The Prince George River Kings had very little time to savour the win on the field in Regina at the Canadian Native Fastball Championship.
Ninety minutes after they wrapped up a 2-1 win Sunday over Oshwegan Redmen of Six Nations, Ont., to claim the men's division title, the River Kings were at Regina Airport, checking in to board their flight back to Prince George.
That’s right, the championship game ended at 3:30 a.m.
“It was scheduled for 10:30 p.m., which was a mistake in itself, and then they got behind after a couple games with extra innings and we started at 1:30 in the morning and finished at 3:30 a.m.,” said the River Kings' 55-year-old coach/second baseman, Randy Potskin.
“The flight’s booked at 5 a.m. so we basically celebrated for half an hour, went back to the hotel and showered, checked out and headed to the airport - it was no sleep for 24 hours. (Monday) was a rough day for me. I slept good (on Tuesday).”
Behind the pitching of Steven McNaughton of Vancouver, who threw 22 strikeouts in the seven-inning game, the River Kings earned runs in each of the first and second innings and survived a late-game comeback attempt from the Redmen.
“(In the fifth inning) one guy got a hit and they bunted him to second base and he got to third base on a fielder’s choice and scored on a passed ball,” said Potskin.
“Then a guy struck out and the catcher (Cole Laviolette) missed it with two outs and that was the run they scored. We got some lucky breaks for sure and a couple double plays.”
Josh Anderson of Vancouver threw 12 strikeouts for the River Kings to beat Oshwegan by an identical 2-1 score earlier Sunday in the A-final.
Prince George beat the host Regina Golden Hawks 2-1 to book their ticket to the A-final.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Hawks walked Nicholas Potskin intentionally to load the bases and Tyson Ghostkeeper drove in a two-out walk-off hit to end the game.
The River Kings hadn’t won the title since 2006, which ended a remarkable seven-year reign as Canadian native champions. They’ve won it nine times in total.
Eleven other local players are on the River Kings roster, including Nicholas Potskin, Jarrett Potskin, Derian Potskin, Evan Potskin, Tre Potskin, Chad Ghostkeeper, Tyson Ghostkeeper, Justin Fillion, Cole Laviolette, Jaeger Bush and Joel Walkey.
“We came second last year and third the previous year, so the young guys were close,” said Randy Potskin. “Our goal between me and Chad was to get them over that hump.”
He was one of three River Kings players who shared the victory with their sons. His sons, Nicholas, 27, and Jarrett, 29, played shortstop and centre field respectively and it was the first time Randy has earned a team trophy playing with his boys.
“It was very sweet, especially when you can do it with the family, friends and your own kids,” said the 50-year old Potskin. “That’s been my goal for many years, to play with my boys and hopefully win a championship. It was extra special this year.”
Chad Ghostkeeper, the River Kings' 53-year-old catcher, coached the final game, watching his 26-year-old son Tyson play left field.
Evan Potskin drove 15 hours for Prince George to Regina to be there as a River Kings fielder with his son, 26-year-old son Derian, who played right field.
Tre Potskin, whose father Joey, Randy’s brother, died of a longterm illness in March, was unable to make the trip to Regina due to work commitments, but is expected to be in the River Kings lineup in Surrey this weekend when they start the International Softball Federation world championship Saturday against Mexico.
The Mexican team is coming off a second-place finish at the American Softball Association championships and is ranked 11th. The River Kings are ranked 22nd.
“We’re in tough for sure, it’s a big jump for us, but I think the guys are up to the challenge,” said Potskin, a veteran of five ISC championships.
“You’re playing with the best fastball players in the world. The last time the tournament was in B.C. was 1997 in Victoria and that was the first time the River Kings ever went to world’s. Now we’re going back as River Kings with our kids, who were babies at the ballpark, when we were there at world championships.”
The River Kings and Vanderhoof Rippers are among 24 teams from 15 countries entered in the nine-day tournament. Seven other B.C. teams are entered in the men’s championship bracket and five teams from B.C. will be in the hunt for masters title.
The River Kings opened Saturday with a 10-3 loss to 11th-ranked Omma Tigres of Mexico and are back on the field Monday afternoon at 1 to face CanWest Thunder of Cross Lake, Man.
The Rippers, who wrapped up the Spruce City Men's Fastball Association title on Friday, won by default in their first game at the ISCs when they NorthWest Braves of Pendleton. Ore., were unable to field a team.Vanderhoof went on to lose 13-1 Sunday to No. 5-ranked Circle Tap Dukes of Wisconsin. The Rippers dropped to 1-2 after losing 5-0 to Lacey (Wash.) A's Monday morning.
