The Melfort Spirit U14A team won gold at the Queen City Classic that took place in Regina last weekend. (Facebook/Melfort Minor Softball Association)

By Mat Barrett

Fastpitch in Melfort

Melfort Fastpitch Tournament taking place over weekend

Jun 12, 2019 | 3:17 PM

A major fundraiser for the Melfort Minor Softball Association will be here this weekend.

The Melfort 222’s Fastpitch Tournament opens Friday, June 14, and runs until Sunday, June 16.

Twenty-three teams will participate in the fourth annual event this year.

“We bring in teams from across the province,” MMSA President Kirk Kezema said. “So, probably some of the top calibre teams from across Saskatchewan.”

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Kezema added even in just the fourth year of the tournament, it keeps getting bigger and bigger.

“The tournament is becoming very successful,” he said. “We’re starting to attract a lot of teams throughout our own province and now starting to attract teams from outside our province.”

The out of province team coming this year is out of Edmonton as the River City Hornets will join the fold. They will join teams from Sasaktoon, Regina, Lumsden, Warman, Moose Jaw, and a few local teams including the Tisdale Riverdogs, Northeast Magic, and of course the Melfort Spirit.

Kezema said with the growth of the tournament, they’ve had to make a few adjustments to keep up. This year a few games will be played at the exhibition diamonds in Melfort, while most of the games will remain at Spruce Haven Park. Kezema said the City of Melfort has been very accommodating.

“The city has been extremely good to us,” Kezema told northeastNOW. “They have done amazing things for us to prep our fields, and get equipment that is necessary to run tournaments like this.”

He said with 23 teams coming, that means about 275 players will be in the Melfort area this weekend, resulting in good things for businesses in the region.

“We fill the hotels,” Kezema said. “These players have to eat, and their families have to eat, so they certainly will fill our restaurants. And I know that the city has commented to me that the campgrounds are also full for this event. So, it just brings a pile of people into our community to spend some dollars.”

Not only is the tournament a big fundraiser for MMSA, but it also gives a chance to expose the players to the 222 program and more chances to play ball at a higher level.

“The program is turning into a very big, elite program for kids to go and travel and experience a lot of tournaments and development in the states,” Kezema said.

As for the local Melfort Spirit teams participating this weekend, Kezema said they should fair well. In the U12 division, the Spirit A team is right in the middle of the pack, which Kezema said is good to see. In the U14 division, the Spirit A team recently won a gold medal at the Queen City Classic in Regina with a 5-0 record. They will also be joined by the U14 B team as well.

Spectators can buy a weekend pass for the event, or day passes, and there is a concession at Spruce Haven as well. The schedule for the event can be found on the MMSA Facebook page.

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mat.barrett@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @matbarrett6