The P.A. Royals faced off against the Saskatoon Athletics earlier this season. (Ian Gustafson/paNOW Staff)

By Ian Gustafson

Swinging for the Fences

P.A. Royals look to keep season alive in do or die playoff game in North Battleford

Aug 18, 2020 | 3:46 PM

The U18 Prince Albert Royals baseball team (3-14) will face off against the North Battleford Beavers (12-7-1) in a win or go home playoff game in the Saskatchewan Premiere Baseball League (SPBL).

The two teams get started tonight at 7 p.m. in North Battleford. The winner moves on to play the undefeated Saskatoon Blue Jays in the quarter-finals and the loser returns home.

The Royals won their first game of the season against the Beavers 13 to 2 on July 5 but proceeded to lose the next three games in the season series.

Despite the season series, Royals Manager Geoff Gay said he expects tight game this evening.

“We have an experienced group, seven of our players have won provincial championships before and then two years later eight of them won a silver medal,” Gay explained. “We know when you get into do or die games it usually will come down to the last one or two at bats and we’ve been fairly successful in the past in pulling out those types of wins.”

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Gay also gave credit to the Beavers saying they’re talented and they’ve had some close games with them this season and it expects the game to be close.

“We know there’s going to be some mistakes made through the game and there’s going to be lots of emotions, but this is where I think our players experience will hopefully come in,” he explained. “You just have to keep your emotions calm and know that there’s going to be ups and downs in the game and try to pull off the win in the end.”

Looking back on the regular season, Gay said he’s happy with how his team played.

“You could probably pick a half dozen of those games that we lost and if we had a little bit more focus and make a few more plays our records different than it was at the end of the year,” he explained.

He said he’s pleased with the players commitment and how they’ve developed this season.

If they do pull out the win tonight, Gay said they’re going to have to play their best game against the next matchup against the Saskatoon Blue Jays (16-0) and hope the powerhouse team makes a few mistakes.

“They’re just a very good team and they’ve been so for the last couple years, so you need to have some breaks to knock off a team like that,” he explained.

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Ian.gustafson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @princealbertnow