The Gateways’ first game is scheduled for Friday evening, Aug. 18, against New Glasgow.
Yarmouth head coach Aaron Sweeney says his team has had a pretty good year – admittedly with some ups and downs – and he says it’s tough to predict who might come out on top in provincials.
“I think it’s up for grabs,” he said. “Whoever plays the best this weekend is going to win it. I’ve seen teams that have gone 0-3 in one tournament and then they finish runner-up the next weekend.”
Sweeney cites his own team as an example, saying the Gateways played well at a tournament in Moncton, making the semifinals, but two weeks later failed to make the playoffs at an event in Kentville.
“I think every team in the league’s in the same boat,” he said.
Asked to assess his club’s play, he said the Gateways’ pitching generally has been pretty good.
“If anything, we just need to be a more consistent hitting team,” he said.
Bantam players are 14-and-15-year-olds and bantam AAA is the highest level of ball in the province for this age group.
Aside from Sweeney, who serves as head coach, Curtis Falls and Mark Nickerson coach the Yarmouth team as well.
The Gateways’ most recent games – on Sunday, Aug. 13, at home – were against Kentville. The Gateways took two from the visiting Wildcats by scores of 9-4 and 7-6, the latter game ending on a walk-off single by Gabriel Bourque.
