Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs infielder Wyatt Study catches Peyton Eddy, of the Medicine Hat K of C Knights, stealing during an exhibition baseball game at Jeffries Park on Thursday. Both teams will be running an exhibition schedule against each other and Vauxhall this summer. -- NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Banter in the dugout, chatter and clapping in the stands – action on the diamond. It was almost as though a pandemic never happened.
While the American Legion Baseball season was cancelled as a result of COVID-19, the Medicine Hat Moose Monarchs and K of C Knights put together an exhibition schedule with the Vauxhall Jets and squared off for the first time this summer Thursday. The AA Monarchs came away with an 18-5 victory over the A Knights, but the true satisfaction came in simply getting out on the diamond after three months of social distancing.
“It’s always good to be able to come out on the field and allow these guys to have a bit of a distraction from everything else that’s going on,” said Monarchs coach Lyall Foran. “It’s just a little bit of normalcy for these guys. We’re just trying to have some fun and fill up their summer a little bit.”
Both the Monarchs and Knights officially kicked off the season last weekend against Vauxhall. They’ll both make the trip to Vauxhall for a set of games Saturday before hosting the Jets on Sunday at noon and 2:30 p.m. at Jeffries Park.
“This summer is a little bit different, it’s not as competitive as it should be, but that doesn’t mean they can’t compete,” said Knights coach Kyle Swannack. “We want to win. We want to at least play hard and do the best we can, especially against our older team. They’re expected to beat us because they have the better players, but I don’t believe that. I think we can at least give them a run for their money.”
Swannack says he was particularly impressed with how his young pitchers fared against the older Monarchs.
“I liked seeing the young pitching go at the older kids and make adjustments,” said Swannack. “There’s a lot of stuff we can work on, which is good, that’s a positive thing. We always want to learn.”
Knights pitcher Brett Getz says it was a bit intimidating to take the hill against the Monarchs, but he added only facing off against them and Vauxhall will make them stronger as a unit.
“It’s good because those two are probably the best competitors,” said Getz. “It was a little intimidating, but you’ve got to try.”
Foran says it was particularly disappointing to have this season cancelled for the Monarchs, as he believes the roster could have put Medicine Hat back in the running for a State title. Instead, he says the summer will focus on development and building for the future.
“We’ve got a lot of good players in this program and our focus right now is kind of reinstating ourselves in the State rankings, building our program to the point that we’re competing for state championships again,” he said. “Really, we’re trying to build that mindset this year for these guys and build that mentality. Hopefully next year we’ll be ready to come out, when we’re able to cross that border again, and be that competitive team that we know we can be.”
Foran added the Monarchs have a number of players entering or returning to colleges in the U.S. this year, and “their focus should be on growing and developing, and being ready to win a spot when they get down to their colleges next year.” One of those players is infielder and pitcher Tory Nelson, who will report to North Dakota’s Bismarck State College in the fall.
“It’s nice to get out here and play some games before I head down, same with other guys on the team who are playing college or looking at doing something next year,” said Nelson. “At least we’re playing other teams and still having live-game reps. It’s better than nothing.”
The Knights and Monarchs will square off at 6 p.m. each Thursday at Jeffries Park, and will alternate hosting on weekends with Vauxhall.
