By Jeff D'Andrea

Astros now ‘Saskatchewan 1,’ beat Selects in provincials

Jul 5, 2012 | 5:14 PM

The Prince Albert Astros midget fastball team did something this weekend they haven’t all year, and that’s beat the Saskatoon Selects.

Despite heading into the provincial final series against the Selects with a 0-3 record against them throughout the season, the Astros beat them in four games to win the provincial crown, and will head to the 2012 Pepsi U18 Men’s Championships in Fredericton, NB Aug. 6-12 as the top Saskatchewan team.

“We had a really good couple of practices going into provincials and the fellas really committed themselves to believing in the fact that they can beat that team,” said Astros head coach Kalen Kovitch. “It’s not that they couldn’t or think that they couldn’t beat them before, but I just think it all clicked.

“Once the bats came alive, all of a sudden, the defence is playing with a lot more confidence.”
The Astros came out to a flying start with an 11-2 win in Game 1 Saturday in Saskatoon, which set the tone for the rest of the series.

“That was big, because you could tell Saskatoon might have been a little overconfident,” Kovitch said. “They started all three of their pitchers in the field to start the game so they had nobody ready and warm once we put up eight runs on their number one pitcher after two innings. I think they were a tad bit shocked that we came out guns a’ blazing. It really set Saskatoon back on their heels.

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“Then when they thought it was over and done with, we came out in Game 2 and did the exact same thing.”

The Astros won Saturday’s Game 2 6-3 and had a chance to sweep the Selects, but lost Game 3 6-2 later that afternoon. The Astros wrapped up the series Sunday morning with a 7-4 win.

Although the bats were going all weekend and the defence was very solid, Kovitch was especially impressed with his team’s pitching performance.

“Our pitchers probably had their best weekend collectively as a group that I’ve seen all season,” Kovitch said. “They weren’t trying to overpower guys at the plate and push it past them, they were spotting the ball well.”

There is plenty of time from now until the nationals, which start Aug. 6. The Astros will continue to play in the local men’s league until the end of July, along with at least one practice per week in preparation for the nationals.

“If we can keep this momentum rolling now, I know it’s going to be tough because there’s quite a stretch between now and nationals,” Kovitch said, “But If we can keep this same attitude and the same focus now, heading into nationals, we’re going to be a tough team to beat.”

jdandrea@panow.com

@jeff_dandrea