Jays fly their way to title

Taber Jays flew to the great heights of the Norcrest Little League Championship at Conola Harvest Field in Lethbridge.

The team beat Vauxhall 4-2 in the deciding six-inning game.

“It was a really good game. It only took an hour and 10 minutes to finish with very good pitching on both sides,” said Kim Howg, a co-coach with the Taber Jays. “We were a very good all-around team, that final game we didn’t hit the ball very good, but our pitching and defence was very good. The other games it was hitting and pitching. If one thing wasn’t working the other thing was working.”

The playoffs also included two wins over Lethbridge North and another over Picture Butte to reach the championship final against Vauxhall.

The Jays almost were not able to take flight in the Major Division with a lack of numbers, but some out-of-town recruits helped with one from Enchant and two from Lomond to help supplement the Taber roster.

The championship run came on the heels of the Blue Jays registering a 9-2 record in league play in an eight-team field that featured teams from Barnwell, Taber, Coaldale, Picture Butte, Lethbridge and Vauxhall.

“Being from Enchant, they let me help coach and it was a good crew of kids to coach. They were all fantastic to work with,” said Howg, adding there was no Enchant team plying this year which gave three kids a chance to play thanks to the Jays.