25-07-2025
Best of Manitoba Baseball clashes for provincial title
When Jamie Bettens took over as coach of the Bonivital 18U AAA baseball team at the start of the Baseball Manitoba regular season this spring, the message was clear — get into Zone 1 for the 18U AAA provincials.
After back-to-back Tier 2 provincial championships in 2023 and 2024, the Bonivital Black Sox have proved they can win tournaments and, this year, they'll get their shot in Tier 1 at the 2025 18U AAA provincials, taking place this weekend at Charleswood Park.
'When I took over the group, we sat down and said, 'What is our goal for this year?'' said Bettens. 'And, unequivocally, every single player said, 'We want to be in Zone 1 this year. We want to move up and be in the higher bracket and compete against the top teams in the province.''
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The Bonitvital Black Sox get their shot this weekend at the Manitoba Baseball Tier 1, 18U AAA provincial title after back-to-back Tier 2 provincial championships in 2023 and 2024.
Tier 1 placement this year is determined by regular-season standings. The top six teams qualify for Zone 1 and compete in Tier 1 provincials, while the bottom five are placed in Zone 2. The system, introduced this year, replaced the previous playoff format to get into Tier 1.
Bonivital ended third in the province-wide AAA league standings, a result of dedication and extra work, according to Bettens.
'For us as a team, we tried to schedule as many exhibition games and tournaments as we could get our hands on, as we felt we needed to play more games than the regular season would allow in order to truly prep and work on the things we wanted to work on,' said Bettens.
Along with their successful regular season play-wise, the Black Sox found another way to make their time together count, organizing a charity Baseball Fights Cancer game in June that raised over $6,000.
'It's been such an amazing ride from beginning to end,' said Bettens. 'These guys have been focused on the goal right from day one, and it's been very evident throughout the process.'
For provincials, going for first place holds a little more weight than just a trophy, as it also comes with the opportunity to represent Manitoba at the Baseball Canada National Championships from Aug. 14-17 in Fort McMurray, Alta.
'If we can play our style of baseball, then we like our chances against anybody else in the league,' said Bettens. 'There are a lot of great teams in the provincials and it's a very wide open event, I don't think anybody will run away with it… But we feel we have the depth and the pitching and the hitting to compete with anybody else.'
But competition might be tough against the host team, the Winnipeg South Wolves, whose tight-knit group is looking for a comeback after losing in the Tier 1 provincial finals last year.
For Nate Lodewyks, a senior player on the team, it's his last chance at one more provincial championship with the Wolves, an organization he's been a part of since 13U.
'We definitely want to go out here, play well, and just make a last run at it for the senior year guys,' said Lodewyks. 'Obviously, everyone wants to win, but yeah, you have some extra motivation there just to come out on top this year.'
After winning the 2024 Western Canada Baseball Championships and finishing second in the 2025 regular-season standings, coach Colten Boudreau says the experience of competing at a higher level has been valuable for his players, who are looking to impress on their home field.
'It's pretty cool, honestly,' said Boudreau on playing as the host team. 'The amount of people that come to the park over the weekend — it's special to see, all the cars at the parking lot, it's packed. Like the finals last year, I don't know how many people were there, but it changes the atmosphere for the boys, too, and I think it helps them play a little harder in front of everybody.'
With last year's 13-3 loss in the finals, there's definitely no shortage of motivation for the Wolves to redeem themselves heading into the weekend.
'To be honest with you, in the finals, we were just outplayed and it was simply that,' said Boudreau. 'You know, kudos to the Elmwood Giants when they won, but I think we can just use that as fuel to say we don't want to be the runners up again, and shoot for first place.'
It's a demanding weekend, with a minimum of five games over three days, but Boudreau says he will rely on both his pitching staff and offence to carry them through.
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'Pitching has been a really strong suit from us,' said Boudreau. 'Kaleb Russell, Will Johnson and Jax Paull have been three of the mainstays in our rotation. They've pitched fairly well and set the tone for the boys. And also, our offence is pretty good. We tend to score a decent amount of runs per game, so when you put those two together, it's definitely a winning recipe.'
Lodewyks, an infielder, hopes to contribute before heading south to Kansas in August, where he will continue his baseball career at Pratt Community College.
'I've been fortunate enough to have really great coaches throughout these seven years here,' said Lodewyks. 'And yeah, I've developed as a player but also just as a person.'
The Tier 1 championships begin at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, with the North Winnipeg Pirates taking on the West Winnipeg A's. Meanwhile, in the Tier 2 championships, the Interlake Orioles will face the Elmwood Giants at 8 a.m.
