The Cranbrook Bandits will be making their debut as an American Legion ‘A’ team this weekend at the 2017 Loggertown Wood Bat Classic in Libby, Montana.
While the tournament will not count towards the season standings, Bandits head coach Paul Mrazek believes that it is a great opportunity to get the year going in a positive direction.
“It’s a fun tournament,” Mrazek said. “We stay at the gym in Libby, at the high school. It’s a good way for the kids to get to know each other, rather than separate rooms in a hotel and little groups.
“I think that we’ve got a pretty good core of senior [players] that know that they have to welcome the rookies and get them comfortable and in some ways, they’re going to teach them.”
The Loggertown Classic kicks off on Friday night with a game between the host Libby Loggers and the Missoula Pioneers.
The Bandits play their first game on Saturday against the Clark Fork Vipers at 1:15 p.m. and then play again on Sunday with a 10:45 a.m. game against the Calgary Redbirds and a 1:00 p.m. game against the Mission Valley Mariners. Every game will be played at Libby’s Lee Gehring Field.
The following weekend, the Bandits will be participating at the Kalispell ‘Canadian Days’ tournament in Kalispell, Montana before hosting their own Wood Bat invitational tournament at Confederation Park on the weekend of May 26.
While the ‘A’ Bandits are in Libby, the junior ‘B’ Bandits will be playing a pair of home against competition from Calgary this weekend.
The ‘A’ team is composed of the top players 19 years old and under and the ‘B’ team is made up of players 17 years old and under. 2017 is the first year that the Bandits program has been separated into two teams.
‘A’ Roster
Jake Bromley (19, Cranbrook), Caden McCormack (19, Cranbrook), Rylan D’Etcheverrey (19, Kimberley), Noah Rennette (18, Kimberley), Cedar Kemp (19, Kimberley), Daniel Mercandelli (18, Cranbrook), Robert Nicholl (18, Cranbrook), Carson Meggison (17, Cranbrook), Linden Meggison (19, Cranbrook), Parker Thomson (17, Cranbrook), Brandon Thorn (18, Cranbrook), Hayden Mastel (17, Cranbrook), Greg Rebagliati (15, Cranbrook), Tasuki Ishihara (17, Cranbrook), Ryley Ducharme (16, Creston), Quinn Grist (17, Cranbrook), Brenden Bird (18, Kimberley)
Head Coach: Paul Mrazek
‘B’ Roster
Brayden Farquhar (16, Kimberley), Cam Reid (15, Kimberley), Nevada Joseph (17, Cranbrook), Braiden Koran (16, Kimberley), Carter Marlow (15, Cranbrook), Will Doerksen (14, Kimberley), Tanner McLean (17, Cranbrook), Alex Smith (17, Cranbrook), Brad Traverse (15, Kimberley), Michael Schieman (15, Cranbrook), Drake Simek (17, Cranbrook), Daxton D’Etcheverrey (15, Kimberley), Tyson D’Etcheverrey (16, Kimberley), Finn Ferrier (16, Kimberley), Carter Purdy (16, Invermere)
Head Coach: Ryan Phillips-Clement