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Wet ending to annual Ponoka Slo-Pitch tournament

Thunder, lightning and poor field conditions forces early end to event
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One runner from Red Deer’s RUKDNME gets ready to round third and head home while another runner heads for third during a round robin game.

Despite a great opening couple of days, the annual Ponoka Lions Club Slo-Pitch tournament came to a soggy end.

The event began on July 14 and continued through Saturday with excellent conditions only to give way to thunderstorms and rain for the playoffs on Sunday.

Field conditions were good enough to allow some games to be run, but eventually the storms — which included a burst of hail at one point — convinced organizers to halt the action before the final two games could be played.

Earlier in the day, the C division title was decided with Ponoka’s Bad Intentions squad winning. However, both the A and B division championship winnings were split — with NQD of Edmonton and the Sports Sox from Stony Plain sharing the A division $1,000 purse, while the B division share of $800 divided between Calgary’s Foothills Exploration and the Bomb Squad from Peace River.

Tournament organizer Irene Baliant said it was great to see a total of 16 teams — six of which were from Ponoka — come out.

“It was good weather for the most part, except it may have been a bit too hot for some during part of it,” she said.

“However, it’s a shame about the playoffs being spoiled by the storms.”

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A batter from Red Deer’s RUKDNME club watches this pitch sail just long of the strike plate on the ground during a round robin game July 15 at the annual Lions Club Slo-Pitch tournament on the weekend. Photos by Jordie Dwyer