Locally held Tier 1 JV baseball playoffs get underway Friday
By JAMES TUBB on May 23, 2024.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb Tier 1 JV playoff baseball will be on display this weekend. The junior high school baseball playoffs get underway Friday with two local teams playing – tournament host Eagle Butte Talons and the Monsignor McCoy Colts. The Talons face Holy Trinity at 3 p.m. Friday at McCoy Field and face Foothills at 6 p.m. at Jeffries Field. McCoy’s JV team opens their tournament with a noon game Friday at McCoy Field against the Brooks Buffaloes before battling the Vauxhall Vikings at 6 p.m. on the same diamond. The Colts enter the tournament with a 6-7 record overall and 4-5 in league play. Head coach Rob McDonnell says they’ve been competitive all season and says they recognize they’re a younger team in the Tier 1 league. “So that’s a challenge for our guys playing against older and more experienced teams, but we’ve been able to stay competitive,” McDonnell said. “We’re not trying to get ahead of ourselves, we’ll take it one game at a time and take that game one inning at a time. We’ll stay as competitive as we can and see where that takes us in Game 1.” The Colts faced the Buffaloes three times this season, once in league and twice in tournaments, losing all three in close games. Vauxhall enters the tournament undefeated and as the first seed. It’s a tough set of matchups for the Colts but McDonnell says they expect to stay in contention in both games and look to get a favourable result. “We’re just trying to get better every day and we’ve been doing that,” McDonnell said. “We feel like we’re as prepared as we can be for the tournament right now and we’re excited about the challenge ahead. Well just take it one game at a time.” Of the six teams in the tournament, the top two from each pool face off Saturday for gold, while third and fourth place battle at the same time for bronze. Both those final games are Saturday at Jeffries and McCoy Field respectively. Regardless of their outcome from the weekend, McDonnell thanks the commitment of the players and their families for the season of work they put in. “It has been a privilege to work with this great group of players and their families,” McDonnell said. “We’re proud to have them in the McCoy baseball program.” 14-13
