Matthew Kutnikoff was named an All-Star infielder at the tournament in Surrey, BC earlier this month. (2023 Men's and Master Men's Canadian Fast Pitch Championships/Facebook)

By Logan Lehmann

National All-Star

P.A. softball player Kutnikoff reflects on all-star performance at National Championships

Sep 16, 2023 | 4:26 PM

Although his team didn’t place on the podium, one local player is bringing back some very valuable hardware.

Prince Albert’s Matthew Kutnikoff was a member of the Saskatoon Angels at the Men’s Canadian Fast Pitch Championships in Surrey, BC earlier this month.

Kutnikoff finished atop the Angels offensively, batting .474 with a homerun and five RBI’s across seven games at the tournament. His efforts did not go unnoticed as he was named to the tournament’s All-Star roster as an infielder and was given an award to commemorate the honour, something he said came as a shock.

“It was pretty much a surprise,” Kutnikoff said. “I knew like maybe ten minutes before the award ceremony got going. We were warming up for a game actually and one of the Softball Canada reps came over and got me. It definitely was a surprise – didn’t think I was going to get one.”

Saskatoon’s run at the tournament was cut short in the opening round of playoffs when they were blanked by the host Sooke Loggers 5-0. The Angels finished their time at the Championships with a 4-3 record, enough to place fifth out of 13 teams.

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When asked what his family and teammates reactions were to his all-star accomplishment, he said they were just as excited as he was.

“They loved it,” he said. “[My teammates] were on the bench getting ready for the game when I came back in and they were all hooting and hollering and they were just as excited for me. My mom was sending me texts and there was a few Facebook pages back home sharing [the news] so I got a lot of love for it that’s for sure.”

Kutnikoff also represented Team Canada while at the U-23 WBSC Men’s Softball World Cup in earlier this year Paraná, Argentina.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com