Regina Drifters win Oldtimers Tournament, Photos
STORY AND PHOTOS BY KATE WINQUIST
The 38th Annual Western Canadian Oldtimers Baseball Championship was held over the July 10-12 weekend at Berard Field in Kindersley. This year's tournament featured a smaller four-team lineup, with the host Kindersley Klippers joined by familiar faces: the Provost Buds, Medicine Hat Jays, and eventual champions, the Regina Drifters.
After rain on Thursday forced field repairs, the tournament got underway Friday night. The Klippers opened the action but fell 6-1 to Medicine Hat. In the evening matchup, Provost edged out Regina 6-5 in a competitive finish to day one.
Saturday brought a full slate of games. The day began with another close contest, as Medicine Hat defeated Provost 12-11. Regina then found their stride, beating Kindersley 15-3 and staying hot with an 11-6 win over Medicine Hat in the following game. The round-robin concluded with Kindersley bouncing back for a 10-5 win over Provost.
Sunday kicked off with a rematch between Kindersley and Provost in the third-place game. The Klippers claimed a 4-1 victory, earning a trophy on home turf. With the threat of rain looming, the championship game between Regina and Medicine Hat got started a bit ahead of schedule.
Unlike their high-scoring matchup the day before, the final was a defensive battle. Medicine Hat carried a 4-3 lead into the final inning, with strong pitching on both sides. But Regina responded quickly—a triple tied the game, and just two batters later, a walk-off hit sealed a 5-4 win for the Drifters.
PHOTOS BY KATE WINQUIST, click for larger images
