Heading into their Little League Saskatchewan provincial championship this past weekend, the Moose Jaw Major All Stars knew that if everything went according to plan, they’d have a very good chance of putting together a winning showing.
Mission accomplished.
The All Stars pounded out 12-0 and 8-3 victories over North Regina Little League in Regina on Friday and Saturday night, and as a result, they’re off to the Canadian Regional championship during the week of Aug. 4. A run of success there, and they’ll be playing in front of the bright lights and television cameras at the legendary Little League World Series in Williamsport, Penn.
But first, there was their business to deal with this weekend, and All Stars head coach Troy Turner was more than happy to see his crew get the all-important first step out of the way,
“It definitely went as planned,” Turner said. “It was a little bit stressful in the second game, but we stuck to it and the kids came through, so it was great to see them have some fun and get the two big wins.”
Friday night was all systems go from the beginning, as the Moose Jaw offence went to work quickly and gave starting pitcher Emery Schoenroth plenty of run support. By the time Neal Kohl came in to finish things off, it was all but academic, and the All Stars had their shutout win.
Things were far different in the rematch less than 24 hours later.
Regina led 3-2 midway through the game, but Moose Jaw struck for three runs in the fourth and two more in the fifth to take the lead and eventually put things away, winning the best-of-three series two games to one.
Now all eyes turn towards Calgary in a little over a week’s time, with plenty of practice and preparation in the works in the lead-up to their flight to Canadian Regionals on Aug. 2.
“Basically we’re working on our depth in pitching, we’re going to have some bullpen sessions with the kids and do some situational stuff,” Turner said of the team plans for the next week. “Then we’re going to have these guys hitting every single day as well. Everything we can to keep them fresh and ready to go.”
The All Stars will also be drawing information from a unique source -- Turner has been in contact with North Regina Little League Intermediate coach Kyle Carson as that crew works their way through the Canadian championship in Ottawa. Carson has been more than happy to let Turner pick his brain when it comes to the intricacies of the national-level tournament, and the advice is coming from a good source: North Regina is in the hunt for the championship, sitting tied for second place heading into their final two round robin games as of this writing.
“He’s going to fill me in on how the tournament rolls and what we might expect when we get to Calgary,” Turner said. “Just how he’s managing the pitch counts and dealing with the tournament pressure, so it’s definitely good to get that kind of feedback.”
The All Stars will also work with longtime local Little League coach Tony Dreger, who has taken three teams to Canadian Regionals in recent years. Dreger is getting married and has his honeymoon planned for when Moose Jaw is at the tournament, though, and as a result will be at practice during the week but won’t travel with the team to Canadians.
You can follow along with all the scores from the Little League Canadian Regional at www.littleleague.ca and with daily coverage at www.moosejawtoday,com.
