Not only was the local Little League Major AAA club within touch against their Boisbriand, Que. opponents, they were within a single run, trailing 6-5.
But there’s a reason Diamond Academy is a perennial fixture at the Little League Canada national championships, and they proceeded to show just why over the next three innings.
A six-run outbreak gave Diamond a seven-run lead, and by the time things were said and done, the final score would hit 23-5.
“We were right there, but then we made a couple errors and that’s just major baseball,” said Miller Express coach Tony Dreger. “Then all of a sudden it sneaks away from you a little bit. But we were battling in there and it was close early.”
While a surprise victory would have been nice for the youthful Moose Jaw crew, the experience of the whole thing was far more valuable. The game was part of a trio of contests played on the day, as Diamond continued a barnstorming tour of Western Canada, with stops in Alberta and B.C. following their games in Regina.
Diamond won their match-up with North Regina 13-4 in what would have almost certainly been a meeting at Canadians had the pandemic not cancelled the event, and North Regina — who won Little League provincials over Moose Jaw last week — closed out the day with a 14-9 win over the Miller Express.
“The whole intent was for the 12-year-old kids who didn’t get an opportunity to go to Canadians this year to have a chance to see a team that would have done very well there,” Dreger said. “So those 12-year-olds got to see that kind of calibre.”
For the Express and their bevy of 11-year-olds, though, it was a chance to see just what a potential national-title team looks like.
“Guaranteed they would have been in the top four, just like they are every year, and who knows, they might have even made it back to the final, they were that good of a team,” Dreger said. “ it was a matter of getting those kids a chance to see what it’s like to compete at the level you need to be to get to Canadians.
“If you just play in your area, that’s all you get and all you know,” he added. “They needed the experience to expand their mind a little bit and see other teams out there, especially through this whole COVID thing.”
Dreger also gave credit to the North Regina organization for their first-class treatment of the whole event, something Diamond Academy was thrilled to be a part of.
“They were super excited to be here, and super excited how Chris Kaytor and the guys from Regina put it all together,” lauded Dreger. “They had French-speaking announcers and walk-up songs, the national anthem at the beginning, they did a really good job of making sure those guys had a really good experience in Saskatchewan and had a lot of fun, too.
“And now Quebec gets to go on and play all the other provinces and see other parts of the country and play some pretty good ball… it was just a great experience for everyone involved and I’m sure they’ll have a lot of fun the rest of the way.”
If you missed the games and would like to check out the action, North Regina Little League recorded the contests on Facebook Live. You can watch all three games at www.facebook.com/northreginalittleleague.
