The local Sight & Sound fastball team is on one long road trip.
Due to a series of scheduling conflicts and rain-outs, the Fort Frances-based team, which hasn’t played at its home field at VanJura since May 24, won’t be playing a game within town limits until Thursday, July 5—a span of 42 days.
“It kinda sucks for trying to get people out to watch and stuff like that,” admitted manager Derek McKinnon. “[But] I don’t think it’s an issue. It doesn’t really seem to matter.
“It’s not really that much of a home-field advantage.”
Even if McKinnon is just being modest, it can’t be argued that he’s incorrect.
The team’s 3-1 record has put them at the top of the Rainy River District Fastball League—with their last two wins coming by lopsided scores of 12-3 at Sabaskong and 17-4 at Big Grassy.
McKinnon said one of the things going for the squad with all this travel is better team chemistry.
“We kind of like travelling on the road . . . a guy doesn’t wanna do it every day, but it always makes for a good time,” he noted. “You know, we’ll stop, have a few drinks somewhere, stop a at a bar somewhere.
“It’s half the reason some guys play, just to go out with the guys for a bit.”
The trouble with the team’s schedule began when International Falls dropped out of the RRDFL at the last minute. As well, two of their home games were scheduled on Tuesdays, which conflicts with the local slo-pitch league (those games will be played in Barwick).
Combine that with a bye and a rain-out of the team’s game May 31 here against Stratton (and the subsequent make-up date) and hence the month-and-a-half road trip.
“It’s kinda [inconvenient] that way, when you count on your home games to be every Thursday and then it changes part way through the season, but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” said Bob Andy, the team’s ace pitcher.
Andy is reluctant to complain about the situation, and with reason—he sports a perfect 3-0 record, not to mention a crown as the RRDFL’s reigning home run king.
“So far it’s going good this year. I’m doing better than previous years, that’s for sure. My earned runs are down. . . .” said Andy, before trailing off to humbly share the credit.
“We’ve got a pretty solid defensive team, we got a good backcatcher, a very good backcatcher, we seem to be clicking real good,” he continued. “Usually we put up the runs to win games.”
His big concern with the schedule changes are that he’s losing his rhythm. “I don’t know how I’m going to do the next game around,” he laughed.
Andy’s record is a credit to the team, McKinnon said. “I think we’ve got the deepest pitching lineup of the league,” he remarked.
He also mentioned John Desaulniers, the team’s other go-to pitcher.
“He’s moved to Dryden now . . . he was always MVP, you know, he’d be the home run king and the MVP and the best pitcher. Bob, that’s the same. . . .
“It’s not a bad problem to have two guys like that.”
They don’t have that luxury in a lot of positions. McKinnon admitted that there have been a number of additions to the team, and “playing our young guys more than years past” to compensate for upcoming losses.
“Our team, as a whole, is getting older and we’ve had guys dropping out,” he noted. “We’re going to get our younger guys up and get more experience.”
Sight & Sound will play at Big Island tomorrow (June 14) before the first of their two displaced home games next Tuesday.
McKinnon said they’re grateful to have a home away from home like Barwick for two weeks.
“They’ve got a really nice field, eh? It’s really been kept up well, we’ve got nice dugouts,” he noted. “It’s a real nice facility.”
As for Andy, he’s just enjoying the lighter side of travel.
“It works out,” he said. “It’s always just fun to get away, and go play a game, and you know, get away from the town, I guess.
“But I don’t really mind, really. It does take up a lot of time and you’re home kind of late, but it’s worth it.”
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
