The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Mosher Lake Mud Hens entered the recent men's recreational slow-pitch provincials brimming with confidence. But not even the most self-assured member of the squad could have foreseen the sheer dominance the Hens would display coming out of the coop. In six straight games, they walloped the competition en route to a 21-1 trouncing in the final that gave them their first ever berth in nationals. "I don't think any of us expected to beat teams the way we did," says coach Tanner Brough. Held July 18 and 19 in Winnipeg, the provincials brought together some of the top casual ball players in the province. The Mud Hens, an assemblage of players from Flin Flon and area, set the tone early by steamrolling through Thompson in the first game. Solid victories against three teams from Winnipeg followed before the Hens captured the semi-final and then the final against the Winnipeg Ballers. "We didn't lose a game by less than seven runs," says centre fielder Ryan Karakochuk. "It was a total team effort. "We didn't really know what to expect going into the tournament. We just played really, really good baseball." Karakochuk praised his teammates for their robust defensive game. "I think we probably allowed the least amount of runs in the whole tournament, which is impressive," he says. The Hens now have more than a year to gear up for the men's senior recreation division nationals to be held over the August long weekend of 2010 in Langley, B.C. To stay sharp, the team is considering embarking on a cash tournament in Meadow Lake, Sask., next month. Next summer, they will continue playing in a for-fun local league established this year. While they hit the field to have a good time, Karakochuk says there is a strong competitive spirit underlying the Mud Hens roster. "We are a serious team in the sense that when we go out to play, we want to win," he says. "But in the same aspect, we had a lot of fun winning and we had a lot of fun gelling together (in Winnipeg). We have a lot of fun playing in Creighton, preparing." If the Hens can conjure up the sort of brilliance they showed at provincials, Brough likes their chances on the national stage. "If we play the way we did, then I would say (there's) nothing to work on," he says. "Just keep it simple, really."
