drive in runs in this game.  This put them up against the Regina Capitals at 3:30pm.  Colin Bauml started on the mound for the Royals throwing five strong innings.  Eric Bollefer threw two scoreless innings to secyre the win.  The boys were actually no hit through the first three innings, until they finally pushed one across on Caps starter JP Willner.  The boys broke the game open in the fifth as they scored four runs.  The boys were able to hold on for the win, advancing them to the Senior AA Provincial Final for the fourth time in five years.

The Royals were up against the Saskatoon Outlaws who had defeated the Stallions in the other semi.  The game was tight for the first two innings and then the wheels fell off.  The Royals made a couple errors and the Outlaws hit well as they got to starter Eric Bollefer and also Dean Jaeb and Craig Mcwillie who relieved him.  The bats were quiet in the game and nothing really went the way the Royals had hoped.  The final score was 13-1 for the Outlaws.  The boys can hold their heads high.  They played five games in roughly a day's time and played hard.  It was a good run and we came up against a hot team in the final.  Excellent effort boys and congrats to the Saskatoon Outlaws on their provincial championship!

The Royals would like to thank the Outlaws for hosting and the volunteers in Kindersley for putting on a great event.  A lot of hard work was done by the grounds crew after the rains came.  To get the diamonds in as good of shape as they were was fantastic.  Thanks Outlaws and Kindersley...it was a job well done.

Also thank you to all the fans who came out to support us.  It means a lot to see our wives, girlfriends, children, parents, grandparents, and all other supporters in the stands.  It makes it so much easier for us to play with the support you give us.  Thank you so much!

The Royals have three league games left as they play out the regular season.  Next action for the Royals is on Thursday when they take on the Saskatoon Dodgers at 6:30 at Cairns field.