This season brings exciting changes for the East Central 15U AAA Dodgers as they become one of the inaugural teams in the 15U Division of the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League. The elite competitive league with teams from across the province has been in play for 18U AAA players. Now, younger players aspiring to that level have a chance to test themselves against the best the province has to offer. 

“This is the first year Baseball Sask is doing that with the Triple A 15U group,” explains Dodgers Head Coach Derek Rude. “So the league and Baseball Sask is really excited about that because all the top teams and top players get to play against each other, so it’ll be really competitive baseball.”

Traditionally, players at the 15U AAA level competed in a southern league and a northern league, largely based out of Saskatoon. Teams from the two leagues would encounter each other only occasionally, explains Rude, so the League board began discussing the prospect of an all province league a couple years ago. This year’s league houses 13 teams with many of the meetings being double-headers.

The challenge level is upped for the group with a number of new players joining the squad in  the 2022 season. Following a stellar 2021 where the Dodgers took their own Saskatoon based league and brought back gold in provincials, Rude looks forward to the challenge of head coaching duties with a squad of vets and rookies combined. This year’s team members hail from Humboldt, Muenster, Annaheim, Bruno, St. Brieux, Watrous, and Tisdale. 

“There’s a lot of turnover from last year, a very veteran group with only one first year and the rest second year players. This year, we have a young group with six first year players, so there’s lots to learn but they are a strong group of athletes and really coachable, so we expect a lot of improvement over the year.”

The Dodgers had their first competitive crack on the diamond this past weekend in Alameda as they took on the South East A’s, splitting a double header. They are off to Regina this weekend, weather contingent, for a tournament and then back to Humboldt and Muenster for their season home opener on May 28, a double header in Muenster at James Korte Field at 12 noon and 3:00 pm. On Sunday May 29, the Dodgers take the field for their second double header at 10:00 am and 1:00 pm  in Humboldt at Centennial Park. 

Fans can follow the team on the Game Changer app and on their social media accounts.