The Sawridge Heat are very competitive in the Alberta Jr. ‘AAA’ Baseball League this season. Two reasons for their success are a couple of import players from St. Hyacinthe, Quebec.
In the field, at the plate on the mound, Jean Patrick Mailhot and Frederic Rivard have been putting up good numbers for the Heat. Mailhot in particular has been a very effective pitcher for the Heat, mowing down the provincial and national champion St. Albert Tigers in both his starts against them this season.
Jean Patrick leads the pitching staff with a 1.50 earned run average and is second only to Fred in batting with a .357 average. Fred has the team lead in batting average at .367 and is tied for the most hits at 22 with Brent Blachford and Jeff Lindmark.
Jean Patrick, 20, and Fred, 19, both played ‘AAA’ baseball in Quebec last year. This year, they decided to try something different. Jean Patrick came across the Heat website on the Internet and was intrigued by the opportunity to travel, work on his English and make some money – all while playing the game he loves. He told Fred about it and they decided to give it a try.
“I always wanted to visit western Canada,” says Jean Patrick.
The idea of playing in tournaments as well as league games also attracted both the players. Their team back home only competes in a league. The Heat were offering a season-starting tournament in Kamloops giving the players a chance to see the Rockies on the way through and back.
Fred says the practical value of being able to work while playing baseball that also attracted him to the opportunity.
Both players say they are enjoying living, working and playing in Slave Lake so far. They have hit it off with the other players as well as coach Kevin Bohnert and are having a good time as members of the team. J.P. says he’s been fishing a few times on Lesser Slave Lake and loves it.
On the field, the Heat are gunning for a provincial championship and it looks as if the St. Albert Tigers will be the main competition.
“We’re pretty sure we can beat them in provincials,” says Fred. “If we play up to our talent we can beat anybody.”
They certainly can beat anybody in their league because they’ve already done it. But they can’t afford to have a bad game, because the other teams in the league can beat them too. And with only 11 players on the roster, nobody can afford to have a bad game, let alone a bad week.
But so far, so good for the Quebec members of the team.
“It’s going really good,” says J.P. “I enjoy everything.”

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