By IVAN DANIELEWICZ Herald-Tribune staff
The Grande Prairie Pomeroy Inn and Suites Mets have a provincial title on their mind.
The Mets are hosting the Men’s Senior Open fastball provincial tournament this weekend at the South Bear Creek Ball Park and they are looking to recapture the top spot in Alberta.
“We always want to be on top,” said Mets player/coach Shayne Milligan.
“We always like to think that we belong there. It would mean a lot for us to get back there.
“I know it was a little disappointing not finishing as high as we wanted to last year, and we definitely want to get back to the winning ways.”
After capturing the provincial title in 2009, the Mets failed to get into the finals in 2010 and had to settle for a bronze. Still, they’ve had a strong showing at the provincial level considering the Mets were created only three years ago.
After winning a fastball tournament in Camrose last weekend, Milligan said the team is quite optimistic about their chances.
“There’s that confidence,” he said. “We know that we’ll be competitive, but it’s just a matter of playing to our ability.”
The Mets are a select team built out of the three men’s fastball clubs based in Grande Prairie. Despite playing on different teams during the regular season, Milligan said there is a real familiarity amongst the players who come together to play on the Mets.
“Because we’ve been playing together for so long, the chemistry, I think, (is what makes us successful),” said Milligan, adding 12 of the 15 players on this year’s team have been there since it started.
“We just get along so well and it helps when you’re playing with your friends.”
A total of nine teams from across the province will be competing in the 2011 provincial tournament. Each team will play four games: Two on Friday and two on Saturday. The top four teams will move on to the semi-finals on Sunday morning, followed immediately by the bronze and then gold medal games.
The winner of the provincial tournament will move on to the 2011 Western Canadian Championships in Stonewall, Manitoba that runs August 11 to 14. Click here for the complete story and photo.