By Troy Gillard (Twitter: @Troy_Gillard)

Riggers rounding into form heading into home tournament

Jul 18, 2018 | 12:31 PM

The Red Deer Riggers are focusing on the task at hand even while they prepare for another trip to nationals next month.

The Riggers sit in second place in the Sunburst Baseball League standings, but moved closer to top spot with an exciting 12-11 win over the league leading Edmonton Cubs on a glorious Tuesday night for ball at Great Chief Park.

Red Deer improved to 8-4 on the season while dropping the Cubs to 9-4.

“It’s a competitive league and [the records] show there is a lot of parity. It seems like everybody is beating everybody on any given night, which maybe hasn’t been the case in the past,” notes Jason Chatwood, Riggers shortstop and coach.

Chatwood sees opposing teams bringing their A-game each time they take on the perennial powerhouse Riggers.

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“We’ve had some recent success over the years. So I think you can definitely tell when we visit teams that we see their best and we have a solid game, which is good for us – it keeps us sharp.”

The Riggers, Chatwood surmises, are rounding into form at the right time.

“I think we’re starting to get pretty consistent right now, and I think things are going in the right direction for playoffs. A lot of our core crew has been pretty consistent, and guys who maybe struggled early on are starting to get back on track now.

“The nice thing is that one through nine, guys are pretty consistent and we don’t need to rely on just one or two guys, which is nice for us.”

Chatwood also tipped his cap to his team’s pitching staff, saying, “We’re pretty confident with whoever we start; they give us a chance to win. And our back end, the guys out of the bullpen are pretty locked down.”

A big challenge for the Riggers, Chatwood admits, is maintaining focus on league play when they already know they’re heading to nationals.

“It’s hard to not get ahead of yourself a little bit, because it’s always nice thinking about nationals. So I think sometimes maybe you look a bit past what you’re doing. But I think we’re getting back on track because if you can win [league] playoff this year, then you can get a berth to nationals again next year.”

The Riggers are hosting their 38th annual tournament at Great Chief Park this weekend. The other three Sunburst Baseball League teams – St. Albert Tigers, Sherwood Park A’s and Edmonton (Confederation) Cubs – will be there as will the Calgary Cardinals and Edmonton Cardinals showcase club.

“It’s a fun weekend,” Chatwood says. “It’s nice if people want to come down and see some different teams play.

“It’s a cash tournament, so it gets pretty competitive because teams are obviously trying to win some money.”

The Riggers open this weekend’s tournament Friday night at 7 p.m. versus Calgary.

They head to Victoria, BC for nationals on Aug. 22 with the tournament running through Aug. 26.