The Cartwright Twins capped off an incredible season by claiming the Western Canadian Championship title.
Player/coach Drew Haight couldn't be prouder of the group, and says being a champion is pretty great. "It's a good feeling, for sure," he says with big smile. "Coming into the year with knowing we were going to Western's, it was a goal to be competitive there, so to end the year with a win like that, it's amazing."
A big part of the teams success, according to Haight, was the fresh injection of talent, and how the core group welcomed them in with open arms. "The number one standout has to be the guys we picked up. They were guys that were not on the team all year, we picked them up just to help out, and every single one of them were huge contributors. Our guys were amazing, our pitchers were unbelievable, they got us off to a great start, saving our arms so we could throw guys that we wanted to throw on Sunday. Our bats got hot, it all just came together."
"It's kind of funny, you get the new guys on the team, and maybe at the start, they're not quite sure what to think," Haight says with a chuckle. "I do think that one of the strong suits of our team, our guys made them more comfortable. You could see it happen very quickly, right from the first day of the tournament, or even the bus trip there. They're comfortable, they fit in, and they want to help out, and they did."
Right from the start, Haight says there was magic in the air. "We got off to a 2-0 start, and then that guaranteed us a game on Sunday. We knew we saved our pitchers, and we knew we'd have a good chance on Sunday, if we could hit, giving our pitchers a chance. Our pitchers, on Sunday, held the two teams to two runs total. The first game on Sunday, the semifinal, we wanted to get off to a good start, and we scored four or five runs in the first inning. Right from there, it felt like it was going to be a good day."
The final game came with some emotion, but Haight says counting down the outs to becoming a champion was special. "It was a bit of a grind, at first," he explains. "It was somewhat bad luck, Winnipeg's pitcher got hurt, and they had to bring in a younger kid, with no warmup, and we took advantage of that. One of our pickups, Kaden Rozdeba hit a three run home run, giving us a 3-0 lead. You play with more confidence when you have a lead like that. Our pitcher, starter Maddux Mateychuk, from Dominion City, he shut them down all game. He threw 6 2/3'rds, and it felt comfortable right until the 7th. Nothing is ever that easy, he got us to two outs, then Winnipeg pieced together a walk and a hit, scored a run, cutting it to 4-2. Maddux threw an unreal game, but we brought Anthony Friesen in to get the final out. Anthony has been there so many times, you just felt like that would be it. He did it in two pitches, and that was that."
The celebration is a mixture of thoughts and emotions, says Haight. "I think for all of us, it was probably a bit of relief. We had lost in the provincial final and we lost in the league finals, and there was no way we wanted to lose in a final for a third time. So, relief, jubilation, and a bit of exhaustion. We're tired, but we're glad we can end the year on a high note."
At the end of the day, Haight says the Twins are what they are because of the community, and they share this championship with them. "Our community, honestly, is unmatched. You don't see it anywhere else we go, it's crazy. We have fans that came out to watch, but even any post we make on social media, fans back home comment. It's so cool, and I think it makes it fun for them knowing we're trying to win for them. They like to come and watch that, and they'll be back for next year."
Some much earned rest is coming the way of Drew Haight and his teammates, but they already are looking forward to next season.