The Westman Border Fastball Museum held their Kicking up the Dirt Fastball Reunion Weekend at Asessippi Beach and Campground from June 17-19th.
Friday night opened with a ladies fastball game between the Inglis Ladies Nightmares and the Roblin Angels. Roblin won the game which entertained a crowd of approximately 200 people.
The weekend also saw competition between three Twilight League fastball teams.
Cliff Zimmer, member of the organizing committee, said, “A highlight for me was Brad Bulbuck honouring the original Regals by presenting them with their new set of uniforms. Taking to the field with the young talented Inglis Regals team was special for me as well. Figuratively, I got to play with the Originals as well as my cousins, their sons and some other good local talent. The boys took on the Fleming Jets and Dauphin Selects whom are both playing in regular senior men’s fastball leagues.”
Zimmer added, “Asessippi Beach was able to host the first ever Westman Border Fastball Museum and league games. All three teams consisting of the Onanole Sporty’s Original, Southeast Saskatchewan Express and the Borderline Legends teams played a 3 game round robin series. All these games have playoff implications. The next series of games are held this weekend in Fleming this Saturday starting at 1:00 Saskatchewan time.”
“Once again a big thank you to Karin Gorluk and also the volunteers that made this happen.”
On Saturday, Twilight League games were held between the three squads participating in the league. The Onolole Sporty Originals played Borderline Legends in the first game with the Originals winning 7-2. Next, Onanole took on the Southeast Express team, winning again with a score of 7-6.
Prior to the Hall of Fame game (55+) between Team Saskatchewan and Team Manitoba, 14 Inglis Regals were honoured and presented with Regal jerseys which included the original numbers of the players on them. The Regals are a team from the late 50s to late 60 and are the original team from Asessippi who helped build Asessippi Beach.
To kick off the Hall of Fame game, singer Brad Mazur delighted the crowd with his vocals singing O’Canada.
The game involving the fastball legends from Team Manitoba and Team Saskatchewan ended with a score of 5-5.
Nestor Leganchuk, former Oakburn Orioles player said about the game, “After playing ball for so many years, you see all the guys you used to play against and reminisce. I’m glad to see that someone stepped up to put this museum up and hats off to them; if it wasn’t for them this thing might not exist. This [event] takes a lot of work but hats off to them for their work.”
After the game, the ceremonial 3 stars were presented to each team.
For Team Manitoba, the stars are as follows:
1st star – Norman Luschasin, Shoal Lake
2nd star – Nestor Leganchuk, Eliphinstone
3rd star – Jerry Yeorshak, Inglis
For Team Saskatchewan, the stars are as follows:
3rd star – Harvey Nixon, Wapella
2nd star – Orey Hudym, Moosomin
1st star and 2022 MVP – Bev Ottenbreit, Grayson
Speaking about the Hall of Fame Game, Bev Ottenbreit said, “I enjoy the game. I’ve been out of ball for quite a few years. This year, the weather is better and I’m in a little better shape.”
Former Inglis Regal, Ken Gaber, speaking about the Hall of Fame game said, “Playing with ball players 50-60 years ago, that alone makes it worthwhile to meet these guys, talking to them, establishing relationships and talking about the old days; that’s the best part about old-age is meeting your friends as they are so valuable.”
Following the Hall of Fame game, the final Twilight League game between the Borderline Legends and the Southeast Express occurred with the Southeast Express winning 2-0. Trevor Hudym of Rocanville was the winning pitcher after striking out 15 and pitching a complete game shutout.
Karen Goraluk and staff provided a pork roast supper to top-off the day before Brad Mazur took the stage at the beer gardens to a full crowd.
Speaking about how much the event has grown since last year, Organizer Daryl Nernberg said, “The event went over really well, just super. I think that we have some changes to make for next year…I’m very happy with how the event turned out this year. It’s very overwhelming, but if anyone is willing to help we appreciate it.”
On Sunday, a pancake breakfast was also prepared by Karen Goraluk and staff before the crowd witnessed the New Inglis Regals play the Fleming Jets with a final score of Fleming 5 and Inglis 0; Braden Stewart was the winning pitcher.
Fleming played the Dauphin Selects after, with a score of 1-1 after 5 innings. Braden Steward and Curtis Cote were the pitchers.
The final game was between Inglis and the Dauphin Selects with a score of 14-5 for the Selects. Curtis Cote and Blair Barker pitched for Dauphin in the win.
The weekend was a success even with the hot weather conditions.
Organizer Larry Nernberg said, “There was a lot of great fastball played. The Southeast Express would like to see more fan support. Seeing that fastball has died in the Yorkton to Moosomin area, we have players from Springside to Moose Jaw, but mostly in the Potashville area including Churchbridge, Langenburg, Rocanville, Debuc, Yorkton and Moosomin. Next weekend, June 25, we are scheduling the same 3-team Twilight League tournament starting at 1 pm Saskatchewan time at Green Acres park in Fleming Saskatchewan; the nicest rural ball diamond in Canada.”
Following the tournament, there will be a scheduled Southeast Fastball League make-up game between the Fleming Jets and the Round Lake Braves.
On July 10th, the same 3 twilight teams will be in Onanole for a tournament there which will end the league for the year. All 3 teams are registered in the Westman Border Fastball Museum Twilight League and play under the Manitoba Fastball Association banner.
Kicking up the Dirt Fastball Reunion Organizer Daryl Nernberg said, “There were local people there [this weekend], but I wish there were more local people there to support it. The R.M. can give us more support. I thank the local people who were there for coming out. Thank you to everyone from Western Canada who made time to come out to support the weekend.”
Other players spoke about how much they appreciate the opportunity to play in the weekend’s events. “I like the social part of the game. I haven’t played ball for many years but I enjoy getting together and meeting the rest of the guys,” said Team Saskatchewan Hall of Fame Game player Dennis Koch.
Participant Dave Onufrechuk talked about why he enjoys coming to the game, saying, “Just seeing some of the guys I played with a long time ago, some I haven’t seen in 50 years.”
After a successful weekend, the Westman Border Fastball Museum group looks forward to next year’s event and the developments that will further assist the celebration of fastball heritage in the area, as well as the growth of fastball for the next generation.