Kenneth Brown
of The Clarion

The sounds of America’s pastime shall be ringing out from Berard and Flanagan fields this weekend during an annual senior and oldtimers tournament.

The 33rd annual Red Lion Inn and Cold Beer and Wine Store Western Canadian Oldtimers & Senior Men’s Baseball Championship takes place this weekend on July 13-15. There are 12 teams in two divisions and game action gets underway on Friday afternoon. All of the finals will take place on Sunday

[emember_protected for=”2″ custom_msg=’For more on this story, please see the Jul. 11 print edition of The Clarion.’]

Derek Semple, an organizer and member of the Kindersley Klippers, said there are four teams in the senior men’s division and eight teams in the 43+ division. He said the teams are all from Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The first game of the tournament gets underway on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The start times are slightly staggered on the fields and the first game on the second diamond starts at 1:45 p.m. There is one local team in each division with the Klippers in the 43+ division and the Kindersley Raiders in the senior men’s division.

Organizers were planning to do diamond maintenance on Monday night, and again on a night closer to the start of the tournament, Semple said. The Klippers just played at a tournament in Moose Jaw and they lost in the ‘C’ semi-final, but they are excited for the home tournament, he commented.

“We’re really pumped for it,” he said, recognizing that the team was playing in provincials in a 35+ tournament and the older members of the team are looking forward to playing against guys closer to their own age.

He noted that the beer gardens and concession booth will be open all weekend and he encouraged people to get out to the ballpark this weekend. There should be a lot of good ball played in both divisions, especially the senior men’s division, Semple added.

The teams in the senior men’s division are the Raiders, Oyen Eagles, Border City Jays and Red Deer Northstar. The teams in the 43+ division are the Klippers, Spring Lake Masters, Sask Sportsmen, Edmonton Eskimos, Regina Drifters, Provost Buds, Red Deer Legends and Medicine Hat Blue Jays.

[/emember_protected]

baseball