The Grande Prairie Pirates Men’s Softball Team took home bronze during the 2024 Canadian Championships in Saskatoon, marking the first time an Alberta team has placed in the event since 1999.
Pirates team member Shayne Milligan says the win “feels really good” after getting so close to a medal year after year.
“It feels really good, we’ve been working towards it for many years and we’ve always been very close, but this year we were able to go on a bit of a run and we played very well,” he says. “We had some really good games [and] we actually almost made it to the final.”
Milligan describes his team maintaining a healthy lead late in the game before letting up a few runs and ultimately, losing their chance to compete for the gold. Still, Milligan says the bronze medal was only possible due to his team’s cohesion as players and friends.
“I think the biggest thing that brought us over the edge this year was the fact that this core group has been playing together for many years, and we were out there playing for each other, and it’s a great team dynamic,” he says.
When it comes to the future of the team, Milligan says the guys are mostly focused on just enjoying the win, but eyes are on the prize to medal again next year.
“We’re, we’re soaking it in right now, we haven’t really gone to the table yet to plan for next year, but I assume that we will be taking another run at it next year,” he says.
The Master Men’s team representing Alberta as a whole also brought home a bronze medal during the tournament.
