First place Hawks look to repeat as provincial champs

By JAMES TUBB on May 31, 2023.

jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb

The Medicine Hat High Hawks senior baseball team has been eying up the opportunity to repeat as provincial champions, and they take the first step tonight.

The Hawks open their Alberta Premiere Baseball League playoffs tonight at 5:30 p.m. at Jeffries field against the Chinook High School Coyotes.

Head coach Cam Rittinger says they had the discussion early in the year with a large retuning group that last season was a moment of growth for the team, why not do it again? Now they’re just looking to take the repeat attempt one game at a time.

“That just fuelled the hunger a little bit,” Rittinger said. “We certainly take every game one game at a time, never looking past or never looking forward too far just, just remembering that feeling, that’s what kind of drives us each day. Whether it’s practice, whether it’s taking ground balls, hitting batting practice, just trying to get better each time and take it one game at a time.”

The Hawks finished the high school regular season in first place, going undefeated. Hat High beat Chinook earlier in the season but Rittinger says they can’t rely on that to measure success heading into the playoff opener.

“Chinook played a doubleheader that night we played them, and with baseball, you’re only as good as your next ace pitcher,” Rittinger said. “So depending on who you had or who you saw, you only really get to see one pitcher; was that their ace? You never really know.”

Hat High has eight players on their roster in their final year of high school ball. Rittinger says they look to capitalize on guys wanting to win in their last year of high school baseball and hopes the Hawks can simply play ball without worrying too much about the moment, or the next game.

“Sometimes you might say my arms a little tired or my legs a little bit sore, I caught last night and this year, the playoffs are set up on back to back days whereas in every other game has been spaced out,” Rittinger said. “So if a guy catches the first night and is catching the second night, he can say, ‘I’m doing it for the boys who this might be the last time t some of them suit up.’ So they put their best foot forward.”

“A lot of the pressures may be on our side of it just because we haven’t lost and we have been winning. So hopefully the guys can just relax and play baseball the way they know how and the rest will take care of itself.”

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