Perennial bridesmaids become brides at this year’s nationals

A pair of Aboriginal fastball teams that had some close finishes in recent years were finally able to get over the hump and celebrate national championships.

The Kinbasket Development Corporation (KDC) Braves from Invermere, B.C. won the men’s title at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships, which concluded Aug. 1 in Winnipeg.

And Regina-based Aboriginal Memorial Incorporated (AMI) Pride captured the women’s crown.

The four-day national tournament attracted 55 clubs.
For the Braves, this marked their first national title in 10 years. This franchise, previously known as the B.C. Arrows, had won seven consecutive Canadian championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but the club had finished second at the nationals seven times in the past 10 years.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Braves’ coach Randy Martin, who quit playing for the team five years ago to assume the bench boss duties.

As for the Pride, this is its ninth season of operations. The club had placed second at last year’s nationals. It had placed third another time and fourth twice in previous appearances at the Canadian tournament.
“It’s an amazing feeling to finally win it all,” said Pride coach Rudy Tanner. “It’s unbelievable what we went through to get to this.”

The men’s division at the nationals attracted 25 entrants. And the women’s category featured 18 squads.

An additional 12 teams took part in the men’s Masters division, for those age 40 and over. This grouping was won by the B.C. Arrows and included several players who starred in the men’s division during the franchise’s previous national dominance.

As for the Braves, they played seven games at this year’s nationals. The KDC squad won its first two matches before dropping a 7-4 decision to the Manitoba-based Peguis First Nation club, also called the Braves.

Since the national event featured a double-knockout format, another loss would have eliminated the KDC club from further action. But it reeled off four straight victories to claim the national title.

In the semi-final match, KDC once again squared off against the Peguis Braves and this time prevailed by a 6-5 score.

Since both of the Braves teams were the only remaining clubs with just one loss at this point, they had to square off again in what proved to be the national final.

And the KDC team once again pulled out a 6-5 triumph.
“We all knew we could take these guys down,” Martin said of the Peguis Braves. “We were confident we could win.”

Martin also had plenty of praise for the tournament organizers.

“Winnipeg did a great job,” he said. “This is one of the best Canadian championships in recent years. They did an awesome job.”

Martin explained some recent tournaments had been plagued with scheduling and umpiring problems.
As for the Pride, which also participates in a Regina women’s league, it ended up playing six games at the nationals.

The club did win its first four contests, outscoring its opponents 38-1 in those games, but the Pride was then downed 8-4 by the Red Nation Jets of Alberta.

The Pride and Jets were the sole survivors at this point and needed to play once again to determine national bragging rights.

The Pride eked out a 5-4 win to claim its first Canadian crown.

There were plenty of tense moments, however, late in the contest. The Pride had carried what appeared to be a commanding 5-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh and final inning.

And victory appeared imminent as the Pride retired the first two batters of the inning.

But the Jets cut the deficit to 5-2 by hitting a two-run homer. And then the Alberta entry managed to make things more interesting by scoring two more runs to make the score 5-4.

The Jets also managed to get the potential game-tying run on first base. But the match then ended when the Jets’ baserunner attempted a steal and was thrown out at second base.

“It shouldn’t have been that close,” Tanner said of the final score. “The girls were getting just a little excited.”

The Pride and Jets met in the 2010 national final with the Jets registering a convincing 17-0 victory in that matchup. Tanner was pleased his charges were able to avenge their humiliating loss of a year ago.

“It was very special because of that,” he said of this year’s Canadian final.

Tanner also had another reason to celebrate. His daughter Jenna, a Pride pitcher, was selected as the tournament’s most valuable player.

Photo Caption:Regina-based Aboriginal Memorial Incorporated (AMI) Pride captured the women’s crown at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships. Top Row: (Left to Right) Jenna Tanner, Lisa Korchinski, Billy Laswisse, Jamie Fedler, Ion Boire (Assistant Coach), Tyrah Morris, Sara Blaser, Shelley Mike, Chelsea Poitras, Shalayna Bear, Dale Fedler (Base Coach). (Middle Row: Left to Right) Miranda Kaiswatum, Pam Yuzicappi, Jamie Ledoux, Brittany Fedler, Rikki Fedler, Jamiy Moran, Joey Morris, Lianda Tanner. (Bottom Row: Left to Right) Rudy Tanner (Head Coach), Joe Bear (Assistant Coach and Sponsor).

Photo: Supplied