Curtis Roote (left) Dalton Lewis and Wade Kewageshig of Saugeen First Nation played for the Frog Lake Redlines at the Native Canadian Fastball Championships in Edmonton in early August. Lewis and Kewageshig pitched for the Redlines while Roote played centre field.

Hub Staff

Earlier this month Dalton Lewis, Wade Kewageshig and Curtis Roote of Saugeen First Nation played for the Frog Lake Redlines fastball team in the Canadian Native Fastball Championships in Edmonton, Alberta, with the team finishing second out of 11 teams from across Canada.

Roote, who played centre field, was awarded with an All Star award for the position and said the Redlines won five games before their loss in the finals. Roote said he was lucky to be asked to play by Saugeen Braves teammate Dalton Lewis, who was the Redlines main pitcher in the tournament. “Every tournament he competes in he asks me to play with him, as he prefers my defensive ability to support him while he’s throwing. So the coach actually never saw me play prior to becoming part of the Redlines, he had to go by good faith.”

During the first game in the tournament Lewis pitched 12 strikeouts in the first five innings. Roote also praised 17 year old Wade Kewageshig for pitching well in the tournament. “Although he’s only 17, I think he had the best stick on the team. He was the most consistent player getting on base and also hit two home runs over a 275 foot fence in crucial games.”

He then added, “All in all, we feel both fortunate and proud to have been able to represent Saugeen at the Canadian Native Fastball Championships and, above all, we had a lot of fun.”