Baseball returns to Onion Lake

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There are no illusions about the upcoming season for the Onion Lake Braves men's baseball team.

"Most of these guys have watched baseball but it's different playing. If we win a couple of games, we'll be happy," said manager Don MacDonald.

For the first time in more than twenty years, Onion Lake will field a baseball team. As the newest entry in the 12-team North Saskatchewan River Baseball League, the Braves round out the schedule by becoming the sixth club in the northern division and will have a 16-game season.

Like many expansion franchises, Onion Lake will endure the lumps needed to gain experience. However, unlike other newly founded sporting endeavours where individual talent is melded into a team concept, there is little for the Braves to build from.

Of the 15-player roster, only two have ever played baseball and that was back in the 1980s. And whatever skills the remaining members have developed from either softball or fastpitch, those were of little use when adapting under fire during the club's inaugural contest.

Thrown to the wolves for game number 1 on May 21, the Braves faced the 2001 league champions Lloydminster Twins. Add to that the fact that Onion Lake was looking down the arm of last season's top pitcher in the loop, Pat Pettman, and the results-a 24-1 loss-were predictable and completely understandable.

After a quick first at-bat that saw only one Brave base runner -Luke MacDonald who reached first on an error-Onion Lake took the field for what would be a long bottom, with the Twins registering seven runs.

Onion Lake starter Barry MacDonald lasted into the second inning. Between game conditioning, the cold and wind plus the number of runs allowed, he felt as if he was out on the mound a lot longer.

"It was like pitching a whole game in those two innings," said MacDonald, 35, who last pitched a baseball two decades ago. "It was more fun than fastball because there is a lot more thinking."

Relieving MacDonald was Harley Arcand and, while MacDonald's pitching experience was dated, the 17-year-old Arcand's was non-existent. Not only was he pitching for the first time ever, this was the first time he'd ever picked up a glove in a game. His stint lasted five batters, all of whom reached base, without recording an out.

"I think he (manager MacDonald) thought I was ready the way I was practising but it wasn't my night," Arcand said, still upbeat despite his experience on the mound.

Saying a team will be all smiles while it struggles and proving it can be two quite different things. However, the Braves maintained a positive spirit through the contest and were finally rewarded.

After Pettman completed his four innings for the Twins, with nine strikeouts, the Braves obtained their first hit in the fifth when Daniel Meesto knocked a solid single into left, moving Arcand-who led off the frame courtesy of another Twin error-to third.

Rapping home the club's first RBI was catcher Eldon Stick on another single. Unlike many of the team's other positions, Stick provides some experience behind the plate, having caught for a number of years in fastpitch.

While he took his single in stride, Stick realized the run was monumental.

"For me it was just another hit, only a bit different because it's baseball. From what I heard on the bench, all the boys were happy because we got a run," Stick said. He added the run to his earlier contribution to the game, having thrown a runner out in the first inning.

The club was bolstered by its third pitcher Carey Lewis, who laboured through just over four innings permitting eight runs. Apparently running out of steam during his second frame, Lewis gutted it out the rest of the way including shutting down the Twins in the third and fifth innings.

The Braves enter this season as a probationary team. While their games will count in the standings, the club will have to meet certain requirements before being asked to return next season.

Ideally being competitie is a condition but given the lack of experience, there will be some lenience. Yet, the biggest criteria will be maintaining their schedule and avoiding forfeits.

Drawing from a limited player base, Onion Lake has mandated itself to be an entirely First Nations team.

"We're trying to get a commitment out of these guys because we're building this team from here," said Stick. "Baseball is new to Onion Lake and now we're working on a field."

Plans for the club include re-constructing the reserve's softball diamond into a field compatible for baseball, complete with bleachers and a concession stand. For this season, though, all of the Braves' home games will be held 30 minutes away in Lloydminster. With one game under their belt, the manager wants to work on conditioning and pitching. MacDonald also acknowledges he'll have to develop a positive attitude among the team.

"I'll have to be very patient with some of the guys, especially the pitchers, because that's the biggest part of the game," MacDonald said about converting windmill fastpitch chuckers into baseball hurlers. "Some guys felt silly in the full wind-up and pitching off the back leg."

As MacDonald watched from the dugout, Stick had a stronger feel of the club from his position at the dish. The catcher said his expectations were met but not exceeded, adding that the Braves will just have to have a good time this year.

"What we can offer to the league . . . is a couple of wins to the (other) teams," he said, joining the manager in laughter.