The Prince Albert Royals played close, hard-fought games at provincials this past weekend. (Submitted Photo/Prince Albert Minor Baseball)

By Rob Mahon

15U Royals Provincials

Royals fight hard, fall just short at provincials in Saskatoon

Jul 18, 2022 | 12:00 PM

The provincial title was on the line this weekend in Saskatoon for 15U AA tier 1 baseball teams and the Prince Albert Royals were right in the thick of it. Unfortunately, their bid for a championship fell short.

After a win over the Moose Jaw Canucks and a single-run loss to the Saskatoon A’s, the Royals lost a game to the Meadow Lake Sox, which put them in a three-way tie for second place. Unfortunately, the Royals did not have the tie-breaker because Meadow Lake had beaten them in round robin play.

In spite of the loss and the team missing the playoff round, however, the coaching staff saw plenty of positives from the weekend and were more than happy with the team’s effort level.

“Very proud, very happy,” said Graham McGregor, the team’s head coach. “And not just the weekend, these guys have been committed to our team since the middle of March. That’s the sport. It comes down to a couple of games and basically it came down to a run one way or the other.”

Of course the goal for McGregor’s team was not to be in a position to be at the mercy of a run-based tie breaker but to win another game in the round robin to make it unnecessary. Then, as is the case in many sports, anything can happen once you get into the playoffs.

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“We think we were well positioned once we were in the playoffs to do very well,” McGregor said. “When it comes down to it, there were some very good teams in that tournament and, unfortunately, we weren’t able to make a playoff spot.”

This wraps up the season for the 15U Royals but for many of the athletes on the team, it’s not the end of their 15U careers. Many of these players can pick up right where they left off with the team next season.

“We had 15 players on our team this year,” said McGregor. “We actually kept a large roster of players, concentrating on development of as many kids as we could. We have, I believe, ten that can return next year of the 15.”

McGregor added it was nice to have a traditional season this time, as COVID-19 wasn’t much of a factor for them this summer. He also said they’d be working with each of the returning players through the winter to keep their skills sharp.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP