Leader staff
Slave Lake’s 15U Heat baseball team started off its season in Sherwood Park on the May 13 weekend, winning one and losing two.
The weekend got off to a great start, with a 10 – 0, five-inning victory over the St. Albert Cardinals Blue.
“Good start for us with great pitching,” says head coach Kevin Campbell.
Davone Halcrow, Nico Diaz, and Evander Pawliw combined for a no-hitter.
Game 2 was a different story, with the Heat losing 15 – 11 to the St. Albert Cardinals Red.
“Tough game for us as we were up 8 – 2 at one point,” says Campbell.
Colby Campbell got the start for the Heat and pitched four good innings. But the St. Albert bats came to life in the fifth inning, when they scored nine runs. The Heat mounted a comeback in the top of the 6th but came up a bit short.
The final game of the weekend was a 9 – 6 loss to the Sherwood Park Athletics.
“We ran into a strong pitcher that kept us off the scoresheet for most of the game,” Campbell says. “We finally got things going in the 5th inning with key hits from Grady Beauchamp, Grayson Conrad and Davone Halcrow.”
Pitching duties were shared between Nico Diaz, Lucas Diaz and Evander Pawliw.
“Overall, a good start for this team,” says the head coach. “We are a bit behind on our hitting compared to the city teams, but it will come. Pitched really well and our defense was solid.”
The Heat host a weekend of games May 27/28.
In other minor baseball news, registration numbers for the season are “very healthy,” Campbell says, with 175 kids signed up. It breaks down to:
Three T Ball teams, four Jr Rookie teams, four Rookie teams, two 11U teams (One A Provincial and one Pembina League).
Two 13U teams (One AA Provincial and one Pembina League), one 15U team (AA Provincial), and one 18U team (AA Provincial).
“This will be the first time in my 20 years that I can recall us having four provincial teams registered with Baseball Alberta,” Campbell says.
Work continues on the refurbishment of the Charity Park 1 in field. Campbell says the new design will be similar to St Albert and other city 18U diamonds.
“We started this undertaking in 2020 by resurfacing Diamonds 2 and 3 at Sinclair Fields,” Campbell says. “The following year we completed Diamond 1.
“Overall, our association has invested, with the help of the community and the Torgerson family, approximately $80,000 into the diamonds the past four seasons. A huge thank you to our supporters, coaches, and our extended Heat family!”
