Lac La Biche captures fastball crown

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The Lasso Golden Eagles of Lac La Biche, Alta., captured the "A" side of the 1995 Canadian Native Fastball championship by downing Amisk of Winnipeg 8-3 on Aug. 7. Amisk had been beaten by Lasso in the semi-final 6-0, only to come through the hard way into the final, just to be again beaten.

The championship was held in the Rocky Mountain resort of Invermere, 150 km southwest of Banff, in typical mountain weather, which is to say that the weather was hot and sunny, with the mercury climbing about the 30C, for the first two days, cool and rainy for the last two.

"It ran really well," said A.K.-Kootenay from the Alexander First Nation in Alberta and secretary of the Canadian Native Fastball Association. "We ran a 16-team 'A' side and a 10-team 'B' division this year for the first time."

The host team and defending 1994 champions, the Dream Team from Invermere, had knocked out Ochapawace from Saskatchewan 3-1 in the other semi-final, but had to overcome Amisk to reach the final. Amisk put an end to their hopes of repeating by shutting them out 3-0 to earn the berth against the Alberta nine.

The results left the Golden Eagles with the championship and winnings of $4,000, Amisk the official second-place finishers and the Dream Team in third. Ochapawace was placed fourth, while the Prince George Lumber Kings from B.C. came in fifth and Alberta's Alexander Tipi Crawlers finished sixth. Alexander will play host to the 1996 championships in Morinville, 40 km north of Edmonton.

"We're very excited about next year," Kootenay said. "Especially as we're holding the first Canadian mixed slow-pitch championship at the same time." The events will be hosted by the Alexander Tipi Crawlers and the Alexander First Nation community.

1995 saw the introduction of a "B" side to the Canadian championships, allowing the less competitive teams to enjoy the sport and the friendship of the event.

"It was great to see the participation by both the 'A' and 'B' divisions," said O.J. Jack, from the Shuswap First Nation in B.C. "The 'B' ?side teams got a chance to compete at their own level". Two Saskatchewan clubs, the Little Black Bear Blues and Muscowpetung squared off in the final, with Muscowpetung coming out on top twice to take the title.

The host Dream Team then headed south for the prestigious International Softball Congress World Fastball Championship in Sioux City, Iowa, Aug. 11 to 15. The huge competition proved a tough test for the B.C. side as they bowed 4-0 to the Bloomington (Illinois) Hearts and 7-0 to Concrete Country from Wisconsin.

In a week of upsets, the Toronto Gators won the world title over Miller Toyota from Salt Lake City, but they did it the hard way, playing 10 games on the way to the title. The world's will be played next year in Kimberly, Wisconsin.