For the second year in a row, the Delisle Pride came close to capturing the Canadian national U23 men’s fastball championship.
The Pride were edged 6-3 by the Murno Mariners, a team from Newfoundland, in the gold medal final on Sunday, August 4 in Kitchener, Ontario.
This marked the Delisle squad’s second silver medal in two years; they lost a heartbreaker in the 2023 national championship in Saskatoon. The team now has four silver and one bronze medal in its appearances at nationals over the years.
The Pride finished the five-day tournament’s round robin in top spot with a record of five wins and one loss; while both the Murno Mariners and host Tavistock Merchants were close behind with identical records of four wins and two losses.
The Saskatchewan team plays in the Keith McLean division of the Saskatoon Amateur Softball Association (SASA) league. The squad is led by managers Joel Durham and Wade Harris, and featured four of the country’s best young fastball players: Max Major, Will Major, Ryan Bicknell, and Ethan Sommerfeld.
A total of seven teams competed at the Kitchener tournament, including four from Ontario and one each from Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.
The Pride won their first game against Ontario’s Harwood Corners on Wednesday, July 31 by a score of 11-5. They downed the Nova Scotia Selects 4-2 and Ontario’s Wiarton Red Devils 5-3 on Thursday, August 1.
On Friday, August 2, they beat Newfoundland’s Murno Mariners 5-3 and added a 9-4 victory over the Shallow Lake Sting from Ontario.
On Saturday, August 3, Delisle lost 4-0 to the Murno Mariners, setting the stage for the championship final between the two teams on Sunday, August 4.