Prince Albert Lake Boyz RV Astros are in tough at the 2012 Canadian Men’s under-18 fast-pitch championships being held in Fredericton, N.B., this week.
The Astros, who won the provincial midget boy’s title last month, are winless after their first five games and were to play one more round-robin game on Wednesday before completing the preliminary schedule today.
Prince Albert opened its schedule with a 10-5 setback to Nelson, B.C., and then dropped subsequent decisions to Fredericton 15-8, Irma, Alta., 10-2, QC Express from St. Leonard, Que., 5-3 and Caledonia, Ont., 8-5.
The Astros were to face Cobourg, Ont., on Wednesday with games against Nova Scotia and New Hamburg, Ont., scheduled for today to complete their participation in the event as it looks like the playoffs are out of reach.
Saskatchewan’s other team entered in the event, the Saskatoon Selects, were also struggling as they were 2-3 entering Wednesday’s late game against Irma. The Selects defeated Cobourg 8-6 and Fredericton 9-8, but suffered losses to Caledonia 6-4, Napanee, Ont., 5-2 and Nova Scotia 1-0. The Selects will also play Nelson and Newfoundland/Labrador today to complete the preliminary draw of the tournament.
Irma was the only undefeated team entering their game against Saskatoon having won its first five games while one game back were New Hamburg, Caledonia and Napanee, all with 4-1 records.
The playoff round will begin on Friday with the gold-medal contest scheduled for Sunday.
