Athletics--Bronze Medalists, represent Saskatchewan at Western Canada Baseball Championships The Regina Athletics fought their way through the round robin of the Saskatchewan Baseball Association Midget AAA championships, winning each of three games by a single run. The opener featured  a 7th inning rally to overcome a 4-run deficit.  The A's notched a run in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Diamondbacks 5-4.  Jonathan Matity,  with 3 1/3 scoreless innings in relief to earn the win, and two key base hits, was awarded the game MVP. Cole Paquin went the distance in the second game against the SE Twins, and was awarded the game MVP in the 2-1 win. Not exactly a classic at 14-13, but the final round-robin game against the Moose Jaw Devons was not devoid of drama.   Kaden McEachern was awarded the game MVP after he hit a walk-off two-run single in the bottom of the 7th.  In a thrilling semi-final against the Regina Wolfpack, the A's battled back from a 4-run deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth.  With two outs in the top of the seventh, the Pack strung together three base hits to pull ahead for a 6-4 final score. As Bronze Medalists, the A's join the Southeast Twins in representing Saskatchewan at Western Canada Baseball Championships in Winnipeg, Manitoba, August 22-25.  30 July 2013

Athletics tie for first place in SPBL regular season The A's closed the regular season by splitting a pair with the Diamondbacks to finish 23-8-1 in league play.  Cross-town rival Wolfpack had an identical record.  The Pack will be seeded as the first-place team in SBA Provincial Championships on the basis of head-to-head results over the season. 29 July 2013

Into the home stretch After dropping one to the Giants, the A's went on a tear, winning their next three league games and six straight wins at the Spokane -Couer d'Alene tournament before losing the semi-final for a  third-place finish in the the 50-team tournament.  Going into last night's tilt against the Wolfpack, the A's had won 15 of their previous 16 games for a season mark of 33-10 overall and 21-7 in league play. Last night at Optimist, the Athletics came back from an early deficit to hold a 5-3 lead over the Wolfpack going into the bottom of the 7th.  Timely hitting and an few key mistakes enabled the Pack to tie it up just before the Optimist curfew came into effect.  The Athletics will wind up the SPBL regular season with a single game against the Mets tonight at Pacer at 6 pm, and a twin bill hosting the Diamondbacks on Thursday at noon and 3 o'clock, also at Pacer. 16 July 2013

Now, back to baseball!! With finals and graduations nearly wrapped up, The Athletics have a firm grasp on second place in the SPBL.  A busy weekend facing the Giants, Cubs and this season's first look at the Swift Current Indians begins tonight, then off to Spokane for the Spokane-Couer d'Alene American legion Wood Bat Classic. The A's, 2011 champions at this tournament, will face four teams from the Pacific Northwest in the round robin, held July 4 and 5.   28 June 2013

Alivia Approves Athletics fan Alivia Lucci celebrates her first Father's Day by cheering the A's to a 9-2 win over the Calgary Redbirds in the consolation final at the Mary Oikawa Memorial Tournament at Spitz Stadium in Lethbridge.  The A's ended the round-robin with two dramatic come-from-behind wins and two losses, which put them in a four-way tie for second.  The final featured two-hit pitching by Pat Kelley and Cole Paquin, a couple of very good plays on ground balls by third-basemen Kaden McEachern, and solid hitting all through the lineup.     The schedule slows a bit for the next two weeks as A's scholar-athletes prepare for final exams. Congratulations to Athletics who are graduating from high school:  Kyle Pirlot, Jonathan Matity, Jesse LaRocque, Mark Romanow and Pat Kelley.   17 June 2013

Road Trip! After convincing wins against the Cubs and Wolfpack, the A's venture forth on their first major trip of the season, to the Mary Oikawa Memorial Tournament in Lethbridge.  The A's will face a tough assortment of Alberta-based Midget and American Legion teams.   12 June 2013

That's more like it   The A's head for Saskatoon tonight to face the Cubs at Cairns Field.  D'backs at Currie on Saturday, Two in Estevan on Sunday, Tuesday against Wolfpack at Pacer, and then off to Lethbridge. 6 June 2013

Time to Re-group The A's faced quality pitching and played inconsistent defense, resulting in a three-game slide against the Devons and Wolfpack.  The A's face another tough opponent in the Mets this Tuesday at Optimist Park. 3 June 2013

LaRocque outduels Crosbie on mound That was the headline in the Moose Jaw Times Herald article, and there isn't much more to say.  Well done, Jesse.  29 May 2013

A's sweep and split in weekend double-headers The Athletics travelled to Saskatoon this weekend for a pair of doubleheaders at Cairns Field. The A's started the weekend with a pair of gems against the defending Saskatchewan champion Giants.  In the opener, Pat Kelley thrilled the crowd and baffled the Giants with a complete game no-hitter.  Kelley struck out 15 and walked one. This was the fifth no-hitter in the past three seasons of Athletics baseball.   Jonathan Matity got his first start of the season in the second game.  He held the Giants scoreless for four innings to record the 11-1 win.  Legien and Keller took the mound in relief, and in total, the pitching corps again struck out 15 Giants, while the offense pounded out 16 hits.  Ryan Wagner held the Diamondbacks to two runs through the first four innings of Sunday's opener, but the D'backs ralled for three in the fifth. Paquin came on in relief and the D'backs added one in the sixth to tie the game at 6-6.  The score remained tied until the top of the ninth when Griff Keller led off with a double, advanced to third on an error, and scored the winning run on a Liam McDougall sacrifice fly. The D'backs roughed up Kaden McEachern in the first inning of his first start of the season, but he settled in for a second inning in which he gave up only one un-earned run.  The A's bats were quiet in this one, with Braden Pfeill of the D'backs recording a complete game 9-2 win. A very successful weekend, taking 3 of 4 from tough league rivals.  Coming up, away and home against the MJ Devons.                                                                        27 May, 2013

A's continue winning ways.... The A's roll continued on Wednesday evening at Optimist Park with a 10-5 win over the Twins.  Veteran Jesse LaRocque got his first win of the season in a very economical 5 innings requiring only 65 pitches.  Kaden McEachern recorded two strong innings in relief and Parker Toppings broke the ice with his first two hits of the young season. The A's now look forward to their busiest stretch of the season, with 20 games in 23 days, beginning with double-headers against the Giants on Saturday and against the Dbacks on Sunday, both at Saskatoon's Cairns Field. 24 May 2013

Still undefeated.... The defending champion Athletics finished 2-0-2 in pool play at the 2013 Moose Jaw Selects tournament, not quite good enough to advance to Monday's final.   Friday evening's 0-0 tie with the Wolfpack featured outstanding pitching by Pat Kelley and Wolfpack starter Kendall Daniels.   Ryan Wagner was the starter and winning pitcher, and Kyle Pirlot homered in a 7-0 over a game Lloydminster team comprised entirely of first-year players.  Look out for the Lloydminster Twins in years to come! Griffin Keller and Jonathan Matity combined to keep the A's within range of the Giants, despite some costly errors.  The A's rallied for four runs in the top of the seventh to secure a 5-5 tie.  The seventh featured run-producing hits by Ryker Toffan and Jonathan Matity The A's prevailed over the Saskatoon Diamondbacks 3-2 in the final game of pool play, a two-hitter by Cole Paquin.  Nolan Legien made a heads-up play in right to double a runner off first, had two hits and came to the mound in relief to notch the save.  Jesse LaRocque and Liam McDougall also contributed two hits apiece. Next A's action is Wednesday, May 22 hosting the SE Twins at Optimist Park.  19 May 2013

A's improve to 2-0 The Athletics prevailed over the SE Twins, 5-2, to notch their second win of the new season.  New additions to the pitching staff continued to impress, with strong outings by Keller and Paquin in relief of starter Wagner, and solid defense.    Next up, the A's face  the Wolfpack in the first game of the Moose Jaw tournament, 6 pm Friday at Montgomery field in Moose Jaw.   14 May 2013

Finally, OPENING DAY Last night the A's came out firing on all cylinders in their 2013 debut against the Moose Jaw Devons, an 11-0 win.  Highlights included solid pitching by Kelley, Matity and McEachern; Kyle Pirlot's booming shot off the right field wall; offensive production throughout the lineup; and stellar defense.    Game story in MJ times-Herald  http://www.mjtimes.sk.ca/Sports/Baseball/2013-05-10/article-3242716/Familiar-follies-foil-Devons/1 10 May 2013

Welcome to the Regina Athletics Baseball Club 2013 Roster

24 Pat Kelley 34  Kaden McEachern  33  Jesse LaRocque 12  Cole Paquin  00  Mark Romanow 18  Liam McDougall  14  Kyle Pirlot 15 Ryker Toffan  3  Parker Toppings 40  Griffin Keller  16  Dan Geordie McDougall 26  Jonathan Matity  6  Ryan Wagner 25 Nolan Legien