With fastball teams in the immediate area continuing to dwindle, the Bruno Merchants do not get very many opportunities to host fastball games in Bruno.
The rare opportunity came to fruition for the Bruno Merchants on June 26 as they welcomed not just any fastball squad, but the Canadian Junior Men鈥檚 National Team.
鈥淔or us it鈥檚 huge because we don鈥檛 get a lot of fastball out here anymore. There鈥檚 no league in the area so we play all our league games in Saskatoon,鈥� said Merchants coach Ray Bender.
鈥淵ears ago we had lots of fastball, we had two games a week and now we鈥檙e lucky if we get two games a year here in Bruno.鈥�
The stop in Bruno was part of a tour for the Canadian squad, which will see them tour Saskatchewan from June 26 鈥� July 5 making stops in Saskatoon, Bruno, Warman, Regina, and Shellbrook.
The tour, which saw the Canadian squad taking on the Merchants, Saskatoon Diamondbacks, Saskatoon Cubs, Bulyea Rustlers, Delisle Diamond Dogs, Saskatoon Angels, and Team Japan, is part of an exhibition tour to get the Canadian squad prepared for the 2018 World Baseball Softball Confederation Junior Men鈥檚 Softball World Championship in Prince Albert July 7-15.
While the trip is about baseball and getting prepared for the world championships, it is also a great opportunity for the club to visit a part of the country they have never been to before, says Team Canada head coach Jeff Ellsworth, with all but two players hailing from West of Ontario.
鈥淔or guys from PEI, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, I don鈥檛 know if they ever would have got the opportunity to come here but they鈥檙e absolutely loving it.鈥�
While the Canadian squad features just two players from west of Ontario, both are from Saskatchewan, as Ryan Smith hails from Shellbrook and Troy Kosmynka is from Warman.
Seeing the lone western Canadian representation come from Saskatchewan, is not a surprise, says Ellsworth.
鈥淪askatchewan and Newfoundland and obviously Ontario are the three hotbeds for fastpitch in the country and we had a ton of kids tryout from Saskatchewan. We had a lot of the younger athletes tryout,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very lucky to have Ryan Smith and Troy Kosmynka from Saskatchewan on our squad. Both of them play a big part of the make-up of our team.鈥�
The stop in Bruno was an easy decision for the Canadian squad to make, says Ellsworth, calling Bruno a fastball hotbed.
鈥淭hey have a great team in the senior men鈥檚 league in Saskatoon鈥� there鈥檚 five big sets of bleachers and they鈥檙e almost all full. I come from a small town of 800 people as well so I know how important these events are to small towns.鈥�
The level of talent is also tremendous, says Ellsworth, noting the Merchants were a great opponent as they get set for worlds.
鈥淲e just faced Justin Dauvin and Bryan Newton who are two of the better pitchers in the country so that鈥檚 what we were looking for,鈥� he noted.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the caliber of ball that we need to see, that鈥檚 going to better prepare us to play against the best countries in the world... There was lots of balls put in play and lots of hits and obviously the pitching that we faced was really good too so it was a huge bonus for us to come out here.鈥�
While the doubleheader was a way to prepare for worlds, bragging rights were also on the line with the Merchants winning both games of the doubleheader.
Bender noted those wins will be huge for the Merchants as they head back into their own league play.
鈥淎ll sports is confidence and when you beat Team Canada it gives you confidence for the league games. They beat two of the league teams we play against (June 26) so it makes us feel good to beat them tonight.鈥�
The games also help with growing the sport, says Ellsworth, who notes seeing the stands full and all the children in attendance was a nice bonus.
鈥淚鈥檝e seen a lot of younger kids around here with a ball in their hand, a glove in their hand and if we can bring the highest level of under 19 men鈥檚 ball to a community like this, I hope it sparks a little bit of interest in the younger generation to go out and aspire to play this some day.鈥�
