AA Western Championships underway as 18U Royals win via walk-off on day one

“On behalf of a very grateful promise to all those that have worked to make this weekend a success, I bring you greetings, I bring you thanks, and I wish you a very best this weekend.”

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe speaks during the opening ceremonies of the 2026 AA Western Canadian Baseball Championships. (Image Credit: Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

Ward 6 councillor Blake Edwards encouraged visitors to explore the city, and spoke about the strides that have been for youth sports within Prince Albert.

“Over the years, council has invested in creating opportunities for young athletes. And I was pleased to support initiatives that helped improve our ball facilities, including within continued development of the Kinsmen ball diamonds in Crescent Acres. These investments help create opportunities for events like this and ensure that future generations have places to learn, compete, and grow.”

The opening ceremonies closed with a ceremonial first pitch, which was thrown by Prince Albert para swimming star Ali Diehl.

World Champion para swimmer Ali Diehl gets set to throw out the first pitch to help officially kickoff the 2026 AA Western Canadian Baseball Championships in Prince Albert. (Image Credit: Logan Lehmann/paNOW Staff)

Day one saw the 18U Royals opening their tournament with a thrilling comeback win over Manitoba’s Elmwood Giants.

Down 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth, P.A.’s offence exploded for six runs to go up one. The Giants answered back with three runs in the fifth and one in the sixth to retake the lead 9-5, but the Royals remained resilient. They scored another pair of runs in the sixth as Elmwood managed to scrape across one more in the seventh, giving P.A. the last at-bat with the score 10-8.

Carter Martin opened the inning with a single, before Luke Pauls battled at the plate to force a one-out walk to move Martin to second. The two advanced to third and second via a passed ball with the next batter, where a double by Daniel Acorn scored them to tie the game. After a ground out by Declan Borthwick moved Acorn to third, Tye Semenchuk blooped a two-out single into center field to score the game winning run and walk off the Giants, 11-10.

Meanwhile, the 13U Royals dropped their tournament opener in a shortened five inning game to the White Rock Tritons from B.C.

P.A. was up 1-0 after the first before the Tritons bats came alive, where they went up 3-1 after the second inning. Either team scored runs in the third to make the score 5-2 for White Rock, before the Royals rallied for two in the fourth to make it a one run game. Things fell apart in the fifth, though, as the Tritons scored nine in the bottom half of the frame to make the score 14-4, invoking the mercy rule and ending the game early.

The 15U Royals suffered the same fate in their first game, falling big to Manitoba’s Red River Valley Pioneers.

P.A. gave up one run in the top of the first, before Red River blew the game open in the third with a seven-run inning that was followed by an eight-run fourth inning. The Royals did manage to make it more respectable with some runs in the bottom half of the fourth, but the effort was no match for the Pioneers as they added one more in the fifth to run away with a day one win, 17-3.

All three Royals teams will be back in action on Saturday at 9 a.m., when the 13U’s take on the Humboldt Dodgers, the 15U’s face off with Carvarnon Reds from B.C., and the 18U’s line up against B.C.’s North Delta Rays.

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loganc.lehmann@pattisonmedia.com

by Logan Lehmann

AA Western Championships underway as 18U Royals win via walk-off on day one

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