2024 is a special year for softball in the NWT.
It's the 50th anniversary of the Yellowknife Junior Merchants winning the inaugural Canadian Junior Softball Championship in Ottawa in 1974, becoming the first team from a territory to win a national title in any sport.
So it's perhaps fitting that a team carrying that name would win a title in the golden anniversary year.
The Yellowknife Merchants senior men's squad, made up of players from the Yellowknife Fastball League, captured the Softball Alberta men's intermediate B crown in Calgary on Sunday afternoon thanks to a 15-0 victory over the Calgary Pirates in the final. It took just three innings to do it as the general rule states that any team holding down a 15-run lead after three innings is declared the winner.
The triumph in the final capped off a perfect weekend for the Merchants as they prevailed in all six of their contests, which included four wins in pool play and their other playoff game.
Coach Rob Johnson said running the table wasn't even on his mind, nor anyone else's, when the tournament began.
"You never know," he said. "We had a strong group of guys and they were all hitting the ball really well. It helped that we won a lot of games by mercy, but the guys were swinging the bats, they were reading all the signs and moving on the base path. Everything just worked."
The Merchants began by beating the Pirates in their opener on Friday afternoon, 5-2, followed by an 8-0 win over the Alberta Masters Pirates. Saturday was another two-win day as they topped the Bow River Bandits and 51 North Bulls by identical 8-1 scores. That was good enough to put them atop of their pool and into a playoff meeting with the Buffalos of Calgary on Sunday morning.
An 11-4 win punched their ticket straight through to the final, where they waited to see who was left standing in what Johnson said was a very hot day of play.
"We got to go back to the hotel, put our feet up for a bit, sit in front of the AC and get some food in us," he said.
The Pirates had to take the long road to get to the final and Johnson said by the time they got there, it was obvious they were a hurting bunch.
"It was their third game of the day and they were gassed SA国际影视传媒� they had nothing left," he said. "Our guys were just pounding the ball all over the place and it wasn't fair to make (the Pirates) have to keep going."
Andy Williams was the team's top hitter with an average of close to .700, meaning he hit safely in seven out of every 10 at-bats, but Johnson said it seemed like everyone was coming up big.
"Our catcher, Trent Dundas, was throwing out guys trying to steal with ease, John White was hitting the ball really well and Devin Case was pounding it all over," he said. "Steve (Thomas) was our pitching stud and Devin Penney and Chad Hinchey were great also."
The Merchants will be back on the road in a couple of weeks for a much bigger tournament in Madison, Wisconsin, as they'll be playing in the North American Fastpitch Association (NAFA) World Series, which begins on Aug. 8.
Johnson said playing in Calgary was a good tuneup for Madison, but winning a provincial crown is a mark of pride.
"We're proud of what we were able to do and represent our home," he said. "Keeping the Merchants name alive is a big deal because of the history it has and we want to keep it going."
