NEWS PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN - Aidan Nelson joins his teammates on the field during the Medicine Hat AAA All-Stars' send-off barbecue on Thursday at Jeffries Field.
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
The city came out in support of the Medicine Hat AAA All-Stars on Thursday evening at Jeffries Field.
The local ball team recently became the first Hat squad in history to punch their ticket to the Junior Little League World Series, and on Thursday they welcomed an overwhelming amount of support from at a fundraiser barbecue ahead of their trip to Taylor, Mich., Aug. 11-18.
“This is fantastic. The baseball community in Medicine Hat, it may not be big but boy they sure support,” said head coach Dean Harrison. “We’re a good baseball community, so I’m happy for everybody who has been a part of doing this.”
Medicine Hat has a long history on the national stage in junior baseball, having reached the national championship tournament 15 times in its 65-year history. Medicine Hat’s junior ball squads have even reached the Canadian Junior Little League Championship final on seven different occasions, but it wasn’t until Sunday in Lethbridge that they finally won one.
“I think the boys are grateful for all the kids that came before them,” said Harrison, who has been coaching in Medicine Hat for 11 years, taking his teams to the national semifinals in each of the past two summers. “They learned that it’s not easy, it takes a lot to get here. I think that’s what they’re most proud of. They may be the first, but a lot of people helped them to get there.”
The All-Stars overcame their share of obstacles to reach the World Series. After going 3-3 in the Canadian Junior Little League Championship group stage, Medicine Hat rallied to upset undefeated Quebec 6-5 in the semifinal before taking down Atlantic 10-3 in the championship.
“We had a lot of confidence going into (the final) and we won that and now it’s the World Series,” said All-Stars pitcher Caleb Garrecht, who went all seven innings in the final – holding Atlantic to three runs on 10 hits to collect the historic victory.
“It was awesome. The first inning I think I allowed two runs but after that I just kept on going smoothly. Coach put some confidence in me and that was awesome to feel, and I just wanted to go the whole game.”
Cade Harrison also played a huge hand in helping his team complete its run to redemption by cashing the winning run against Quebec with a walk-off double in the bottom of the seventh.
“We knew we had to get revenge on Quebec as soon as we got to the next game. That was the game we had to win, so we got on the bats and kept rallying – I was just the one who got the last hit,” said Cade. “We’ve all worked really hard to get here. So many years of practice, so many years of games – three years of Canadians for me and some other kids. So to finally be the winner, it’s just awesome.
Cade added it’s an honour to be the first team from Medicine Hat to represent Canada at the Junior Little League World Series, especially considering the way the city has been showing its support.
“To be the first team from Medicine Hat to do this is just amazing,” he said. “So many people have come out to see us, it’s great.”
