Five games in three days put a strain on the Marysburg Royals, but they almost came out of it as champions.

Playing the league championship series in the Saskatoon Senior Baseball League, the Royals split the first two games against the Saskatoon Stallions before losing the third game.

A tentative doubleheader was scheduled for Wednesday night in Saskatoon if the Royals were able to win Game 4, which they were successful in.

It was the fifth and final game of the series that was tough to take.

"We came back in the 6th down four runs, we came back in the 7th down two runs, in the 8th down two runs," said Curtis Strueby.

It was the 9th inning where the runs stopped for the Royals, as they fell 11-7.

Despite the loss, Strueby says that they fought until the end.

"Probably the proudest I have ever been of the team. This week has been unbelievably tough. Outside of tonight, we had ten players all week," he beamed. "We brought in some of the Midgets, which helped us a lot. It's the best effort I have ever seen our team give."

Strueby is referring to members of the AAA Midget Muenster Red Sox, who recently won Bronze at the Under-18 Nationals in Quebec.

One of those players was Logan Hofmann, who in Game 4, tossed 4.1 innings without allowing a hit. Another was Brody Frerichs, who in the bottom of the 8th inning nearly won the game on a base hit.

Instead, it was caught by the shortstop, who doubled off the Royals at second base to get out of the inning.

Although the season did end in a second place finish, it looked for a while like the Royals wouldn't even factor in, according to Strueby.

"We played a league game or two afterwards and didn't play that well either," he explained. "We had a chat in the room after the game and said 'we got to get our heads into this', and ever since then, we battled and battled and battled."

He added that going down in a tough, yet hard-fought way is something that the team can take with them next season.

"We kind of went out on a high note although we didn't win. We can keep our heads high and I know for a fact that we will carry that into next year."

In 2017, it will be the 99th year of the club's existence.

Prior to the league final, the Royals organization was inducted into the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame.

Strueby was one of the representatives for the Royals and says that it was quite rewarding to experience.

"It was so nice to be apart of the team going in," he exclaimed. "Being inducted into that Hall of Fame, it's not only the players, it is everybody involved in this team. The wives, kids, umpires, all the volunteers."

Along with the Royals, Ron Bauml was inducted to the Hall of Fame. Bauml was a star pitcher for not only the Royals in his playing days, but for every team he spent time with.


You can hear more from Strueby below.