The U15 Royals at the Lou Hobson Grand Slam Weekend. (submitted photo/Prince Albert Minor Baseball Association)

By Derek Craddock

GRAND SLAM WEEKEND

Royals host successful Grand Slam Weekend in P.A.

Jun 5, 2023 | 2:00 PM

Dozens of Saskatchewan baseball players braved the hot weather and thunderstorms for this year’s Lou Hobson Grand Slam Weekend.

The TLS U15 Royals hosted the big weekend that featured eight teams playing at Lypchuk Field and Andy Zwack Diamond in Prince Albert.

U15 coach and tournament organizer Graham McGregor was pleased with how the event went.

“Seem to be lots of positive comments about the tournament itself, our facilities and just the level of play,” he said.

The U15 Royals went 3-0 in the round robin, setting up a showdown with the Saskatoon A’s in the championship game.

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Saskatoon won the final match 5-4.

Despite the loss, McGregor said the weekend gave the team a great experience and helped build their skills as they continue regular season play.

“This time of year, we’re just looking for good competition,” he said. “We’re looking to challenge the kids and keep developing our play. You’d always like to win your home tournament, but in the end, we just came up short.”

This is the first official year the Lou Hobson Tournament was held. McGregor said last year they hosted a smaller event with just three teams. He added they had so much interest for this year’s weekend that they had to turn some teams away.

McGregor said that community support is what made the weekend truly special as not only did friends and family show up, but local businesses as well.

“We had sponsors that helped us out through the weekend with the food sponsors for our barbecue, Lake Country Co-op and Mike Lypchuck Realty,” he said. “Just all the support from the community.”

The U15 team weren’t the only Royals in action over the weekend. The U11 AA Royals competed at a tournament in Meadow Lake while The U13 AA Royals won the North Battleford Beavers AA tournament, going a perfect 6-0 on the weekend.

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derek.craddock@pattisonmedia.com

Twitter: @princealbertnow