Set to be inducted to the Saskatchewan Baseball Hall of Fame in August, the Marysburg Royals look to enter the hall as provincial champions.

The Senior AA Tier 1 championship gets underway in Saskatoon on Friday and following another good year, Curtis Strueby believes they are ready to go.

"We've had a solid year so far in tournament play and league play," he said. "One thing we have done this year is play everybody a lot. It's really paying off. You can see it in the caliber of how good we have played. No matter who we've put on the field we have played well, so we're looking to carry that over to provincials."

With just five teams in the tournament and potential for only one playoff game, Strueby says that it is a blast from the past.

"That's the way it used to be for years, five team round robin and the top two teams go at it in the final," he explained. "We've always said that's the best way to do it. Some of our older guys have experience with that, the younger guys it is new. You need everything to go right because every game matters."

Strueby has been a member of the Royals for over 20 years and although the team's last provincial title was in 2011, he says that they have been right there every year.

"We've had a really good run the last seven or eight years. We've only won the one, but we have got to go to Westerns five or six times," he said. "We're hoping we can put in another good showing this weekend and if we do that we can put ourselves in the best position to win it."

As for how the competition stacks up, the Royals will meet the defending champion Regina Trappers in their second game of the tournament on Saturday morning.

Strueby says that while the enter field will be tough, the Trappers could be the team they have to beat on Sunday.

"Regina is going to be strong. We know that, we met them in the final last year and played them at Westerns too," he explained. "The Diggers, Outlaws and Stallions are all good teams in our league and will round out their rosters with one or two guys. We're really going to have to be on top of our game."

In ten games against the Diggers, Outlaws and Stallions this season, the Royals have posted eight wins and two losses.

Following provincials, the Royals will conclude the regular season in the Saskatoon Senior Baseball League with a pair of games. Entering the weekend, they do sit in first place at 13-3.


You can hear more with Strueby below.