The Selkirk Royals posted a 2-2 record at the W.C. Miller Classic baseball tournament last weekend in Altona.
“There were lots of positive moments at that tournament,” said Royals’ coach Trevor Churchill. “We had some good pitchers and some good outings. It’s a very tough tournament, there are probably four or five of the top teams in the province that are in that tournament every year. We knew we had four games coming up this week so we had to plan accordingly. The boys played really well.”
Selkirk lost 9-1 to the Steinbach Regional Sabres in a semifinal game on Saturday afternoon.
“They’re a good club and our bats kind of went silent a little bit,” Churchill said. “Steinbach is always a tough team and we usually try to exhibition them right off the hop. They’re a good, solid squad all around.”
Steinbach went on to win the tournament with a 3-2 victory over Boissevain/Wawanesa.
Selkirk started the tournament Friday with an impressive 7-2 win over the W.C. Miller Aces. The Royals then blasted the Northlands Parkway Nighthawks 11-1 later that day.
On Saturday, Selkirk lost 16-2 to Boissevain/Wawanesa.
Andrew Hladun had a great offensive tournament while Ethan Debiuk made some great defensive plays and got on base quite a bit as the Royals’ leadoff hitter, said Churchill.
On May, 10, Selkirk defeated the Springfield Sabres 6-2 and the Murdoch MacKay Clansmen 7-2 in KPAC play at Optimist Park to start the season 2-0.
“It was a very good start. This year, there’s seven teams in the league and the top two teams make it to the final so you have to start off strong,” Churchill said. “We have two wins under our belt and we had a couple of good pitching performances and good (defence) in those two games.”
The Royals played Garden City this past Tuesday at Shaw Park. Selkirk will then play a pair of games at Optimist Park on Wednesday. The Royals will take on the West Kildonan Wolverines at 10 a.m. and then will battle the Transcona Titans at noon.
On Friday at noon, Selkirk will play the River East Kodiaks.
This is a very important week for the Royals.
“These games will be a big determining factor whether we make it to the final or not,” Churchill said.
