'The Boys' win Goodfish tourney

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The 10-team men's fastball tournament was one of the highlights of the Goodfish Lake Celebration Days held July 4 to 6.

'The Boys', a "United Nations" collection of players from communities throughout northeastern Alberta led by Manitoba-based pitching ace Joe Basaraba, split first place with the Vector team from Elk Point. The top prize of $5,000 was split between the teams when the final game of the double knockout tournament could not be played because of darkness.

The third place prize of $1,500 went to the Edmonton Broncs, a junior team that won over a lot of fans in a weekend of top quality fastball action.

Vector, the 1996 Goodfish Celebration Days champs, got into the final with wins over the Edmonton Broncs, Mundare, and 'The Boys.' The loss to Vector sent 'The Boys' to the B side of the tournament after they had beaten Beaver Lake, Peavine and the Hobbema Selects.

'The Boys' met up with the Edmonton Broncs to decide which team would take on Vector in the final. In the best game of the tournament, 'The Boys' got past the Broncs 2-1 on a line-drive solo home run by Rick Rosychuk, sending them back against Vector, a team that had beaten them 3-0 earlier in the tournament.

Anchored by the pitching of Basaraba, the tournament most valuable player, 'The Boys' shut out Vector 4-0. It was too late in the evening to play a deciding game, so the teams split the cash prize. 'The Boys' took the jackets and Vector took the trophy.