It was a successful season for Barrhead ‘AAA’ Junior Orioles.
That is what coach Jim Worbec said after the team’s final game of the season.
Aug. 3 to 6, in Innisfail, Barrhead took part in their first ever Baseball Alberta Junior AAA Provincial Championships sporting a two and two record with wins over the Fort Saskatchewan Red Sox and St. Albert Cardinals and losing to Edmonton’s Community Park Reds, and the Innisfail Merchants.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough to make it into the championship game. Although the Orioles and St. Albert finished with the same record, the Cardinals got the nod to face Innisfail in the finals because of a better runs for and against differential.
The Orioles are a collaboration between Barrhead and Slave Lake. Initial discussions on creating a Barrhead junior baseball entry began last year after the town’s North Central Alberta Baseball League folded leaving a number of players between the ages of 19 and 21 no place to play.
Going into the championships the Orioles Worbec said they had a better than average chance of winning the provincial championship banner and moving on to the Western Canadian Junior ‘AAA’ Championship.
The team finished the regular season in second place in the five-team league behind St. Albert with a 12-6 record.
“It just wasn’t meant to be. I know they probably don’t feel like this now because they are still disappointed, but they can be very proud of their season. Especially considering it is our first year as a team, coming from two small communities like Barrhead and Slave Lake,” he said. “We regularly would go against teams like St. Albert and Innisfail which have the ability to draw players from all over central and southern Alberta.”
As for the future of the team, Worbec said he wasn’t sure, adding that is something they would discuss this winter.
“Next year we will be losing a few boys because they are overage and we don’t know who is coming up to carry on,” he said.
