Another season of the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League is under way, and that means a return for the summer sons of the East Central U18 AAA Red Sox. Once again playing out of James Korte Field in Muenster, the squad looks to continue its record of baseball excellence in developing players that find their way into college and professional systems.
The team saw their season opener in Saskatoon this week facing the Giants, and they walked away with a welcome opening win, soundly defeating their opponents 12-2.
It was a good feeling to face the opening test a see such a positive result, says Head Coach Derek Rude who gives Discover Humboldt the lowdown on this year’s team.
“We graduated seven players from last year, so there are quite a few new players. We have two third year players who have been through our East Central program from 15U up through 18U. Carter Huls from Humboldt is one of those third-year players along with Cade Armstrong from Watrous. They’ll be our leaders for the season.”
The nature of youth baseball is progressing through the ranks, developing skills and stepping into the next bracket of play. Fortunately for the Red Sox, there’s always a strong complement of eager players heading into the program from the 15U program, and those who have solidified their skills in 18U AA play.
“We’ve got 6 new players, and two of them are from our 15U team, Luke Manz and Jaxson Schlepper, and we’ve brought in players from the AA teams last year as well. It’s always good to keep filling in the gaps, so to speak.”
There’s a tremendous sense of pride at seeing the graduating players move on, and the Red Sox have a well-documented history of players heading into junior college and NCAA stream ball with places like Colby Community College in Kansas.
“We have a couple former players in college ball currently,” Rude confirms. “They’re in playoffs right now. It’s exciting to watch those players as they move on, and it serves as motivation for some of the current players when they see those who have gone through our program who can do that with a bunch of hard work.
The league teams, structure and formats have largely remained the same as last year, Rude says, with 14 elite 18U teams spread throughout the province. One key switch up is that 10 teams will make the provincial tournament for playoffs this year, up from the previous 8.
Last year, Muenster hosted the SPBL All-Star Game which met with great success. This year, the July 1 player showcase will try out a new venue.
“This year, in spreading it out around the province, it will be up in Meadow Lake. They’re wanting to promote the high level of baseball to be played up there. We’ll be sending a couple of players in the older group, and then a couple of rookies as well.”
May 24 will see the home opener in Muenster with a double header against the White Butte Broncos starting at 12 noon. The long weekend sees the Selects tournament being held in Estevan where the Red Sox will be a strong part of the mix.
If their successful opener is any indication, area baseball fans can look forward to another stellar season with the SPBL and our own East Central 18U AAA Red Sox. Follow the team and get the latest scores and play by play on the Game Changer app.