With much anticipation after a long, yet successful season, the Unity U18 Cardinals captured the Tier 1 AA Provincial championship in front of a home crowd on Aug. 15.
The U18 Cardinals, in a normal season, would have finished up league play near the beginning of July with the traditional provincial championship weekend taking place the third weekend of July. However, a follow up year that still involved a pandemic was once again altered to accommodate ongoing provincial guidelines.
Recognizing the last chance to see ball games on home diamonds combined with hot summer weather, home crowds lined the field and filled the stands for all the games to cheer on their hometown Cardinals.
The team opened the weekend with a slugfest against the Saskatoon Athletics, coming out victors by a score of 14-10. Saturday was the next round robin game and the team was looking to avenge a loss in the league final to the Estevan Brewers. A final score of 9-1 showcased just how hot the Unity bats were this provincial weekend. The last round robin game was against the North East Expos that the Cards lost 6-4 but still putting them in first place in their pool, advancing them to playoff Sunday.
The Cardinals defeated the Regina Blue Jays, who had beaten them in the previous weekend's league final, scoring five runs in the first inning winning by a score of 9-5.
The championship final would once again see the Cards face the Brewers for the provincial title. A decided 11-1 victory was won in walk-off fashion earning the Unity U18 Cardinals the provincial championship.
Pitching power, strong batting skills and overall team chemistry combined with fantastic fan support throughout the weekend was attributed to this overall team win.
See Aug. 20 issue of the Press-Herald for the full story on this championship win in Unity Aug. 15.
