Dreams of winning a provincial championship were realized on July 24 for the AAA Midget Muenster Red Sox.

Now, they have their eyes set on a bigger prize, as the national championships get underway in Sherbrooke, Quebec on Thursday.

More recently than the provincial title won in Saskatoon, four Red Sox - Brody Frerichs, Logan Hofmann, Parker McRae and Tyler McWillie - played for Saskatchewan at the Baseball Canada Cup, downing BC to win the championship.

Red Sox Head Coach Chad Hofmann says the team has plenty of big game experience nationally, which can help them settle in.

"Between those four guys, we also have two guys who are a year older than them that played previously with Team Sask, and there are two kids we picked up," he said. "We have eight players who have played at different types of national championships, so hopefully that will help."

Roster rules allow for the Red Sox to have a total of 18 players, and with just 14 on their regular roster, the team has added a pair of pitchers to help ease the load on their staff.

Yorkton's Tyson Black and Connor Sparks from Saskatoon will make the trek to Quebec with the team.

"They're also pretty good position players and are able to hit as well. They might be put in those spots as well, but first and foremost is pitching," Hofmann explained.

Black was on the short list of pitchers to contain the Red Sox line-up during a game this season, allowing just two runs. Unfortunately for him, he was opposite of Brody Frerichs on the mound on June 11, when Frerichs struck out 18 on his way to a no-hitter.

redsoxsupper
Over 100 people came to support the Red Sox on Sunday.

Hofmann added that while they did want to help depth with the potential of playing up to eight games in four days, they also didn't want to tinker with the roster too much, considering what the everyday group of players achieved this season.

The accolades could fly high for the Red Sox if they are able to string together wins in Quebec. Hofmann says they aren't going just to say they made it.

"I've talked to the kids already and we're not satisfied with just making it there, we want to do something while we are there and hopefully we are able to win some games, put a good showing in and make our community proud of us."

Everything the team has done this season to put themselves in the position to represent Muenster and Saskatchewan is based on the team's work ethic.

"I'm glad our boys were able to get there because they deserve it. I'm not shy to say that I know there isn't a team that works harder than our team," said Hofmann. "They deserve to be there and have worked for this."

The Red Sox leave for Quebec early Wednesday morning, with their first game against Nova Scotia at 8:30am Thursday.

Another game on opening day pits them against New Brunswick, with games against Manitoba and Newfoundland on Friday, with the round robin concluding Saturday against Prince Edward Island.

Each game will be meaningful for the Red Sox in a pool of six teams, with only the top two advancing to the medal round.