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.
Local ball team Burkees Bedlam is heading to the slo pitch Nationals for the fourth year in a row. Head coach Chad Trumbley says the team has been working and practicing hard to get to this point. "You have to give up a lot of your summer to play ball," says the coach. And he adds, "we have a lot of people here who just love to play baseball." The team will be heading to Langley, British Columbia, at the beginning of August to step up to the plate against 27 teams from around the country. In provincials, Burkees Bedlam placed fourth. The top four teams from each province are eligible to head to the Nationals, but Trumbley says not all the teams go. "There is a large cost and some teams just can't afford it," he says, adding that his squad fundraised enough money to cover hotels and car rentals. For the team to head to Langley, it will cost in the neighbourhood of $12,000 to $14,000, Trumbley notes. This year's team will be doing down with 16 people. "We like to make sure we have enough players for a full team and than some others in case of injury and to take over other players when it gets too hot for them," he says. "We're really excited about this and we're anxious too to get down there." And he adds, "We would also like to be able to improve from last year." In last year's Nationals in Lethbridge, Alberta, the team placed fifth, but Trumbley says "we feel like we have a good shot at winning this year." He says if the team doesn't make it to a semi-final game, there will be some disappointment in the air. All teams play six games in the Round Robin section of the tournament, and winners from there go on to play more games. "It depends on how we do, but we think we'll be playing about 10 games," says the coach. Nationals will start August 3, with the final game on August 6.
