The Westlock Pee Wee Wild will play for a provincial ‘A’ title following an undefeated run in the provincial qualifying rounds.
Over two weekends in Edmonton and St. Paul and a July 12 home game, the club went 6-0 to punch their ticket to the provincial championships slated for July 21-23 — as of press time a location has yet to be set.
“We need to bring everything we’ve got next weekend,” said coach Ron Chamzuk.
Starting the week off with a titanic battle against the Athabasca Trappers on July 12, the Wild won 17-16 after seven grueling innings.
“It’s almost like these two teams are setting up a pretty big rivalry,” said team supporter Shelley Chamzuk.
The Wild got a few days rest before they headed to St. Paul on July 15 for their final two games. Notably, they would only have a 30-minute respite between games at this double-header.
“Pitch count continues to be the biggest challenge (for the Wild),” said the coach.
With a bench of only nine players they went through a total of six pitchers.
“I’m grateful for having so many excellent pitchers,” he added.
Their second game was against the St. Albert Cardinals, where the Wild dominated with a 9-7 win.
After a quick water break and some shade, the Wild took the field once more for the final game.
“This was a very tight game all the way through switching back-and-forth on the leaderboard,” said Shelley.
The boys would take on the St. Paul Storm and emerge victorious with a final score of 12-7. “The last inning the boys got on the bats and brought in five runs to shut them down,” said Shelley.
The Wild find out July 18 where the provincials will be held.
“I’ve been with some of these boys for three years and most for five, they’re a team in every sense of the word,” said Shelley.
